Fresh off the release of their latest video for Heartbeat Highway, we sit down with Cannons to delve into the creative process behind their fourth album. From the inspiration for their music to the adventures on the road, the band shares their unique journey, offering a glimpse into the making of their latest record and what the future holds for this dynamic trio.
Cannons Interview | Student Pocket Guide
Hey, Cannons! What a pleasure it is to chat with you – let’s get straight into things! Your official video for Heartbeat Highway has just been published. What a wonderful song and accompanying video! There are just so many amazing comments on YouTube, from Cannons being the most underrated and best band on the planet to many people saying this song relaxes them and helps with anxiety. How do you feel when you listen back to this record?
Thank you for having us and for such kind words! We definitely feel a great sense of accomplishment with this album. It was the first album we wrote in the pockets of our breaks back home while touring heavily. Our goal was to take all the experiences we gained on the road and encapsulate them into an album as well as experiment with our sound and songwriting process a bit more which we ended up doing on this record.
Heartbeat Highway is the title of your new album, can you tell us more about what the album represents?
This album represents the willingness to follow your heart wherever it may lead you in life and in our case, following our hearts has led us to the road to share our music around the world this past year which has been a truly incredible experience so far for us that we are beyond grateful for.
How does this fourth album differ from the rest?
I think the fourth album differs in the aspect that we have had major life-changing experiences since the previous album and more stories to tell as well as the opportunity to get in the studio with a few different writers and producers for a couple of the songs which was something we have never done before this album. It’s not always easy to change the way things have been done for a decade but I’m really proud of us for going into this whole experience looking to grow and try new ways of creating together.
Talk to us about your tour please, you’ve been really busy performing across the US, Japan, and Australia and are heading to Europe next year – what is life like for the band on the road? Are you soaking up a lot of new cultures?
Life on the road has been a wonderful experience. We travelled outside of the US for the first time this year to play shows and it was very surreal to see people so far away from home welcoming us into their country so kindly and singing every single word of our songs, connecting so deeply to our music. I just remember looking out into the crowd knowing no one, yet feeling like I knew every single one of them at the same time. And even though we were so far away from home, they made me feel like I was at home, with a group of people who knew my heart and understood me and I them. It was a really beautiful experience!
I absolutely love your sound and style. Your imagery is also very cool, and the retro vibe reminds me of a movie – have you been binging many movies/series lately, what with all the travelling, and what is your favourite movie?
Lately not too much series binging but as far as favourite movie, mine would be Big Fish. Ryans is the Burbs and Pauls is Good Fellas.
Whilst we’re talking about travel – how much time as a band do you have to see the sites, or is it all music, music, music?
Mostly music, music, music but we were lucky enough to have a few days off in Japan and Australia to explore recently and had an absolute blast roaming around and exploring together!
You’re heading to London, UK, too next year! Have you ever been and what are you most excited about seeing or doing here?
No we have never played out there but can’t wait! I know Ryan is excited to see family and Paul and I are excited to explore since we have never been to Europe!
Can you describe your favourite moment on stage?
So far that would be playing at The Greek Theatre to a sold out audience this past year. It was a very surreal experience to go from first playing a small bar in Santa Clarita when we started as a band to selling out The Greek and having all of our loved ones and fans who have supported us since day one all in one place.
Do you get nervous before gigs? And how do you manage if so / what’s your rider?
A bit of nerves are always there, mostly just excitement mixed with wanting everything to go smoothly! I always request a few minutes to myself in the greenroom before the show so I can meditate and envision everything going well from start to finish and tell myself that this show is going to be the best show we ever played, take a few deep breaths then I’m ready to go!
Our rider is ever changing, but usually some type of protein, veggies, sparkling water, wine for a glass after!
Since your album release is such massive news, let’s do a full circle back to that – what was the writing process like for you for this fourth album, and what inspired you whilst creating it?
For the most part it has stayed rather similar over the years. We all enjoy getting out our initial song ideas privately at home, sending demos back and forth to each other and then when we feel we have something we’re all passionate about we meet up, re-work what we need, flesh out the melodies and lyrics fully and then record. There are a few songs on the album we worked with other writers and producers on and for those songs we came in with some of our demos and ideas then fleshed out the production and or lyrics and melodies together then began to record. A lot of the inspiration on this album came from major life changes and all the touring.
We know you’re obviously very busy touring and promoting the album, but do you ever pause to think about your achievements and soak things up and how do you set your milestones?
We try to celebrate the milestones together and stay mindful of how far we’ve come and where we want to go often. As far as setting milestones though, we really just try to show up and give every opportunity that comes our way our best and keep making sure everything we put out comes from the right place and that seems to keep us hitting new milestones each year!
If we could end the interview by asking what your main aims are for 2024?
Goals for this year is to bring our live show to Europe and make the most of that entire experience as well as put on a really epic show for all the festivals lined up, write more songs that we are proud of that will in turn impact others in a powerful way and just to continue growing together as artists and friends, soaking up this life and all the beautiful experiences were lucky enough to share together.
Cannons Interview | Student Pocket Guide
Cannons upcoming show is taking place at Heaven, London on 19th March – more info here: https://www.songkick.com/concerts/41436752-cannons-at-heaven
