~*~ Q & A : James Deen ~*~
Brennan Henderson is the boy-wonder behind musical project James Deen. By now, you should know we are not referring to the porn star, although we can dream of the day some nice-looking DJ fellow decides to play naked at Electric Daisy Carnival.
Call it “chillwave”, “PC pop” or whatever new category has spawned within the last 5 years or so: the point is, Henderson has now surpassed all those grey genre areas that most artists will jump through, trying to find their own unique aesthetic and style which pleases them. In short: Henderson’s latest release, I Appreciate U, is get-happy electronic dance music. Pack 1000 doges, your GameBoy Advance (cue Yoshi chirps) and cruise the Wiishop channel on a sunny afternoon with dabs of violin and breezy synths.
For goodness sake, there’s a song on the EP called “Zaboomafoo”. For those who aren’t Canadian, the title is an oath to a show about a puppet lemur and two guys who discover animals. Case in-point.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Brennan (on a bicycle rack) outside the venue for the release party of I Appreciate U. (Before you read on, you’ll want to get to know the 101 on this Kelowna-native here)
W00t! Congrats on your Telus-sponsored $10k grant! What were the first thoughts going through your mind when you found out? How does the collective @ ROOM feel? Will/have you all celebrated yet?
I danced. That was the first thing I did. I was actually at work and somebody messaged me like “YO! We won!” and I was like “Fuck yeah!” I put on this one song that I love, and danced to it for an hour. It was Luv by uv boi. And they [ROOM] are all really stoked because they just won ten thousand dollars. Fuck, I don’t even know.
Are you going to go to Cali?
That would be fucking sick. We could definitely do that with ten thousand dollars for sure. Like, “We’re going to Barcelona, hell yeah!” I don’t know, we’ll find out.
So tell us: How bouts did you get in contact/subsequently swap selfies with fellow Canadian Ryan Hemsworth?
He hit me up last June about Secret Songs, and he talked about doing it, I haven’t got one yet. He came through in November, and it was his tour so he got to pick everyone, and he picked Rook Milo and me. I cried a little bit. It was awesome. He’s like the best person ever, he’s the greatest: he’s a super nice guy and really into finding music that perhaps others haven’t found.
Did things sort of blow up after you opened for him?
I got a lot of Twitter followers! *Laughs* It’s been a steady incline; every show I play with somebody cool, it’s like “Oh, fuck, who are you?”
You said you were pretty happy when you conceived “I Appreciate U”. SPILL THE BEANS. What was happening at the time? Are there any particular moments that inspired certain songs? Was it finally escaping Kelowna, BC? Perhaps, this is all dedicated a special someone?
[In escaping Kelowna] Maybe a little bit. Definitely. I don’t know, it was getting over a girl, and being okay with it. You know what: I’ve got great friends, and they’re all super nice and they make me happy. It was mainly about them, cuz my friends are sweet so… That was pretty much it--I just wanted to make happy dance music that wasn’t so serious, dark and heavy. That stuff’s cool, but it gets really slow. I want people to either not know how to dance or dance super hyped. No, it was not dedicated to a special someone. Me and the girl though: we’re okay now. It’s all good.
Smash Brothers Melee: In terms of aesthetic and playability wise: Hyrule Temple or Fountain of Dreams?
Oh god, dang it. Hyrule Temple is so hard! Well, I like Final Destination. Playing field is even; matched. Nobody’s got shit and you can’t hide anywhere, it’s just flat, floating in the middle of nowhere. Final Destination: a hundred percent.
True or false: James Deen would, in fact, rather be playing Zelda than be at the club 10/10 times.
A hundred percent.
Apparently the club scares you. Considering you play to a club crowd more often than not, care to go more in-depth?
I have weird social anxiety a lot of the times with a lot of people in a room that are just drunk and I can’t handle it. I have to go into a corner. I can’t do it; it’s a weird environment. Whenever I go out, I’d definitely rather be at home, just hanging and doing nothing.
It’s like you have to be as intoxicated as the people around you to enjoy it.
Yeah, it just scares me! It’s like, people fucking scare me! You can’t interact or have a conversation. See, I don’t even have that problem in terms of being a woman, or smaller: I’m just white, male, average height: It still scares the shit out of me. I’d rather do something else. I’d rather not be in a warm room with a bunch of people that I don’t know that are really drunk and shit. My room and my bed is where I’m strongest, in life. It’s comfy, it’s warm: I can do stuff on my computer.
3 artists you can’t get enough of at the moment?
Hitmane, he’s the best. Tennyson, cuz I love him--I met him at Basscamp. I always get asked this question and never know what to say... But in general; 1080p collection, they’re a cool record label from Vancouver. Project Pablo: he’s Montreal-based, super funky, lo-fi house: it’s really good.
How was Basscamp and your experience? What did you get out of it?
In terms of anything I got out of it publication-wise, it came through Basscamp. With Exclaim! I met the writer there, and dude’s that I’ve made remixes through, from there; it hits off. It was amazing, it was really sweet. Pomo and Tennyson came out with a remix not too long ago, that one by Darius: we worked on it for like 10 hours. I didn’t do any playing, but I was like, co-suggesting and just chilling, saying: “Do this, try this”.
What’s your position in regards to your stage presence? Do you feel somewhat of a different person when you play? What in your self-reflection has fundamentally changed from your very first show?
I probably have a bigger stage presence now because I was a little idiot who didn’t know what he was doing. Now? I sort of get it. I don’t have my mic game up. I can’t do that, you know “What’s up guys, you ready?!” I can’t do that shit.
I’ll be your MC.
Yes. You’re hired. “What’s up motherfuckers, you ready to get down?” Nah, I know what I’m doing more. Figuring out how to read a crowd, and if they’re having a fun time.
Current celeb crush at the moment?
Celeb crush? Ryan Hemsworth, a hundred percent. He’s my man crush.
If James Deen wasn’t making dope beats, what would he be doing?
I don’t know. I work in retail right now, folding clothes. I’d probably be skateboarding and being an asshole. Probably. There’s a 75 percent chance. It’s either that, or probably going to school, doing some other artistic field. But this is more fun.
Do you draw or do any paintings?
Sometimes. I shoot photos n shit, but I’ve never gotten super serious about it; it would be in two month phases.
Has any of your family members seen you live?
My parents have a couple times in Kelowna, but not here. It’s always a club, so it’s weird.
Kind of awkward.
That’s so funny that you said that, because Rook Milo just called and he’s like “Can I put my Mom and a few friends of mine on the guestlist?” and I was like,“Yeah, fuck yeah! That sounds sick!” Well, it’s not like 303 is Celebrities or Fortune.
Any shoutouts?
All the homies: Rook Milo, Tails, Kyross for playing tonight. Jason at 303, all my friends because they’re dope, Josiah at Exclaim! Hitmane from the Netherlands. Ryan Hemsworth, what’s up? Will aka Deebs, big shoutout to him. Shoutout to Nathan, Kali; that dude’s sick, Jade Statues is dope, he’s the bomb, and who else? Sad Photography; they’re going to be the best Vancouver band if they keep going, a hundred percent, so good. Holly wa—I don’t know.
Take this as seriously or not: What do I have to do to be the next James Deen?
*Laughs* Uh, make super mediocre music. That’s pretty much it. Subconsciously rip off melodies from Ocarina of Time soundtrack. I think I’ve done that a few times, actually.
