“The studio and live are definitely two entities that both have to be indulged in deeply in order to find one’s voice,” Canning founder Ricky Canning says in an exclusive interview with Happy Mag.
Canning treated us all to the bread and butter of classic rock earlier this month with the single Shortline. With its screechy vocals, thrashing guitar riffs and doo-wop harmonies, Shortline leaves no rock stone unturned, and stands as a testament to Canning’s collective mastery of their instruments.
Composed of bandmates Ricky Canning, Fritz Armstrong and Tom Miller, Canning was born from the Chicago rock scene, but has since treated Bay Area audiences to its stellar live performances, too. Below, Happy Mag caught up with founding member Ricky Canning for a chat on all things Shortline, the thrill of a packed audience, and all the new exciting projects in the wings. Scroll down for our full interview with Canning, and head here to listen to Shortline.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
CANNING: Been working on a festival audio design and importing some song files into Rekordbox. Did a bit of cooking also…good day so far.
HAPPY: Where’s home, and what’s the music scene like in your neck of the woods?
CANNING: Home is currently in the Bay Area but travel back and forth from Chicago every month. The music scene in Chicago is always thriving with its diversity and ever willingness to dig deeper to better oneself musically because the amount of talent in that city is just amazing.
HAPPY: Tell us about your average day.
CANNING: My days are rather different but always include pushing forward in terms of the audio and music worlds.
HAPPY: What about your ultimate day?
CANNING: Playing on stage always becomes an ultimate day!
HAPPY: Tell us about your musical journey. How did you get started in music and what inspired you to pursue a career as a musician?
CANNING: As a child there was a piano in the house, always enjoyed noodling on it. That later turned into a want to play the guitar. Took a few lessons at a local music store and had a friend show me some chords and riffing …the rest is history.
HAPPY: Who are some artists or bands that have inspired you, and how have they influenced your music?
CANNING: Led Zeppelin was definitely a trigger for playing the guitar. Fell in love with the acoustical aspect of Led Zeppelin III. Still to this day I write most of the songs on an acoustical guitar.
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HAPPY: Congrats on Shortline! Tell us about it. Spill the deets on the track’s vibe and the story behind it.
CANNING: Shortline has been around for a while but had a different incarnation when Tom and I played it in a band we had called Mos Isley a long, long time ago. The chorus always kept coming around in my head so I decided to rework it a bit…turned more into a bluesy song. Definitely a bit different for Canning but we thoroughly enjoy the change of vibe.
HAPPY: The lyrics of Shortline deal with themes of hiding truths and burying one’s free will. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind these themes or what kind of personal experiences inspired the lyrics?
CANNING: Lyrics are something that takes a lot of energy for me to write…either the pen flows freely or I have to dig really deep. The energy spent always seems to be the same though. Shortline is not a song about actually hiding or free will, but about the understanding of what’s inside. A reality one wants to and needs to confront, something we all have to face at some point. As for personal experiences, I prefer to allow the listener to find a connection that makes the experience of the music sonically and lyrically their own.
HAPPY: What was the recording process like for Shortline?
CANNING: It was wonderful. We walked into our studio for rehearsal and hit the record button. Lately we’ve been really into tracking the songs in a live setting which includes the guitar solos. We track a bunch of takes over a few weeks then choose the one to move forward with. Vocals are then tracked per the usual. I do remember a copy and paste being made for one guitar chord sliding down at the start of the solo since it just made sense.
HAPPY: You cite a wide range of influences, from Bjork to The Allman Brothers. How do these diverse inspirations influence your songwriting process?
CANNING: My ears are always open to harmonic progressions and melodies from any style of music. It’s always interesting to hear another instrument playing a progression in your head that your ears are hearing. A lot of times it’s the energy that come across that influences a direction.
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HAPPY: Shortline seems like a perfect fit for a live performance, with its thrashing guitar riffs and rowdy final bridge. How important is the live experience to the band?
CANNING: Live is where it’s at for us, always the most enjoyable since a song can take over at any time in a moment. Hence the excitement.
HAPPY: Canning has been described as a “live band.” Can you discuss your experiences performing live and how it informs your approach to music-making?
CANNING: The studio and live are definitely two entities that both have to be indulged in deeply in order to find one’s voice…both are essential to build the whole. Live is simply where our journey began so to us it’s always been at the forefront, but we’re always trying to capture that energy on tape.
HAPPY: Shortline features impressive guitar work from bandmates Ricky Canning and Fritz Armstrong. How does the band approach instrumentation and musical arrangements?
CANNING: Ricky is the main songwriter. Fritz and Tom are great with dynamic and melodic approaches so the end idea comes rather naturally after the basic structure is presented. There’s always space for each member to contribute their heart, then there’s times we really dig in to make a specific attack or feeling happen. Fritz has an amazing ear so he can come up with really interesting vocal harmonies and bass melodies. Tom was a singer at one point which makes his drumming very expressive.
HAPPY: With over 100 live shows under your belt, what have been some of the most memorable moments in your career so far?
CANNING: After a while it all melds into one because the most memorable moments are just simply being on stage together.
HAPPY: What’s coming up in your world? Any gigs, tours, or exciting projects on the horizon that we should be pumped about?
CANNING: Finally getting back to working on the next batch of singles…rather excited about that. This batch is gonna be really dynamic between the song styles which is hella fun!
HAPPY: And lastly, what makes you happy?
CANNING: Waking up every morning and having the opportunity to keep pushing forward musically, the sun and flamenco.