Q: What was your introduction to music? How old were you, and how did it affect you?
A: I got my first guitar for my birthday when I was 5. It was a First Act acoustic with “ROY ROGERS” written all around the body. I also took lessons when I was 8 or so, mostly so I could play “The Saga Begins” by Weird Al. But the real introduction was “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day when I was 10. My best friend, Jacob, showed me it and we just went wild learning everything about Green Day (and there’s a lot to learn). I got a tab book of American Idiot and learned it on my old guitar (from when I was 8), and from then on I just haven’t stopped. As a kid, I was always pretty obsessed with whatever it is that I was into at the time (drawing comics, lego worlds, etc) and my obsession with music just never ended.
Q: Did you grow up in a musical environment?
A: Yes and no. My parents weren’t especially musical, but my dad’s side of the family is. Lots of acoustic guitars at family reunions and holidays, playing classic songs I didn’t know. My grandpop taught my dad a G, C, and D on the guitar because “that’s all you need to play every Hank Williams Sr. song ever.” My mom’s side is also music lovers; my aunt is very into singer-songwriter folk, my uncle is heavy into Bruce Springsteen, my grandma loves 30s swing. That was all very inspirational, just seeing them loving music before I actually saw anyone play it.
Q: What styles of music had the greatest impact on you creatively?
A: Green Day was a pretty big deal, and lots of punk rock and pop punk around them taught me how to play guitar and write songs. You can’t help but strum really hard when you play that stuff, and that’s my first love of music. Hard rock like AC/DC and Guns n’ Roses definitely opened doors for me as well. Big band and hard bop were important too; there’s a lot to learn about not playing in stuff like Count Basie or Miles Davis. You have to decide what’s truly important to play, and not just fun to play. And while you’re learning this, you’re also learning there’s so much stuff that’s possible to play that you’d never thought of before. Learning the way horn parts are written and what makes them tick has completely opened up my guitar playing.
Q: In terms of musical style, how would you categorize yourself?
A: Rock n’ Roll. Jazz. Alternative. Somewhere in a triangle of those three. I write pretty bare-bones songs, we play them like we play jazz, and it comes out sounding like rock. That process amazes me, the way it transforms from in my head, to the way it looks on paper, to how I think of it when we play it, to what it sounds like when we play back the recording. It’s transparently self-expressive, but it doesn’t sound foreign or difficult to understand. We’re working on playing as wide a range of ideas as we can as simply and connected possible.
Q: What was the first song you ever wrote?
A: After discovering Green Day, I remember writing my own songs before I could even play guitar. I always imagined how the guitar parts would sound, and I was excited to learn guitar so I could make it happen. But when I actually started playing, I couldn’t figure out how to make what was in my head! I had no idea about what keys my songs were in anything. I think I have a CD I made during those first few months, with like 5 songs on it. I forget the first one I wrote, but the hit single (with my parents) was definitely “We’re so Sorry to Leave You Behind,” detailing one day after school waiting for a very late bus with a bunch of other kids, only to be saved by my best friend Jacob’s mom, who picked us up and drove both of us home. I try to use that song as a guide now, because I didn’t know about anything I was doing, but I did some nice stuff I still like (not that I’m planning on recording that song anytime soon).
The actual first song I wrote, though, was “Dave,” when I was five. It was all six open strings on the guitar, and lyrics about how I wanted envied my cousin Dave for his name. He actually promised me in 15 years that we could switch names, which should definitely be up now…I’ll have to ask him about that again.
Q: Your music with the Sidemen is wildly eclectic — bits of jazz, alternative, and Motown. How did it all come about?
A: It’s just kinda happened. If anything, we’re trying to become more focused! But those are just the sounds that really reached out to me when I was a kid, and they infect my songwriting. Then when you put the rest of the Sidemen on top of the songs, it opens up even more. We’re definitely still working on truly fusing together all those sounds, and that’s what’s currently driving us forward.
Q: What artists influenced you the most growing up?
A: Obviously Green Day, Guns n’ Roses, and everyone I mentioned earlier. Fall Out Boy was also huge; their first four records are ingrained in my heart. Their attitude, humor, and musicality really grabbed me and my friends in late high school. Since they split up the writing process (Pete Went writes the lyrics freeform and Patrick Stump turns them into songs), there’s a lot of little unique melodies and rhythms that just wouldn’t happen normally. Even their biggest song, “Sugar We’re Going Down,” has a chorus with no consistent rhyming structure. They did little things like that all over the place and they were still very successful. I also was into bands known for being great live bands, like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and My Morning Jacket. There’s an energy on those records that really resonates with me. When I started listening to big bands I started really noticing that energy. I grew up near Washington D.C., so there were a ton of military big bands and groups that involved military players. Those guys are amazing; the Airmen of Note, The Army Blues, Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra. There’s nothing like 17 people all excited to be playing music at the same time together; everyone swings so much harder when they’re together like that. I also can’t not mention Pat Metheny. Those late 80s Pat Metheny Group records are ridiculous; I didn’t even realize I was listening to a guitar for a long time. I definitely strive to be as free as Pat is.
Q: How have you evolved creatively?
A: The Sidemen was originally just me. I wrote the songs, I arranged the music, I produced the recording. That’s the way we did the first EP. With this EP, there’s a lot more people’s perspectives. “Hailstorm Georgia” is cowritten by one of my favorite people ever, Will Jackson, who currently performs in the southeast. The engineer on “We Don’t Wanna Hear About It,” Dhruv Agarwala, had a ton of input on how that song came out. The biggest change for me was my old friend Zach Boucher producing my vocals; I’ve never sounded as good as I do with him helping me. Now that we’ve done an EP with a ton of different people, we’re working on forming a solid group to consistently work together, which I’m super excited about. I’m still just trying to write songs and play guitar the best I can, and I think the Sidemen bring out the best in me.
Q: Who are in the Sidemen and how did you form the group?
A: Many friends have helped me develop and grow the Sidemen to what it is now; the last EP has over 20 credited players. As The Sidemen settle in LA, the lineup has solidified considerably. Sam Ward is the drummer; we both moved to LA in the same week after years of living in Boston at the same time and not knowing each other. He’s very free on the drum set, but he doesn’t let you lose the beat, perfect for improvisation. Alex Gorchesky is the bassist; we knew each other a bit in Boston. He didn’t start playing in the Sidemen till we moved to LA, but goddamn what have we been waiting for. It’s like playing with a piano player (who has incredible low end); he can cover so much ground when he needs to. I can play much simpler (and better) ideas because he can play like a bassist and rhythm guitarist at once seamlessly. While Logan Ivancik has been the sax player recently, he’s going to study at UNT, so we’re still working on our horn lineup. Sam, Alex, and I have a “group” thing going on more than a “solo act with his band” thing, which is incredibly exciting, and very encouraging going forward with the lineup.
Q: Of all the singles you’ve released thus far, which one do you feel captures your vision the best?
A: “Mr. Davis, You’re Famous!” for sure. It’s written as a 40s upbeat swing music number, but it somehow works in a more punk rock context. Tomoki Sanders’ screaming sax solo at the end is my favorite music I’ve ever played. When people hear the term “jazz rock,” they usually think Steely Dan, but “Mr. Davis” sounds more like Green Day and still feels like jazz rock. It’s a song that makes me very excited to continue writing.
Q: Any plans for a full-length release?
A: Oh, there are so many plans. So many, many, many plans. Our first EP was originally a full length, but that plan changed. Most likely, we’re planning another EP with more input from Alex and Sam. We’re trying to ramp up production as much as possible, with more videos as well (especially live-in-the-studio stuff), and begin gigging outside of Los Angeles more. We’ve definitely got plenty of songs to pick from at this point. We originally planned on doing a song release a month, and if met our production schedule we were set through 2019 (that plan has changed too, unfortunately). So there’s definitely plenty of work for us to do and release.
Website:
https://brianmcsheasthesidemen.com
