by Joe Fielder
It's safe to call Brian Canning a busy man.
He's currently part of LA orchestral pop act Shadow Shadow Shade (formerly Afternoons), whose debut album is due out early next month on Public Records, and, well, about six other projects as well. All of them well-worth checking out.
We recently caught up with Canning to go over everything he's been working on lately.
Hey, Brian. How you been? What's new?
Hey Joe, things are going well, just had a little listening party for the new SSS album and it was lots of fun. We have just been rehearsing a ton getting ready for tour and we have been writing songs for our new album, we came up with this plan to work on new material during sound checks.. What else... I been playing lots of tennis, I cut my hair, and just enjoying my all time favorite summer (climate-wise) in my life as a resident of Los Angeles.
How many different projects are you working on right now? Shadow Shadow Shade (formerly Afternoons), your solo recordings, Captain & Holland, Swiss Bank Account...
At the rest of sounding like a full blow schmuck: o.k there is also Family of Painted Birds, which is this E.P I'm recording with producer Scott Hackwith, and another project called The Mids that I'm doing with Daisy O'dell and the Hydra Twins. The solo stuff is called Farrow Sherman, I recorded them with Brian Thornell. and Sheldon Gomberg. I'm also doing pop songs, kiss fm sort of pop songs for people but that will all be under an alias.
How do you split your time between them all?
I love to work, so it's not too difficult. I'm not to rigid, I just sort of work on what ever I am in the mood for or sometimes a dead line will help dictate my mood. It seems to work out, one night Steven and I will get together and work on new SSS songs, or the Hydra Twins will send me tracks and I'll write to them, or Sarah and I will record some.
It's nice to have different outlets. Each project informs the next, I think when I'm constantly writing I feel myself improving. I treat It like a craft that I am honing, like how kobe is constantly training, working with Hakeem Alijouwan in the off season on his post moves, I feel that my training is to just put my head down and try and write as many songs as I possibly can, then at the end of the day hopefully I can look back on the songs years from now and know they came from an honest place.
How would you describe the differences between the different projects?
They are all completely different. With Captain and Holland, Sarah and I have a rule that we must be completely honest at all times and we don't want to be clever and we only sing about love. With SBA, all the songs are the inter monologue of a 28 year old boy and nothing happens outside, it's just all in his brain.
And I am a huge fan of pop and I really enjoy writing dance pop songs. Although the hydra twins and I have been talking about doing an album that is far more Olivia Tremor Control esque, which would be fun. Family of Painted Birds is a four song E.P, I have had four ex-girlfriends in the past decade and they have had a huge impact on my life so each song is about each of them.
Farrow Sherman is a folk opera about a 28 year old boys journey through America in 2025 and SSS focuses on the relationships of a group of friends set to the back drop of an Occupied America. The character from Farrow Sherman whose name is Blue, shows up in some of the songs. So yea sometimes there is some overlap. With that said SSS is such a collaborative effort that we don't really delve into the concept, we are not married to it, this way each member can put their own stamp on the music. Everything turns out better this way.
What's coming out next? (I think you mentioned that Captain & Holland was almost wrapped up.)
Captain and Holland will still take some time, we are doing a double album and as most things go it's taking way longer than we expected and I am first and foremost married to SSS, if they tell me to jump I say fine I'll do it. The SSS album comes out October 5th, and that has been my main focus. We are very hands on with every aspect of our music so it's a full time job. Some days I'll wake up and sit at my computer answering SSS emails then all of a sudden it's 6p.m and my neighbors are coming home from work and the sun is going down.
Who are you working with on Captain & Holland?
Captain and Holland is Sarah Rayne and myself. Sarah is just plain rad and she will graduate from her toiling with me and go on to be an unstoppable force. Tom Biller is also a huge component as he produced one of the albums, Patrick Park is producing the other album and he is also a huge part of it. I'll have to get you some of Sarah's demos, they are so so great. She's really funny too, she and I were writing onion articles and she come up with this one "two stones killed by one bird." And its all about how Keith and MIck die after a thanksgiving dinner. Keith under cooked the Turkey.
Who are you working with on Swiss Bank Account?
Swiss Band Account is myself and The Hydra Twins, who are an amazing production team. We also compose music for pop and for commercials and have recently been approached by some supervisors about scoring films. The Hydra Twins are Mathew Frauman and Ian read. I am so lucky to have met them and that they allow me to work with them. They have turned me on to a whole world of music I didn't know existed. They are starting to get a lot of calls and folks wanting to work with them. They are insane.
And I've heard Claire from Shadow Shadow Shade singing backing vocals on some of your solo recordings.
Yeah, Claire has been gracious enough to lend her vocal stylings to some of the songs, her voice is so amazing she can make a mediocre track not so mediocre. I am really looking forward to hearing a dirt bird album, I have heard some tracks she is doing with Tom and they are beautiful. She has that presence and she is really really funny. We were on tour and we drove by this huge golf course and Claire was looking at the golf course through the window as it passed and she said, sort of to herself "no thanks."
You had to be there but I lost it. But she's saying funny shit all the time. Although Tom Biller by far is the funniest. Most funny?
I think you mentioned that you're doing music production work as well? What bands are you recording?
Me and the Hydra Twins are developing some pop acts. We write and produce the tracks. But we haven't really produced any bands. There is this really amazing band called Family Album and I was helping them out with some stuff and Tom Biller and I were gonna work with them on their debut album but the singer messed his back up. So we are waiting on that.
What's next for you?
I am really excited for SSS, it's my passion of all passions and there is nothing better to me in my life than playing music with my best friends. And we are all looking forward to the album coming out and touring as much as we possibly can, we are hoping that people like the album and want to see us perform then that way we can be on tour forever and come home in between forever..
DOWNLOADS:
- Brian Canning – "Her Figure" MP3
- Swiss Bank Account - "I Want You I Need You You Have to be my Lover" MP3
WHITE HORSE from SHADOW SHADOW SHADE on Vimeo.
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