Interview with Dan West

                                                            Interview with Dan West!

Dan West rules and he is very well known in the LA power pop scene.. here is his exclusive interview with Self Contained Music.. 

Dan West answers to ‘One Man Band’ questions

Question 1

What led you to play most of the instruments yourself on "Hot Corners" & “Does It Suit You?

My cousins were all 10 years or so older than me and would often give me their old records to listen to. By the time I was 6-7 years old I had a serious Beatles/Monkees/Paul Revere And The Raiders obsession going on and I just had to have a guitar.  My father, who had been a musician earlier in his life told me that if I wanted a guitar, I would first have to learn some basics on piano.  So a deal was struck and I agreed to study one year of piano with my Mom and if I stayed with it, I would get a guitar for my birthday the following year which is exactly what happened.  A couple of years later, I was going through my Mom’s old albums and I stumbled upon the Gene Krupa/Buddy Rich drum battle album on Verve and after multiple listenings, became obsessed with the drums!

There was a bit of back and forth one afternoon at the Tarzana Mall where, while shopping with my parents, I saw a beginners drum kit in the window of Sydney Kaye’s Music Scene.  We had lunch at the Bob’s Big Boy there in the mall and after we finished, my father  decided that I was serious enough to have the drum set.

From the earliest I can remember, I was always writing little ditties and playing them into my old cassette recorder (as well as my Dad’s little ‘Modernage’ mini reel to reel recorder).  It was at this point that I learned ‘sound on sound’ recording after reading an article where Pete Townshend was talking about his early demos for The Who.

The proverbial light bulb went off and I realized between the 3 or 4 recording devices we had around the house, and the 3-4 instruments I was now fairly good at playing, I could start making recordings with more than one part or instrument.  Multi instrumentalism was something that happened purely organically as I developed musically over the course of my first 4-5 years of playing and writing music. I just became enraptured by the different instruments and was determined to gain some mastery of each one.

Question 2

In what order do you usually record the instruments?

I usually start with a scratch acoustic guitar or piano track recorded to a click.  A scratch vocal, even if the lyrics are unfinished, is then added to further delineate some semblance of form and melodic contour. Once those elements have been recorded I will then play or program a drum part.  I always do this before the bass part, as it is much easier to get a grooving bass part to a drum pattern than just a click track. At this point I have to say that the bass part, based on my enduring love of Paul McCartney, James Jamerson and Carol Kaye, is what I spend the most time on.  Usually, once a strong bass part is established, the rest of the elements of the orchestration fall into place fairly easily.

Question 3

Do you have everything planned out in your head or do you just shoot from the hip when crafting an arrangement alone?

It’s funny, but although I usually hear everything in my head when I get a song idea, once the first few instruments become a reality on tape or on the hard drive, my ears begin to hear new ideas and the song takes on its’ own evolution.  At that point, I try to stay out of the way as much as possible and just let the song be what it wants to be.  

Question 4

What are some of your favorite one-man band albums?

Skip Spence ‘Orr’ is a masterpiece.  All of the Pete Townshend ‘Scoop’ compilations are wonderful and were a tremendous inspiration early on. Jon Brion’s ‘Meaningless’ is fantastic. And I believe that other than Brad Delp’s vocals, the first Boston album is mainly Tom Scholz playing everything so, another favourite for sure.

Question 5

How many instruments can you play in order based on proficiency?

Here they are in order of proficiency: 

Piano, Bass, Guitar, Drums, Cello, Upright Bass, Flute, Clarinet and if it qualifies, Programming!  I also learned how to compose for full orchestra and big band and actually have had some nice gigs writing for large ensembles esp. big bands.

Question 6

What advice can you give the budding self-contained musician?

Collect, experiment and follow your ears.  Do not let the old saying 

‘jack of all trades, master of none’ ever stop you from experimenting with new instruments, especially if you are a composer, songwriter, producer. Jon Brion is a glowing example of this.  His shows at Largo were mind-blowing to me. And from a sheer dollars and cents standpoint, if you do have mastery of more than one instrument, you will get a lot more live playing and session gigs!  I have had some wonderful musical experiences and made some decent money on piano, bass and guitar gigs/sessions.  I’ve even played the occasional cover gig on drums as well!  But ultimately, your heart and your ears should always be your guides not the litany of ‘methods’ out there.  The artist in my opinion should always have their particular method or way of doing things.  It is what will give a particular artist’s music it’s own unique feel.  Now, there are basic concepts which all musicians should understand such as chord structure, melody, harmony and groove/feel, but once those have been understood on the respective instruments, the rest is up to the artist to craft their unique vision with any and all combinations thereof.

Question 7 

Where can we find your music and what is next for you?

Well there are a lot of examples of my solo music as well as many collaborations with bands and the like.  The following links are probably the easiest way to find me currently:

My Solo Work:

My Bandcamp page:

https://danwest.bandcamp.com/

My Soundcloud page:

https://soundcloud.com/dubsonic-2

My work with Sidewalk Society:

Our 2^nd album:

https://sidewalksociety.bandcamp.com/

Our first album is on Spotify, just search ‘Sidewalk Society’

My work with LoveyDove:

http://loveydove.bandcamp.com/album/loveydove-2

That is the basic intro to what a do.  There are many more things out there but these are the most current.

I plan on continuing to record and perform until the day I leave this planet.  Immediately though, LoveyDove are finishing our second album and we are super stoked with it.  It is a definite departure from our first album which was more ruminative and reflective. With the new album, we are going with a fun in the sun, dance party vibe. Once the new LD is completed, I will then attempt to make my first Dan West Big Band album.  I know some amazing horn players so, the personnel is there but the logistics are a bit tricky with that.  However, when there is a will there’s a way and the recourses have begun to present themselves as far as the redcording part so it will all fall into place nicely when the time comes.  And I am always writing new songs so, at some point I’ll sit down and start recording some new DW stuff as well.

New Interview with Timmy Sean

Interview with Timmy Sean


Timmy Sean is a brilliant Self Contained musician living in LA. His new album, "Songs from and  Inspired by Noisewater" is a multi layered modern power pop gem with a sound all its own.

Question 1
What led you to play most of the instruments yourself on "Noisewater"?

Before "Noisewater", I had been in a band called LUZER since I was 16. The short answer is that after LUZER split up, I finally could play all of the parts to my songs without worrying about anyone feeling excluded.

The longer answer is that though I wrote all of the songs in that band, it was still somewhat democratic in the studio, and it was pretty rare that the final product ended up exactly as I originally heard it in my head. That wasn't always a bad thing, but after we split up I was determined to do a full record with the only filter being my own instincts. I also used to tend to write with each member's strengths in mind, instead of just what served the song best. And though I don't know if either of them would agree on the "fun" aspect of it, I always thought it looked like such a blast to become a complete hermit like Rivers Cuomo or Brian Wilson and just spend a year or two locked away in a room writing and recording...and getting bearded and fat, living in a bathrobe. The bathrobe part was essential.

Question 2
In what order do you usually record the instruments?

It really depends. I usually tend to start laying down "scratch" idea tracks (mostly starting with piano on "Noisewater") to a click first. I usually kind of hear the whole song in my head pretty early in the process, but I'll just keep laying down more and more idea tracks until I can't really hear any more parts. Not really any rhyme or reason to the order, usually just whatever instrument is closest or which one I start getting ideas for. Sometimes the way I played a piano part will spark a drum or guitar idea. But all just sloppy, one-take tracks. Nothing "keeper".

Then I'll go and whittle down the arrangement because it's usually too busy. I'll try to find the best bits, and then pull out anything that's stepping on them. Once I'm pretty happy with the overall arrangement, I'll go back and basically redo everything that's there. For that I'll always do drums first, playing along with the scratch tracks. Then bass, piano, guitars, and any additional keys, usually in that order.

Even though I almost always have the vocal melody in mind right from the inception of the song, more times than not, I'll procrastinate finishing lyrics for months. With "Noisewater" I basically gave myself a deadline to release it, and had to do a mad dash to finish all of the lyrics and vocals in time.

Question 3
Do you have everything planned out in your head or do you just shoot from the hip when crafting an arrangement alone?

Sorry, I got so long-winded on the last question, I think covered most of the process. I will say that I usually hear most of it in my head pretty quickly, and the first step is usually trying to sing all of the ideas into the Voice Note recorder in my phone. The hard part is trying to decipher basslines, guitar chords, and horrible beat boxing drum ideas when it comes time to jump into the actual recording, sometimes weeks or months later.

Question 4
What are some of your favorite one-man band albums?

Though "McCartney" is the album most people consider Paul's one-man album (and I do LOVE that album), "Band On The Run" is far and away my favorite Macca record, and I really think of it as a solo record since Paul ended up handling drums, piano, most of the lead guitar work, and obviously bass...though Denny Laine may disagree with me on that classification. "Flaming Pie" is probably right behind it, and though it has some great guests playing on a good chunk of the tunes, it is primarily him on a majority of it.

"Rockin' The Suburbs" by Ben Folds is another one of my all-time favorite albums. I'm a HUGE Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee fan as a bassist and drummer, so the fact that I don't miss them on this album speaks volumes in itself. Plus the b-sides from this album are as good as anything Ben has ever written. "Hiro's Song" and "One Down" are some of my favorites from his entire career.

When Nirvana hit, I was too busy watching Ninja Turtle movies and listening to Kris Kross and Right Said Fred to really get into them, but by the time the first Foo Fighters single came out, I was old enough to appreciate a good rock record. I saw the video for "I'll Stick Around" and couldn't get enough of it. But since they had William Goldsmith drumming in the video, it blew my mind when I found out the singer not only used to be the drummer in Nirvana, but also that Dave played all the instruments on that first Foos album. Right around then at like 12 years old I started making four-track recordings and I was playing everything on it. I think that was the first time I thought...hmmm...I don't need a band?

Honorable mentions for me go to Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way", ELO's (or really Jeff Lynne's) "Zoom", and Jon Brion's "Meaningless".

Question 5
How many instruments can you play in order based on proficiency?

I started on drums, and that's probably still my strongest. Next would definitely be guitar, followed by bass, and then keys. I'm a total hack at piano, but I think that's helped me kind of think outside the box when I write, and not just rely on my normal "go-to" chord changes on guitar. I also took sax in elementary school for two years...that one didn't really stick.

Question 6
What advice can you give the budding self-contained musician?

My only advice is that if you think someone else can make the song sound better by playing on it, or at least closer to how you envision it, I don't think you should limit yourself to doing a one-man band thing just for the sake of it being a one-man record. That being said, if you're in a band and you can play it better than your fellow bandmate, you should probably play it yourself. They may very well quit over it, but it'll force you to find your Taylor Hawkins.

Whats next for Timmy Sean?

I relocated out to Los Angeles a little while back, and I'm finally putting together a new live line-up out here to play the "Noisewater" record as Timmy Sean And The Celebrities. We're aiming for September to debut the full band. In the meantime, after playing my first acoustic show on the west coast, I was offered a residency downstairs at The Viper Room that was just extended "forever." So you can catch my keyboardist Frankie Pedano (Fat City Reprise, Audra Mae & The Almighty Sound) and I hosting every Monday night downstairs there until they decide they're ready to throw us out.

I will also be heading down to South Carolina this summer to finish up a new one-man record that's a bit more synth-heavy pop with multi-platinum producer and all-around good guy Kenny Gioia that will be released under the name Sir Video. Kenny has a series of pretty popular DAW instructional videos, and his newest video "Mixing In Reaper" takes you from start to finish mixing one of the new Sir Video tunes which I'm pretty excited about. You get all the original multitrack masters to work with when you purchase the video, so it's pretty cool to think of the new producers with computers fixing all my shitty tracks.

Download Timmy Sean's debut album "Songs From & Inspired By Noisewater" for free athttp://timmysean.bandcamp.com and a free three song sampler from his new one-man project Sir Video at http://sirvideo.bandcamp.com

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/timmyseanmusic &http://www.facebook.com/sirvideo

2 NEW INTERVIEWS POSTED!!!

Just posted interviews with R. Stevie Moore and Dave Dill!!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

Countoff -- 1,2,3,4

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These albums are a major part of popular music history. We will explore classic albums and feature interviews with classic and new artists that make music mostly by themselves.

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