A Quick Chat with Shannon Smith
Shannon Smith's latest single 'Every Single Day' is a cozy pop-folk and alt-country tune that blends soul, pop, and folk-rock. This Western Australian artist has already made a global impact, collaborating with Grammy-nominated artists and earning accolades from the Euro Music Video Awards and the European Cinefest Golden Nika Awards. Known for his chart-topping debut 'Dance The Night Away,' Shannon weaves cheerful piano, groovy bass, and sweet duet vocals into 'Every Single Day,' a song that celebrates the everyday magic of love and the resilience it brings. We caught up with Shannon to find out more about the track, his influences and more.
Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?
This song is essentially about meeting my partner, Helen Townsend. I had two long term relationships previously and wasn’t sure, to some degree, about starting another. But we just clicked! We’ve been through some crazy ups and gut-wrenching downs through our relationship. We’ve released 7 alternating singles and music videos to date telling the story! We’ve actually made those music videos into a short film which is doing the film festivals right now. This song “Every Single Day” is the last of these releases, and it celebrates the love we have. For me, its not always about the grand gestures of love, but the everyday things we can sometimes take for granted. It’s those little things that make me fall in love with her over and over again.
Who are some of the band's influences, and why?
My influences initially come from my musical parents and extended family. All professional gigging musicians in Sydney through the lates 60s and into the 80’s, their love of strong musical arrangements and harmonies, definitely rubbed off on me. From The Beatles, Steely Dan, The Eagles, 10CC, America, Stevie Wonder all the way through to the likes of Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd. My taste of music has obviously grown as I have. Hard Rock and metal as a teenager, loving Cold Chisel, Guns and Roses, Metallica, Megadeth, Nirvana, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Then to great songwriters like Neil Finn, James Taylor, John Lennon (Solo), Elliot Smith. Then when I met Helen, she introduced me to “good” country music and opened my eyes to Americana.
I love the authenticity, storytelling and feel of Americana, the way your body and soul moves with groove & funk, and the melodies and harmonies of the early 70’s. I feel this comes through in my songs.
What's the creative process for the band, from writing through to recording?
This release and the upcoming album were written by me, with several written with Helen Townsend. Early pre-production was with our keyboard player at the time, Phil Richardson, an unbelievable musician and even better human! I then went into Sundown Studios (WA) where we further developed the feel and arrangements before recording with some of the best! Ben Franc (The Waifs), Dan Carroll (Southern River Band), Phil Richardson (UK) and Elliot Smith (The Chemist).
It was after I recorded the songs that I put the band together. Since then, I have written another couple of songs, and we have basically jammed on it and developed it in the rehearsal studio.
What do you think makes a great song?
Overall, I would say authenticity! Having real emotion, a strong story and strong melody in a song will always play well in my books. But it really depends on the mood I’m in. Sometimes a dirty guitar riff and thumping rhythm section will get me going!!
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
If we are talking about a dream collaboration it would be Paul McCartney. He wrote the soundtrack to my life. The way melodies roll from his tongue, his arrangements and his wealth of experience would be an absolute dream come true. Just look at his collabs with other artists, that says it all.
When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?
Not a lot of time to do anything creative outside of music at the moment. Nothing at least that feeds the soul. Creating content and video clips and the like is all very creative and I can get pretty focused on it, but its not what I would choose to do if I had spare time. If I had some time for myself right now, it would be in a log cabin, somewhere in the South West bush, reading books, writing poetry and taking long treks along the Donnelly river.
Who are some local bands we should check out?
This may sound biased as I play in my partners band too, but truly you need to check out Helen Townsend and The Wayward hearts. Her new album that’s dropping in August is SOOOO GOOD.
Other WA bands that are killing it are The Little Lord Street Band, The Frauds, Helen Shanahan band, The Adjustments… There’s so many in WA right now.
Winter or summer and why?
Summer, I love the warmth and the outdoors. Swimming at the beach, music festivals, the general vibe around Freo in Summer is too good!
What else do you have planned for 2024?
I’ll be touring with The Wayward Hearts through August and September and then releasing my debut album later in the year and looking to tour that too!
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