Latest Entertainment
Canadian Spirit Resources loss mounts first half of 2008
Aug 29, 20:02 (Hits: 83) |
 | Raspy Neil Diamond disappoints Ohio concertgoers
Aug 29, 20:00 (Hits: 8) |
Police: DNA links man to slaying of Kutcher's ex: Police
Aug 29, 18:34 (Hits: 10) |
19th century detective show 'Murdoch Mysteries' leads Gemini nominees
Aug 29, 18:09 (Hits: 12) |
 | Top 10 films in Canada from Aug. 22-24
Aug 29, 18:01 (Hits: 474) |
 | McCain VP decision boosts book on Alaska governor
Aug 29, 17:34 (Hits: 10) |
Dissident Cuban rocker fined $28, freed
Aug 29, 17:29 (Hits: 10) |
 | Diddy now flying commercial, instead of in private jets because of gas p...
Aug 29, 16:30 (Hits: 10) |
|
| |
|
|
|
Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning branches out, sort of, with first solo disc |
|
|
|
Written by Cassandra Szklarski, THE CANADIAN PRESS
|
|
Sunday, 20 July 2008 |
Related Items
No keywords found
TORONTO - It's taken Brendan Canning some 18 years to put out his first solo disc and despite all that time in indie music circles - much of it spent anchoring supergroup Broken Social Scene - the bespectacled, bearded rock guru is in a fluster as his official debut approaches.
There are press interviews to do, last-minute rehearsals to squeeze in, and passport documents to rush out.
It's as if the amiable bassist, who arrives by bike at a noon-hour interview frazzled by 11th-hour errands, is barely holding on as his roller-coaster career chugs into new territory.
"When I was getting my passport the last time, which was not that long ago, they give you the option of getting 48 pages and for some reason I thought, 'Oh, maybe things are winding down with this music career,' " Canning says in a recent interview before heading to the United States, Brazil and Argentina for a string of shows with his BSS cohorts.
"I don't know what I was thinking; the pessimist in me decided to just get 24 pages. We went through those ones pretty quick."
That was back in the summer of 2006, right before the burgeoning success of Broken Social Scene took the sprawling collective on a world tour through foreign lands including the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, Japan and Mexico.
Things haven't slowed down since, with continued accolades and steady attention keeping the Toronto-based band among the hipster elite with global fans.
This time out, Canning and company head out on a string of summer shows to highlight material on the low-key bassist's upcoming release, "Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning: Something For All of Us." Buzzing guitars and driving basslines keep much of the material well-aligned with Broken Social Scene's lo-fi sound, with the odd track meandering down pop-rock experiments in funk ("Love Is New") and emo-balladeering (the Elliott Smith-esque "Snowballs and Icicles").
Joining him behind the scenes are BSS friends/collaborators including James Shaw of Metric, Amy Millan of Stars, Andrew Whiteman of Apostle of Hustle, Kevin Hearn of the Barenaked Ladies, Fiona Stewart of Rock Plaza Central, Kevin Drew, Jason Collett and Justin Peroff.
Help from non-Broken Social Scenesters come from talented next-door neighbours who feature in caricature on the album's detailed hand-scrawled cover. Canning says the street scene is an ode to his downtown abode, a heritage home where he's lived for the length of his musical career.
"Everyone from Bark Market to the Immortal Lee County Killers to Treble Charger to Sum 41 to the Doughboys to, you know, everyone sort of crashed there over the years," notes Canning, whose own musical lineage includes stints with By Divine Right, Blurtonia and hHead.
"Danko Jones was my roommate, Richard Switzer ran the label that released their early records called Sound King Records and my last roomate before my girlfriend moved in is a video director. We'd have quite swinging parties sometimes so it just seemed very fitting to have (my) street represented on the cover."
With friends like that, it's no wonder that collaboration has always been a hallmark of Canning's rock career. He says there was never any grand plan to orchestrate a distinct sound for himself when he began noodling around with guitar riffs and melodies last year. What distinguishes his solo outing is simply the fact he does the majority of the singing, songwriting and arranging, Canning says.
"I think I got the bases covered that I needed to cover," he says of the end result, most of it written and produced with Ryan Kondrat and John La Magna.
"I think it's a cohesive record, I like that it sort of comes out swinging, kind of goes into a little drop and builds. It's got its peaks and valleys like a record should have, it's got its quiet moments, got its funky moments and got its noisy bombastic moments, it's got its pretty parts and not as pretty parts and dreamy parts."
Canning's summer tour with Broken Social Scene will feature a mishmash of material from the disc, Drew's disc and of course, old BSS material. Upcoming Canadian dates include Guelph, Ont.'s Hillside Festival on July 27, and folk festivals in Regina, Edmonton and Ottawa in August.
"Something For All of Us," comes out Tuesday.
 |
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed