Featured      Archived      Forum

Entertainment

FEATURED ARTICLES           Wednesday, September 08, 2010                                Email to a Friend

Something For All Of Us:

CLM Talks to Brendan Canning

Adam Steel

A founding member of seminal Canadian outfit Broken Social Scene, Brendan Canning has has continued to make a name for himself as a songwriting virtuoso and an all-round musical mastermind. Canning’s debut solo effort, Something For All Of Us, was released earlier this year to glowing reviews. Here, Canning speaks to CLM’s Adam Steel about Something, his supergroup, and everything in between.

CLM: So, Brendan, I’m just going to dive right in here, “Broken Social Scene Presents…” Why did you and Kevin [Drew] choose to introduce your solo records this way?

Brendan Canning: Well it was basically because there was such a large contribution from the band itself—it just seemed right to attach it like that. We all help each other out so often.

CLM: And with this album, what was your thought process in regards to writing material? Did it ever just come to you or did you need to sit down and wrench it out?

BC: With anything I’m working on, I really just head right to the studio. Once I’m in that sort of environment it becomes a lot easier for me, you know. It is my job. I just go in and…

CLM: Just go in and get to work.

BC: [laughs] Yeah.

CLM: So was there a lot of music in your house growing up? Did your family play a large role in your decision to become a musician?

BC: No, not really. I really got into that on my own at an early age. I would be listening to records at [age] seven and picking up instruments early on as well. Plus it was the seventies, you know, so there was a lot of, like, Steve Miller Band, Stevie Wonder around growing up.

CLM: Nice.

BC: Yeah, but my folks, well, my mom was a high school teacher so there were a lot of teenagers in the house at any given time so they sort of played a role in my being exposed to music as a kid.

CLM: Getting back to the album, you chose a pretty awesome cover (jacket) that I assume features a lot of Broken Social Scene on it, am I right? So where are we on the cover? Describe the setting.

BC: That’s Draper Street (historic Toronto street between Wellington and Front). Yeah. The cover is kind of like “The Scientist” (Overton Brown, Kingston-born producer; one of the originators of Dub music; known for his graphic-animated album jackets from the early 1980’s). Dub, Sly Dunbar, you know. And pretty much everyone on the cover is a contributor to the album, in some way. And there are others—like, there are some friends from England on the cover who didn’t actually help with the record, but I felt like they should be included. And one of my friends is on there—he’s the guy with the cat looking out the window. Anybody who helped—they got onto that cover.

CLM: Now, I am a huge fan of Reverie Sound Review.

BC: Oh, right on!

CLM: Yeah, so aside from the obvious [vocal talents], why did you bring in Lisa [Lobsinger] and Amy [Millan] on the project?

BC: Well there were a few tracks that just didn’t feel right with a guy’s voice, so I got Lisa in to cover those, like, she sings vocals on “Love Is New,” “Hit The Wall” –we had just finished working together—and we work together a lot, Amy and I. They are both just amazing and talented.

CLM: So staying with Broken Social Scene, you guys have pretty much played all over the globe—do you have a favourite city to play? What has been one of your greater concert experiences?

BC: We just got back from Montreal, which is always awesome. We love New York. I actually like going out west, I really love California, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver. We were in Tokyo—that was a lot of fun. We have played a lot of shows this year and we’ve got more on the way.

CLM: So you are touring in support of this album?

BC: Oh yeah, we’ll all go out together and it’s a very collaborative effort. I’m out supporting the band and—we’ll play some of my album, then we’ll play some of Kevin’s, then a bit of early Broken Social Scene. We are all busy, Charles [Spearin] has an album coming out soon—

CLM: Is that a “Broken Social Scene Presents…” kind of album?

BC: Oh no, he’s got his own thing with “The Happiness Project”—yeah, that should be soon.

CLM: So you are on the road with the gang, you are touring constantly and the album is out—and getting great reviews—is it too soon to ask what is next for Brendan Canning?

BC: Yeah, there are some things lined up for the not too distant future, but honestly when we do actually get a break from touring, we are just recording—always in the studio. I don’t think I’ll comment on what exactly but, each of us has our own projects, we do our own thing once and a while but we are together a lot, so when it comes down to it, we are always recording.

CLM: (laughs) All in a day’s work?

BC: (laughs) Yeah.

To learn more about Brendan Canning’s “Something For All Of Us,” visit www.arts-crafts.ca/brendancanning. To learn more about Broken Social Scene, visit www.brokensocialscene.ca

Home    Contact Us    About Us    On Stands Now    Events & Calendar    Forum

Copyright © 2008 Campus Life Magazine. All rights reserved. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners. Reproduction of material from any original Campuslifemagazine.ca pages without written permission is strictly prohibited.