PLUGGED INTO BRENDAN CANNING

First of all, I apologize for the title. I coudn’t resist.

But I’m going to make up for it with some amazing free music that you
should really get on. Brendan Canning (yes, that Brendan from Broken
Social Scene) has a solo project coming, called You
Gots to Chill, and the teaser for it makes me yearn for more.
For me, it’s a summer beaut. A song for long contemplative roadtrips.
When you get to your destination, big things are going to happen for
you. And then the song ends.

That’s what I need in a song.

You can download it, here.

After I heard the song, I needed to hear more. And since they weren’t
gonna give me the album just yet, I went right to the source, and hooked
up with Brendan for a quick interview.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Brendan, it’s that he is a
giver. If you ask him a question, he’ll take his time, he’ll break it
down, and he’ll give you his guts. You ask him for an interview and
he’ll offer up his home. I arrived not having met Brendan before, and
marvelled at the artist residence vibe of his west end joint. He tells
me to go have a look around. He tells me the stories behind the pieces
of art on his walls, he introduces me to his puppy, and he tells me
about how the pup likes to lick coconut oil off his feet. He dug House
of Cards, and he’s got a special spot in his heart for 90’s house music.
It sparked his desire to DJ, and he serenaded with me with it throughout
the interview.

He’s just got that thing. I don’t know how to
describe it and do it justice, but he brings history with him.

Q.
So how did this album come to be? Was a solo album always something to
check off the bucket list?

I had these songs, and went over
to my buddy’s house that I went to high school with, and recorded them
up. I like to take advantage of a free day, turn it into something. It
evolved into a body of work over time, some got put into the scrap pile,
some were improved, until we felt there was something cohesive there. My
joke would always be, let’s go and take this to the dumpster at Price
Chopper- if it gets stolen- we’ve got something.

Q. The song
writing approach is different for everyone. How do you build the
foundation for your songs? Does it start with a feeling? An experiment?
A message you need to get out?

With Plugged In, I lay
down a guitar lick I liked. Plugged in the mic, and kinda just went for
it lyrically. Do a full pass. Spit out some vocal ideas. You listen back
and you pull things you liked. I liked that vocal – or ooh – that phrase
sits nicely there. You know, sometimes you get lucky. I think I did most
of that song (Plugged In) in one take. With us and our crew, you
fearlessly add, carefully subtract. For my producer, that was the one
song that he really championed, he would say, "man, I feel like this
record is really coming together". Whereas I always thought it was a bit
macabre, too introspective to lead off.

Q. Do you consider
yourself plugged in? You seem a bit to me like a renegade who lives off
the grid.

Sure I am, I’m getting on there for 5 thousand twitter
followers – I need more!

HA- fair enough. Well, after
today you’ll have at least 5001.

Q.) You’ve been making music for
a long time. People have loved you for a very long time. I’m sure you’ve
probably run the gamut of emotions when it comes to your approach to
music. Is success something you still think about, the thing that drives
you? Or is there something else?

I think success is relative.
If I can continue to pay off my mortgage while making music, and being
involved, I’m happy. Whether it’s DJing a Thursday night in a small
little bar or playing to 10K people with Broken Social Scene.

Q.)
Word is you have a song on the album that is literally just a voicemail
you sent yourself. Tell me about it..

Well, I wouldn’t call
it a song. Officially it’s a track, but it’s about a 30 second snippet,
an idea that’s just kinda there.

Q.) So why not produce it?

I’ve
been saving it on the answering machine since about 2005/2006. Every
week.

You may need a better system.

*laughs* Well,
the landline recording just has a certain quality. I wanted to preserve
that.

Q.) The song writing process sounds like a pretty chill,
meditative environment. How has this changed from the BSS days?

I’m
not in a bus. I think I took shit for granted when I was in a band. We
had some really great, great experiences. We travelled the globe and
played for thousands of people, but after a certain point you start to
feel a bit like a series actor. Like you’re on Law and Order, just
making money hand over fist – but you feel like you should be doing
something different. You need a break.

Q.) Do you feel like it
was affecting the creative process?

I think, I think it’s
maybe just your freedom. Some of your freedom is sacrificed. But I mean,
there’s always limitations on what you’re able to do. I don’t know yet
how this new band is going to fully translate – I think they’re
perfectly good pieces on the record, but I’d like to see them develop
into a live situation. Put some drums in theremake it big

Q.)
What are you most looking forward to in your life right now?

I’m
looking forward to not having any more rehearsals. Once the songs are
figured out I can relax a bit. I enjoy writing and creating much more
than rehearsing. I like rehearsing, but I’d rather be writing

On that note, write him a tweet,
and tell him how much you love him…I did.

xo Holland