Call Me Cannon is a musical trio with a mission to ‘do what we want as long as it rocks’, consists of Michael Fitz, Jonathan Clark, and Tony Brock.
They return with their latest offering of ‘Circles’ that is full of energetic smoothness over the indie-rock tendencies that will strike the listener from the first note.
“‘Circles’ is a song about the relationship between the physical world and the metaphysical world and how they are connected.” - Call Me Cannon comments on the track.
We sat down with Call Me Cannon to discuss their music and much more. Here’s what the band had to say:
Hey, Call Me Cannon, welcome to FLEX! How are you?
We’re doing great. Glad to be here talking to FLEX and being a part of the good work you are doing.
Congratulations on your new single ‘Circles’ - what inspired this particular song?
When I was 22 I worked on an offshore oil rig it is an interesting life because you are on land in the real world for a period of time and then you are out in the middle of the ocean for a period of time so you have 2 distinct lives rather than one continuous life. It is hard for a young man with so much vigor and it changes you in many ways, not always for the best. So I spent many nights thinking about how my life goes back and forth without continuity and wondering about the significance of it all. An offshore oil rig is a loud belching machine juxtaposed with a beautiful serene and oftentimes angry sea smothered by an endless sky. This experience had me wondering how seemingly opposite forces can be so connected yet discrete. On clear nights I would sneak up to the Heliport to play my guitar and write songs. I could feel the rig sway as the waves of the ocean would ebb in and out and I would observe the stars and the circular motion of the moon around me. I began to enmesh myself in these surroundings and came to partially understand these energies and I began to see them as a form of love. A love that connects, destroys and renews; A circle just like the life I was living. While pondering such things my hands fell onto a little guitar riff that went from an A minor 9 interval to a C major +9 interval. It felt true and before long I had written the song Circles.
And do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
Actually, nowadays I just need time. If I have time alone to fiddle around, usually a melody will pop out and that melody will then create the mood. Often, when I write I don’t even know what it is about until I am knee-deep in it. (When I was young I would write a song and then live the song years later. It is an eery moment to realize that what you are going through in the present is what you wrote about in the past). Now, due to life experience, I understand what is coming out a lot quicker. It hits me like lightning and then usually the rest appears pretty quickly. In the last several songs I have written, I used what I call extemporaneous expulsion where I put a mic in front of me after I have the song started and just sing whatever comes out. This usually gives me plenty to work with and I can go back and clean it up. It sure beats the old way I used to write; with pencil and paper and counting syllables and stressing over one word for days. I guess this change in writing style probably goes back to not having enough time to properly torture myself anymore.
How was the recording and writing process?
The recording process was fantastic! Jonathan and Tony are such amazing musicians they instantly understand the song and what to do with it. For me, I am at the point in my life where I only want to do the things I enjoy and I enjoy writing and singing and playing guitar. Jonathan is an amazing guitarist, bass, and keyboardist he can do anything. On top of that, he is an incredible producer… When I met Jonathan he made me feel so at ease. Music should sound effortless and Jonathan and Tony certainly made it feel effortless for me. I wanted our music to groove hard and deep in the pocket and so we recorded Jonathan on bass and Tony on drums live together in the studio and then added vocals and everything else later. A hybrid approach of how they used to do it and how most musicians do it now. Their live connection grounds the music and gives it an honesty that I love. Tony is such an intuitive drummer he makes everyone around him better.
For viewers that don’t know Call Me Cannon, how would you describe your sound?
Our sound is a whirling, frothing bottom of rocking goodness topped with silky smooth vocals and exuberant hooks.
And what are some of those activities that you engage yourself in when you aren't writing or recording in the studio?
My daughter lost her mom two years ago and as a result, I have become a bit of a health nut so I do either HIIT training, Hot Vinyasa Yoga, Run, or bike almost every day. I live on the edge of a national forest so I can say that most days I see more hawks than people so I hope we can get out and tour soon so I can start seeing more people.