~*~ 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 âchillwaveâ, âPC popâ 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: Hendersonâs 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, thereâs a song on the EP called âZaboomafooâ. For those who arenât Canadian, the title is an oath to a show about a puppet lemur and two guys who discover animals. Case in-point.Â
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, youâll 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 âYO! We won!â and I was like âFuck yeah!â 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 donât even know.Â
Are you going to go to Cali?
That would be fucking sick. We could definitely do that with ten thousand dollars for sure. Like, âWeâre going to Barcelona, hell yeah!â I donât know, weâll 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 havenât 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. Heâs like the best person ever, heâs the greatest: heâs a super nice guy and really into finding music that perhaps others havenât found.
Did things sort of blow up after you opened for him?
I got a lot of Twitter followers! *Laughs* Itâs been a steady incline; every show I play with somebody cool, itâs like âOh, fuck, who are you?âÂ
You said you were pretty happy when you conceived âI Appreciate Uâ. 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?Â
[In escaping Kelowna] Maybe a little bit. Definitely. I donât know, it was getting over a girl, and being okay with it. You know what: Iâve got great friends, and theyâre 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 wasnât so serious, dark and heavy. That stuffâs 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: weâre okay now. Itâs 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. Nobodyâs got shit and you canât hide anywhere, itâs 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 canât handle it. I have to go into a corner. I canât do it; itâs a weird environment. Whenever I go out, Iâd definitely rather be at home, just hanging and doing nothing.Â
Itâs like you have to be as intoxicated as the people around you to enjoy it.
Yeah, it just scares me! Itâs like, people fucking scare me! You canât interact or have a conversation. See, I donât even have that problem in terms of being a woman, or smaller: Iâm just white, male, average height: It still scares the shit out of me. Iâd rather do something else. Iâd rather not be in a warm room with a bunch of people that I donât know that are really drunk and shit. My room and my bed is where Iâm strongest, in life. Itâs comfy, itâs warm: I can do stuff on my computer.
3 artists you canât get enough of at the moment?
Hitmane, heâs 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, theyâre a cool record label from Vancouver. Project Pablo: heâs Montreal-based, super funky, lo-fi house: itâs 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 dudeâs that Iâve 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 didnât do any playing, but I was like, co-suggesting and just chilling, saying: âDo this, try thisâ.
Whatâs 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 didnât know what he was doing. Now? I sort of get it. I donât have my mic game up. I canât do that, you know âWhatâs up guys, you ready?!â I canât do that shit.
Iâll be your MC.
Yes. Youâre hired. âWhatâs up motherfuckers, you ready to get down?â Nah, I know what Iâm doing more. Figuring out how to read a crowd, and if theyâre having a fun time.
Current celeb crush at the moment?
Celeb crush? Ryan Hemsworth, a hundred percent. Heâs my man crush.
If James Deen wasnât making dope beats, what would he be doing?
I donât know. I work in retail right now, folding clothes. Iâd probably be skateboarding and being an asshole. Probably. Thereâs a 75 percent chance. Itâs 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 Iâve 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. Itâs always a club, so itâs weird.
Kind of awkward.
Thatâs so funny that you said that, because Rook Milo just called and heâs like âCan I put my Mom and a few friends of mine on the guestlist?â and I was like,âYeah, fuck yeah! That sounds sick!â Well, itâs 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 theyâre dope, Josiah at Exclaim! Hitmane from the Netherlands. Ryan Hemsworth, whatâs up? Will aka Deebs, big shoutout to him. Shoutout to Nathan, Kali; that dudeâs sick, Jade Statues is dope, heâs the bomb, and who else? Sad Photography; theyâre going to be the best Vancouver band if they keep going, a hundred percent, so good. Holly waâI donât 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. Thatâs pretty much it. Subconsciously rip off melodies from Ocarina of Time soundtrack. I think Iâve done that a few times, actually.
