Interview: Brandon Graham of Dream Phases
Interview: Brandon Graham of Dream Phases
Brandon Graham, Dream Phases’ singer, guitarist and songwriter, would have fit in nicely with the late 60s and 70’s Laurel Canyon scene. You can hear the essence of The Byrds, The Mamas and the Papas, and other Southern California groups from that period in his music. Since the age of 15 when Brandon got his first guitar, he developed his own playing style, bucking formal training in favor of learning from his garage-band guitarist dad. Dream Phases is about to release their second album New Distractions.
Cook: Please tell us where you and brother Shane (drums) grew up?
Graham: We grew up in Southern California, just north of the San Fernando valley in Santa Clarita. Most people know of Santa Clarita either for Magic Mountain or Cal Arts.
I’m amazed to hear that you didn’t care much for learning other people’s songs. There has to have been something you played in those learning years. Led Zep? The Who?
Definitely would have loved to work in the studio with Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher. I’ll toss in Brian Wilson and the wrecking crew, too.
Ha. I definitely learned some songs and riffs that my Dad would teach me, but I got frustrated pretty quickly, and wanted to write my own songs. I had already loved writing little stories since I was a kid so I was intrigued to put that to music. In high school, I learned a ton of Beatles and Nirvana songs.
Definitely would have loved to work in the studio with Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher. I’ll toss in Brian Wilson and the wrecking crew, too.
What High School did you attend?
Shane and I both went Valencia High School, but I graduated from Bowman High School. I had a great art teacher and creative writing teacher at that school that really inspired me.
It was hanging out in garages getting stoned listening to albums with friends.
What were your early teen music hangouts in LA.?
I started playing in punk bands in high school, and we played backyard parties. There wasn’t anywhere for younger bands to play, except an American legion hall that hosted a few shows. Other than that, it was hanging out in garages getting stoned listening to albums with friends.
What about some of your earliest concerts that made the biggest impressions on you?
The first concert I went to with friends while I was in high school was All Tomorrow’s Parties at UCLA. Sonic Youth was the headliner and they curated the lineup. It was awesome, and I fell in love with Stereolab at that show as well. I have a vivid memory of Shane and I sneaking into the Castaic Lake Love Ride concert to see BB King as well. That was great.
Ever meet any of your music and guitar heroes?
I got to hang out and work with Tom Petty several times when I was playing with a band that he essentially mentored and produced. He isn’t a guitar hero of mine, but a major music hero for both his songwriting and for what he represented. He was genuine, super cool, and had the best stories.
If you could play with another musician, dead or alive, who might that be?
That’s a tricky one as I’m pretty content with the musicians I play with or have played with, but I really like Danny Whitten, who played and sung with Neil Young. Maybe Gene Clark. Definitely would have loved to work in the studio with Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher. I’ll toss in Brian Wilson and the wrecking crew too.
It was hanging out in garages getting stoned listening to albums with friends.
Do you recall your first song?
Like the first song I wrote? I vaguely do actually, at least a bit of the riff in it. I don’t think I ever recorded it, because that was before I had a four-track. Probably was awful, too, and good I can’t really remember it!
Maybe an extraterrestrial from another dimension is trying to communicate something to me and I think it’s a song.
What inspires you in creating a new song? Is it the riff? A mood or central idea? A line of lyrics?
It usually comes simultaneously, as far as the chords, melody, and lyrics are concerned. I’ll be strumming or picking out something on guitar, and then a rough melody and lyric idea will come. I just keep chiseling away until I create something that resembles a song. As for what inspires that, I wish I knew. Maybe an extraterrestrial from another dimension is trying to communicate something to me and I think it’s a song.
What about being in your first band, as well as official first gig? Was it a victory or a nightmare? What kind of music did you play?
Well, the first show I ever played inside a ‘venue’ was this all-ages place in the San Fernando Valley. It was called the Cobalt Café, I don’t think it exists anymore. I think the band was called Blue Casket or something dumb like that. I do believe someone’s parent filmed a VHS of it.
Tell us about your brother Shane. He started playing drums a year or so after you began playing guitar. Do you usually get along or agree on music for Dream Phases, and in general?
Yes. That sounds about right. It was pretty soon after I started playing guitar. He was smarter and immediately learned a bunch of other bands’ songs and learned some technique through that. Our music tastes overlap pretty significantly, so we share a lot in common with influences and taste. For the most part we agree on a lot of stuff– but not always. It’s become more of a collaboration over the years and I think, most importantly, we both put the song first at this point.
Maybe an extraterrestrial from another dimension is trying to communicate something to me and I think it’s a song.
What’s it like touring and being a session musician for other bands?
I love touring and also love recording, probably even more than touring actually. I love being in the studio and creating. It’s hard to generalize those two things though, because it is vastly different depending on what band or people I am working with. Sometimes it’s the easiest thing and other times its tough and like pulling teeth. It’s the most fun with my band I’d say, but I do really enjoy helping other artists realize their music and lending whatever I have to offer to make that happen. Most of the people I play with nowadays are friends, so that makes it special, especially when touring and traveling together. Shared experiences.
My overall goal is to create something that sounds classic while trying to push the influences into new territory.
I was recently listening to your former group Nacosta. You can hear the beginnings of D.P.’s sound. How would you describe the Dream Phases sound ?
There are definitely moments on the Nacosta stuff that signal where we’d be going with Dream Phases. We completed a second album, as well, that is still unreleased. I think the sound on this new record is evolving from the previous one, but my overall goal is to create something that sounds classic while trying to push the influences into new territory. Trippy, fuzzy, folky music. Cloudgazing. Moongazing. (laughs)
When did you meet the fantastic Keveen Baudouin ?
We met Keveen almost a decade ago. He recently had moved to Los Angeles and he answered an ad we had up looking for someone for Nacosta. He played in that band as well.
I heard that you have quite a nice guitar/equipment collection. How do you decide which guitars to use as the principal sound for a new LP? What are your other main grabs when writing a song?
Yeah. I have a problem when it comes to gear….I usually gravitate to whatever guitar or bass is closest to me when inspiration hits, be it my Yamaha acoustic or often an unplugged hollow body guitar. When it comes to recording though I definitely think way more about the sound of that particular guitar and the sound I’m trying to get. I use several guitars to layer and blend together on songs as well.
My overall goal is to create something that sounds classic while trying to push the influences into new territory.
You toured Europe right before the pandemic hit. How did that go?
It was great. I was there back to back with three bands: Levitation Room, then Dream Phases, and then Sugar Candy Mountain. It was nice to see how Germany celebrates Christmas. There was zero indication or news about COVID at that time. I was pretty burned out by the end though.
How many phases does D.P. have do you think?.. Indefinite?
Hopefully many! I want to try to keep pushing it in different directions for as long as we can or as long as we are able to. Life just keeps evolving and changing, and that gets talked about and represented in the music.
What’s been the most fun so far with doing live shows?
The most fun so far has been the actually creating, the writing and recording of the music followed by the shows and touring. A highlight was definitely the show at the Bisbee Royale. That was a special night.
Everyone is coming to grips with the shared bad trip of 2020-21. How are you feeling right now about things? Are there any current plans, thoughts of touring in the states or Europe?
It’s really hard to say, especially with this Delta variant going around. Our European agent asked us about Fall 2023 in Europe, but it’s so far off. I want to go back next year. We’d definitely like to tour the States next year as well.
“Helen Highway” Did you direct the video? What was the theme of it?
I did– actually co-directed with my buddy Richard Auxilio, who creates a lot of our art. About not forgetting who you are and the big goals you had earlier in life. Not to say we don’t change and our goals don’t change because they constantly do, but try not to shut out the adventurous creative side, which becomes harder and harder to prioritize as we get older.
Do you enjoy directing band videos? Have you done others or is this your first?
I really enjoyed it and will be co-directing our new video for our song ‘Post TV’. I’m always pretty involved in our videos but that was the first one that I led. It was super fun.
How did your first live show feel to everyone after 18 months?
I was honestly super jittery and nervous that day leading right up to the performance. After a song or two I got lost in it, but had a few moments of looking at the audience and thinking, ‘Alright, this is what this feels like. I remember.
Do you have a favorite of your new songs? One that really is the most personal or pleasing?
I really feel “Shortcuts” hits me emotionally.
Yeah. That is one of my favorite ones too– from the new album. That was written right after I had watched the Last Picture Show. It has some lines directly influenced by a night walking around my neighborhood with some of my bandmates after leaving a late night house party. “Temple of Sin” is another one from the new record that I dig, as well as “Don’t Forget Love”.
How do you approach the other band members with new music? Do you just play it without explanation?
I use to do that, but now I usually make my own home demo first with a lot of ideas fleshed out and the lyrics most written so I can send them those. We talk sometimes about what the songs mean, but I think the guys mostly respond to the melodies and the overall vibe of the song.
What was the toughest part of making of this 12 song album?
Well, it was different in that we recorded most of the album away from each other and then we would send our parts to each other and build them that way. It wasn’t tough–just a new approach. The toughest part is waiting so long for the album to come out.
Lay down, put on some vibey lights, and listen to it with headphones.
What would be your ultimate goal with Dream Phases?
Well, it’s a personal goal and a band goal, but to eventually have a fully functioning commercial recording studio with all the gear I always obsess over. I’d like to be able to record the full band without any budget or time concerns in a cool vibey place. Also, to produce friends’ bands. Furthermore, to tour a lot of places I haven’t been previously and to continue growing our audience and putting out better records than the last one.Is there anything else you’d like to say about the creation of New Distractions?
Lay down, put on some vibey lights, and listen to it with headphones.
Thank you, Brandon and Dream Phases, for keeping the new California music alive and well!
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