1. imageOne of the joys of doing this blog is the relationships that get struck between the bands/artists and I. Sometimes its just a tweet here and there, a favourite, a like or a retweet and then sometimes it evolves from “Hey (insert blog name) please post my track” to “Hey Polly, love to know what you think about my new stuff” and thats Shane Conerty aka Color Collage.

    Shane Conerty isn’t a stranger round these parts, I’ve been harping on about his indie remixes for the past year and a half but that was under the moniker Leann Grimes. Now Conerty is taking a step back from the fun and cheeky remix Leann Grimes and concentrating on his own new material, ‘Electronic Doo Wop’ under the guise of Color Collage.

    I chatted to Shane about the name change, his influences, moving to Brooklyn, The Walking Dead and what’s to come from Color Collage in 2013.

    Interview after the jump…



    Now I got to know you as Leann Grimes, why the name change to Color Collage?

    There are definitely a few big reasons.  I can’t deny that Grimes had a lot to with me changing my name.  She exploded right in the middle of me trying to get attention with the LG name, and I was getting Google alerts that were like “Are Grimes and Leann Grimes the same person?”  So instead of being a grump about it and hating on Grimes, I figured I needed a new name.

    Does that mean the remix side of Leann Grimes is over or just on a hiatus?

    I think hiatus is a good way to put it.  I’m focusing on releasing original music currently, and I want to show people that I’m capable of more than remixing indie music. I think that Leann Grimes worked well as a fun moniker for remixing, but admittedly, it’s kind of light-hearted and silly.  I decided on Color Collage because I feel like it describes the genre-melding music I’ve been working on, and it has alliteration.  Who doesn’t like that?  It also gives the artist I work with a lot of freedom and inspiration.  His name is Pen Williamson (www.penwilliamson.com) and he’s great.  Check out his stuff.  

     
    What’s the influence and drive behind the new material like “Safe Truth”?

    With that song in particular, I tried to write in a different way than I usually do.  I made the beat on my computer first, and wrote the song around that.  It’s usually the other way around.  I’ll have something written on guitar and then arrange the song on my computer around the guitar track.  Color Collage is a way for me to get out of my comfort zone with writing.  Lyrically, “Safe Truth” is pretty much like a diary entry ha.  I had left Asheville and was staying in Pittsburgh for a couple months and I wrote it there.  I was really confused and unsure about what my next move was, and it comes through pretty clearly in the song.  Most of my songs are based on personal experiences.  It’s a good way to vent all of the crazy thoughts in my head ha.

    You recently moved to Brooklyn, how’s that been going? Is it a place that helps or hinders creativity?

    It’s great!  I feel really good about being back in New York.  While I was in Pittsburgh, I visited New York for CMJ, and all of my friends here were like “Why the fuck are you in Pittsburgh? Why aren’t you here?” They were right, a few weeks later I moved back. I feel pretty settled now and now I’m focusing on booking some local shows and getting the word out about the name transition. There’s so much stimulation here that it’s easy to get inspired from anything.  It’s helpful for the writing process, for sure.


    You’ve also been part of the band “Now You See Them”, how is the recording/writing process different from working in a band to working on your own?

    It’s funny, because a lot of the songs I’ve been working on are actually songs that NYST used to play at some point.  It’s really fun to revisit them and arrange them with the computer, because I can layer 100 tracks instead of being at the mercy of what 3 people can do in an indie folk trio.  In the band, if one of us wrote a song, we would bring it to the band and then work it all out with the instruments we had.  It’s a liberating feeling to have more options now.  It is kind of lonely doing it all alone, though.  I miss singing with my bandmate, Dulci Ellengerberger.  I learned everything I know about singing from her.  But it’s my hope that living here in Brooklyn will lead me to some other people to play with.

    When you have writer’s block what do you do to get out of it, is there a certain album or song that gets the juices going again?

    Hmm. Well, my favorite songwriter in Conor Oberst. I could gush about him all day long.  I feel like he has grown into this like ambassador that sees all the aspects of modern life and society and puts them into amazing rhyme schemes so effortlessly.  I’m also really into this other band on Saddle Creek called Big Harp. I’ve been playing the shit out of their new album Chain Letters.  The lyrics are so fantastic.  But I’ve definitely noticed that what I’m listening to subconsciously seeps into my writing and playing.  I feel like it’s inevitable so I don’t fight it anymore.  I try to listen to at least one new album a day, to keep on top of trends and to take tiny pieces of all of this new music and mix it up and make my own versions and interpretations.  Kind of like…a COLLAGE. Oh man, see what I did there? Ha!


    If you could collaborate with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?

    Well, I’d say Conor Oberst, but I feel like I’d just be too nervous and we should probably just leave to greatness to him.  But, I’d say that on a similar note I would really love to work with Mike Mogis.  He’s an incredible producer.  Every album he’s produced is just great.  If we’re talking dead people, I’d have to go with Phil Spector.  Not the old, murdery version of Phil Spector, but the young, “Wall Of Sound” version of him. Certainly not the Al Pacino version of him.


    What’s the first album/song you ever bought?

    One of the first purchases I remember was one of the Sublime albums I think? I bought that and “Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers”. I remember my Grandma had to come in with me and buy them because they had parental advisory stickers on them.  Before that, my family had a subscription to Columbia House so we would just order all kinds of random cassettes.  I definitely had some Boyz II Men tapes.

    What’s the last album/song you’d want to listen to?

    Oh man, that’s a tough one.  Everyone needs a death soundtrack.  I’m just not sure what mine would be.  I’ll let you know.  

    Where’s your favourite venue? What would your dream venue be?

    One of my favorite places to play is The Grey Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina.  It’s the premier indie venue there, and it just sounds and feels really great in there.  It was my favorite place to see a show and also play a show.  We played at Union Pool here in BK last time we played New York and that was really cool. Now You See Them also played a lot of really random and strange gigs.  Before we split up, we played the Democratic National Convention. Actually, we were supposed to and it got rained out, so we kinda just lurked around the DNC.  Weird times.


    What’s your current obsession at the moment?


    Hmmm.  Well I’m super into The Walking Dead, both the comics and the show.  Pretty much anything on AMC: Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Mad Men.  I watch the US version of Shameless.  I’m really into Workaholics.  I can’t fucking wait for the new Arrested Development Netflix stuff and movie.  I love Tim and Eric and anything they ever do.  I stumbled upon this guy on Youtube it’s a beautiful trainwreck to watch: 

    Omg the rap songs that he does. Yonkers?! Rack City?! Miss Jackson?!


    Would you rather have a puppy sized elephant or an elephant sized puppy, reasons?

    I think I’d have to go with a puppy sized elephant.  I would walk it around Brooklyn and freak people out.  I would also take it to a pool and he could spray water around with his tiny trunk.  That would be cool.  


    What’s next in 2013?

    More new songs!  I’ve got a few more older ones on deck that I’m going to put out in an EP soon, and by the summer I hope to have enough songs finished for a full length.  On top of that, I’ll be playing shows in Brooklyn and eating Vietnamese food.  L-I-V-I-N.



    This is I Think You’ll Like Song, what song do you think we’d like?


    I THINK you’ll like this song. I also HOPE you’ll like this song.



    I’m working on a Color Collage version right now. Electronic Doo Wop. Stay tuned!


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