On a CMT show like "Sweet Home Alabama," you can bet there'll be some bias against city boys, but Philadelphia musician Dustin Tavella has shown he can more than hold his own with the deck stacked against him, not only impressing bachelorette Paige Duke, but racking up quite a following from fans of the show with his good looks, congenial nature and strong sense of values.
And, oh yes, his ability to write and sing a song for a girl. That might be a slight factor.
Tavella is currently in his chilly home state of Pennsylvania, but next week he heads for sunny weather again, moving to LA, to continue pursuing his music career where the label he has signed with is based. While the professional benefits of appearing on a reality show are obvious, for Tavella, his decision to be on "Sweet Home Alabama" went beyond a publicity vehicle.
"I was actually asked to be on the first season by my agent and was busy with all my music stuff," says Tavella. But after several consecutive relationships that didn't go so well -- including unfaithful girlfriends -- he knew he had to try something different.
"I thought, man this is kind of ridiculous. So when the third season came out, I thought this might be kinda cool to go on the show and give love another chance in a different kind of atmosphere. Just go out and get away and get my mind off the stupid stuff."
Tavella seemed to fit in well on both sides of the country vs city fence, which in part was due to spending some quality time soaking up southern culture prior to appearing on the reality TV series.
"I lived in Texas for five years, so I'm very familiar with the southern hospitality and southern girls," he says. "It is very different in the south. I feel people carry themselves in a lot friendlier way, and are a lot more respectful. It was a cool thing to go down and be a part of that again."
In fact, he became good friends with southerners Bubba Thompson and Donnie Fallgatter on the show, as well as some of the city guys, such as baseball player Christian Lopez, with whom he made a LMFAO parody video for YouTube. But you may be surprised to know that one of his best friends from the show was guy who embodied the absolute opposite of Tavella's southern-friendly attitude, New Yorker Shaun Bigos.
"I think the reason I love Shaun and I love spending the most time with him is that a lot of the guys tried to put their best foot forward to impress Paige and the cameras, but with Shaun, I just felt like no matter what, Shaun was just ... Shaun. I felt like I didn't have to put up a front with him. He can be a little ... Shaun-ish," Tavella laughs, "but the thing is, I never felt he was being fake."
If you watch the show, trust me, you understand exactly what he means.
Obviously he can't discuss any results of the show, which is only about midway through its season, but plenty has been happening since it wrapped. Besides signing with a label, Tavella has a new single already out in the clubs called "My Playground," and will be available soon on iTunes. And yes, ladies, the song he wrote for Duke, "Met Her in Alabama" is available for free on his site. He also has a full length album in the works and videos for "My Playground" as well as "Met Her in Alabama."
So how weird is it watching himself on TV and how real is his portrayal in the CMT reality show?
"I actually am very happy with the way they have been presenting me," Tavella says. "I was a little bit nervous at first ... there's a couple of moral stances I take on the show, like waiting for marriage (he professed in his belief in abstinence till marriage in the first episode.) I was kind of afraid they would make it look kind of corny. But they left me just looking like me, so I'm very happy with that."
He hasn't noticed much recognition up north or in urban areas -- hey, it's a show on CMT -- but he has had a lot of fans on Facebook say that they may want a country guy to win Duke's heart, but if it has to be a city boy, they hope it's him. Likewise, last season's winner, Alabama gal Tristan Smith has proclaimed him her favorite so far this season.
That's about as good as Yankee can hope for.
Tavella even admits he joined up with the country guys off camera in one episode, when some of the city guys were disrespecting Andy Batkins -- he felt he had to break city ranks to say enough was enough.
"I'm not going to sit there and keep my mouth shut just because I'm supposed to be on the city side. City or country -- they're still human beings."
He also considers it a top priority to conduct himself in ways that are consistent with presenting himself as a good role model, especially since he and some friends have started a program going to schools incorporating music and fitness.
"Being a good person -- that's what's most important to me, and making sure I am being a role model to people watching and an example. Me and my friends started a school program where we go in the schools and do a concert and teach the kids workouts," says Tavella. "Through that I've gained a lot of young fans and people who really look up to me so that's a lot of responsibility ... It's cool to be able to be on the show and be able to be myself and respect the girl. You know guys have a bad rap and are just known for wanting to get into a girl's pants and move on with it."
And if you have any doubt about the sincerity of his moral fortitude, Tavella has spent the past five years working full time for a humanitarian organization, traveling the world to help the homeless, addicts and prostitutes, as well as acting as a youth mentor. Music started as a side project to simply encourage the people he worked with, but seeing the response, he realized the possible impact he could have with music. That inspired him to get serious and start making YouTube videos for his songs. And now he's signed a record deal -- who could have forseen how a little "side project" could change his life completely?
Will Tavella win Duke's heart when all is said and done? He's certainly a front runner, but faces plenty of stff competition. If you want the answer, you'll have to tune in and watch for yourself.
"Sweet Home Alabama" airs new episodes every Friday night on CMT at 9 p.m. ET. Subscribe for updates on all your favorite CMT shows.
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