[personality]
And Everybody Gets Laid…
Branden Daniel spreads the love.
Interview by Kris KEG
Meet Branden Daniel: up-and-coming garage-glam poster boy. Branden’s stripped-down brand of garage-ingrained rock n’ roll is guaranteed to have you movin’ and groovin’ and beggin’ for more! His latest release, “Back Down” rips and wails with explosive blasts of raw energy, as can be heard on the title track; and the unique, bass-driven “Almost Forgot” is easily the most underrated B-Side of 2006. Expect to hear more from this chap in the coming months as he brings his band, “And Everybody Gets Laid” (is that a guarantee, BD?) across the West Coast in support of “Back Down”.
Getting to know Branden Daniel:
KEG: For people new to you, how would you best describe the “Branden
Daniel Sound”?
Branden Daniel: Hip Thrusting Rock n’ Roll. Pre-punk, late 60’s influenced, rhythmic, good ol’ Rock n’ Roll. I never reference another genre because, let’s face it, rock n’ roll is at a point where you don’t need another genre, it encapsulates so much.
K: Who/what are your main influences?
BD: It’s a little deceptive every time I answer this question but my primary influence is Delta Blues. That just seems to be at the root of me and my inspiration. Depends also on what area I’m inspired in, if it’s my visceral and physical inspiration, it’s Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, and Jimmy Hendrix. You know, the classic movers and shakers. My over all sound inspiration would have to be all the top 40 rock n’ roll hits that were so grimy, so lewd, so pretentious and outrageous, that you’re amazed they made it mainstream. I love that.
K: What did you have envisioned when you went in to record “Back Down”?
BD: I wanted to capture the rawness of my band at the time. I wanted to capture the energy, the love, the testosterone, the sweat: everything that we exuded live. We’d been touring together and at the end of some of the shows I remember thinking “OK, that’s how I want the recording to sound!” The band and I just had a camaraderie and unique understanding and timing for each other, I knew I wanted that recorded.
As for the songs, I knew these songs were full already. We just needed to pump ’em out in the simplest way possible, and that’s what we did. The first song “Can’t Get Along” is the first song we played that day and it’s the first take. All of us were in one room. There’s even a little symbol noise in the vocal track. There were no walls in that recording booth, figuratively and literally.
K: How was making “Back Down” different than making your last release?
I did my last release, “Love It”, with my head spinning. The studio was a new thing to me. My band at the time wasn’t as well bonded, we didn’t have the chemistry and the understanding for each other the way we do now.
I also wasn’t as experienced in leading. I knew what I was doing, but I left everything else up to my band without a real direction. The sound of “Love It” over-all is grittier. On “Back Down”, the songs are better, though they are also different, of course. It really felt like I went from recording my first record directly to my THIRD record! I was progressing so rapidly with this EP that the intermediate was over immediately!
K: Where can we pick up a copy of “Back Down”?
BD: Google it! (laughs) Online at CDbaby is the way I prefer. You can also get it on itunes, my website www.brandendaniel.com, or, in store at Music Millennium in Portland, Oregon. It’s available on most pay-by-download sites, probably some pirate ones too.
K: How does the songwriting process work for you?
BD: I think that’s something I will forever be working on. I will say though that after 12 years, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I work for the songwriting process, at least more than it works for me. There is the definite eb n’ flow. I used to be scared of it, scared of the times when it wasn’t just pouring out of me, but I’ve learned to be patient. I like to give myself silence at random times: in the car, on the bus, picking stuff up around my place. Those are good times for inspiration. I find when my mind is bored it starts creating music almost subconsciously. It’s just up to me to listen to it. Although, it’s funny how often something will pop in my head and I’ll be really getting into it, just enjoying this little tune that’s repeating and repeating inside my head, and then I play it or write it down and I realize it’s total crap!
Songs don’t come easy. It’s an unconscious ritual to sort of dance around these different ideas until the season it right. You have to live it, carry those thoughts with you and then when you sit to play them, you let ’em loose! Whether you come out with a song or not really depends on how good you were pouncing down on those thoughts.
I’m always cautious of crap! I think way too many artists are too quick to accept their own work. I want it to come naturally, BUT, not all notes are meant to be heard. I also stay conscious of the songs and how they come across from a musicians’ perspective. I don’t want to be too easy, predictable or complicated. I’m always looking to make songs that have classic elements and feel, but somehow change the format of an acceptable “hit song” structure.
K: In your opinion, what is rock n’ roll all about?
BD: Rebellion.
K: You’ve worked with some killer musicians. Who’s currently in the band?
BD: Yeah, our drummer Nathaniel “Teenage” Boggess has been playing with me since summer tour 05′, and we have a great thing, but, he’s really a front man, and he has a big recording project he’s doing now with his own tunes. We’re looking for the next massive killer on the drums to enrapture the “Everybody Gets Laid” fans.
Kyle Lawrence is on bass. He has been a good friend of mine since we were teenagers and even reviewed us when he was in college for his school paper. He also played my early release on his college radio show. He and I moved back to Seattle around the same time, and I was continuing to play with my band in Portland, until my bassist from the Back Down EP (Jonas Greene) couldn’t keep up with the traveling. Kyle offered to play bass and he was just so familiar and in tune with what I’ve been doing all along, that it came very naturally to him. He’s doing a great job and I couldn’t be happier with his work right now. And then there’s me. That’s it. 3-piece baby!
K: What do go for when you play a live show?
BD: It’s a total trance. People don’t believe that, I know, but it’s true. If you can imagine being in one of those souped-up jet fighters, going negative whatever G’s up into the sky, face peeling back, cheeks flapping. What do you think your mind would do? That’s what I’m going through onstage! “Oh, shit!” “This is awesome!” “I could fucking die!”
I try to just let that show with my movements. I just let my legs and fingers do their thing, when I do that, my performance shows how much I’m enthralled with the music. That’s what I’m going for.
K: What’s next for Branden Daniel and Everybody Gets Laid?
BD: We will be recording a new, still-untitled EP this July, at Orbit Audio in Seattle. A lot of shows, some festivals over the summer and a full length West Coast tour in September to promote the ‘Back Down’ EP and pre-promote the new songs off the July recording before it’s released. Should be fun!
Be sure to check out Branden Daniel and Everybody Gets Laid on their upcoming West Coast tour. For more information on Branden Daniel, check out http://www.myspace.com/brandendaniel
About The Author:
Dubbed “The Lone Ranger Of Rock”, Kris Kegley, aka KEG, is the first rock n’ roll artist to sing and play all instruments ENTIRELY by himself live. KEG starts off playing one piece of the song, captures it, and adds more as he sees fit, rapidly ripping into the song in seconds! KEG’s audio and attitude adjoins stripped-down punk with gutsy glam, positioning him as the 21st century revolutionary rock rebel. For free KEG music, visit http://www.kegrocks.com.