We sit down with Dana Janssen and a cup of coffee to talk about the dance moves of Justin Timberlake, Chaos theory and the home life of Akron/Family.
Dana Janssen: I’ve found that in countries outside the US, where coffee isn’t exactly the highest priority, I take sugar. I usually don’t take sugar.
BCR: I know that you’re big espresso fans…
DJ: That’s true...
BCR: Is that what helps with the strange, arduous way in which you record?
DJ: Ha, yes… it does actually… The last record was a lot of stove top espresso.
BCR: How did you approach Meek warrior?
DJ: Haphazardly, at best. We were on tour in Canada from Vancouver to Halifax, with a dip down through Chicago and wotnot. It was February and we had no heat in the van. Really cold. By the time we got to Chicago to record we were all sick, very sick. We woke up in the street – we slept in the van on the street - we woke up, went in and did ten hours, drove away, played a show. The same the next day – drove away played a show. And that was the bulk of it, those two days. We had two days to say everything on that record. Then we drove to Toronto and did some overdubs. That was pretty much the entire process for Meek Warrior.
Akron Family Dana Janssen
BCR: Was Ryan still part of that?
DJ: Uh huh, he was also with us for Love Is Simple. He left in June in New York.
BCR: why did he leave?
DJ: He wanted to be, and is, a practising Buddhist and he wanted to dedicate more of his time. Being in a band, obviously at the rate we were going, you’re on the road a lot and it’s very difficult to maintain any consistency. You get something set up and two weeks later you have to go again. It was a bit much for him, he couldn’t really handle it, being on the road. He wasn’t happy. It’s good - he’s happy. It’s mutually beneficial – he’s happy where he is and we’re happy where we are. He’s a friend and we’d rather see him happy than miserable.
BCR: There seems to be a thematic of religion that runs through the music. Are you all particularly religious?
DJ: No… The other two fellahs are both Buddhists as well and I guess I’m the only one that remains unaffiliated… I don’t claim atheism but I don’t practice any religion. I have my own views on spirituality and how things work and wotnot. But it’s much more science oriented. It’s just... It’s an easy topic to sing about and a lot of times when they write it comes from the heart and it’s true. It’s something they like to write about. When Buddhism comes up in songs, like the whole lofty idea of You’re Already Dead [on Love Is Simple], it’s true.
