Interview with singer and songwriter Reagan Browne

With the release of his sophomore effort, Daydreams In Stereo, the Texas based singer and songwriter Reagan Browne is looking to take his brand of music to the masses. While his musical approach is a bit different from the standard Rock fare crowding the airwaves these days, the songwriting is very strong. Each track is a story in and of itself, expertly crafted to draw the listener in. Daydreams In Stereo is well produced and very well written and is a record that fans of good Rock and Roll music will not want to miss. Browne took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions for PureGrainAudio.

Your brand new CD, Daydreams In Stereo is set for release on February 23rd. Now that it is complete, how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Reagan: I feel very good about the outcome of the album. For the amount of work that was put into it, in the short amount of time I had to record it, I don’t think it could have turned out any better. I’m a solo artist so had to take on a majority of the burden with doing all the vocals, guitars, producing, etc, so it was a nice feeling knowing I accomplished the goals I set out to achieve, which was to make a great rock record.

Did you have a preconceived idea of what you wanted the record to sound like and what you wanted it to achieve, or did that come about naturally?
Reagan: For the most part it came naturally. I really don’t think about things too much with music. I just let my instincts and creativity take over. I did however want the album to have a nice flowing quality to it for the listener. As far as what I wanted to achieve it was just to make the songs sound as best as they possibly could from the vocals, production, vibe, mix and mastering.

What benchmarks do you use to determine when you have written a good song or to determine that a song is finished?
Reagan: Well it’s really hard to tell a lot of times if a song is truly finished. I’m sure every songwriter will always want to add something after the fact. Usually what I do is record all my demos at home by myself and once I’m done with that, if I can listen to a song over and over on a crappy home demo than I know I’m on to a good song. Once it’s taken in to a real studio and done professionally I feel 98 percent of the time it’s finished.

What is it that gave you inspiration when writing the lyrics for this CD?
Reagan: I wrote most of my lyrics based around things I had going on in my life at the time. Moving from Los Angeles to Nashville, friends and loved ones passing, women. I’m also inspired by things that interest me like Vampires and things I see or read in the news.

Are there any tracks on Daydreams In Stereo that are personal favorites or that have good stories behind them?
Reagan: I like “Last Forever” a lot. There’s so much going on lately about Vampires with the Twilight movies, TV shows and what not, I wanted to see if I could write an epic sounding love story about a Vampire who’s in love with a mortal, and I think I pulled it off. “Watch My World Explode” was written at the last minute in the studio and it turned out to be a kick ass arena rocker that just lets me rip on vocals. I was paying tribute to the great singers like Robert Plant, Ian Gillian, Chris Cornell, and Axl Rose with the multi-octave wails. It debuted on the radio the other night, so it’s a really cool feeling hearing one of your songs on a rock station. I think “Goodbye L.A”, “It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way” and “Alright” are nice melodic rock/pop songs. Over all I like all the songs on the album. If I didn’t I would of just left them off.

Every artist has their musical influences. What are some of the other bands and artists that have greatly influenced you guys and your music?
Reagan: My biggest influences have been The Beatles for there songwriting abilities, and amazing vocals especially from Paul. I Love all the vocal harmony stuff they did, and try an incorporate that into my sound. I was a huge fan of Van Halen as a kid. Playing guitar he was just in a world all his own. I liked a lot of the guitar hero guys from Clapton, Randy Rhoades, Slash, Jimmy Page, Vai, but there was a magic factor with Eddie that I just couldn’t get enough of. Van Halen was also great because they wrote amazing songs, and had the Beatles, Beach Boys vocal harmonies that I could relate to being a Beatles fan at an early age. I’m also very influenced by bands with great singers, so I love Robert Plant, Axl Rose, Sammy Hagar, Elton John, and Billy Joel. My favorite singer of all time is Chris Cornell. The thing is though, I really don’t use my influences at all when writing music. I’m sure they sneak in there more than I think, but for the most part I just let what happens happen. There might be a thing were I want a guitar part to have an “Edge” type sound, or I’ll know that I need a vocal delivery were I’ll have to scream like Axl, or Chris Cornell, but other than that, that’s about it. I’ve heard people say that I don’t really sound like my influences too much, and that’s probably why.

How quick are you in the studio? Can you usually knock things out in a couple takes?
Reagan: Well when you’re on an indie budget, you don’t have the luxury of doing take after take to get it right, but I can usually get something within two to four takes. I think it’s probably better that way any way, so things don’t start to become sterile sounding. It blows my mind when I hear about bands going into the studio for months at a time to record albums that realistically could probably take them 2-4 weeks. Black Sabbath recorded there first album in like a week I think. Same with the first Van Halen album. If I was given that luxury though to really take my time, I might do the same, but there’s just got to be a time when you let it go, and move on.

Do you decide on a suitable sound quickly, or do you tend to tweak tones obsessively?
Reagan: Man that can be a road that never ends, so I made myself just find something I liked and went with it. Luckily for me though, I recorded at a studio in Texas called Sonic Ranch, and they had the most amazing collection of amps, guitars, and mics so it wasn’t to hard to get good tones.

Do you get nervous before a performance?
Reagan: I get nervous before a performance, but it’s a positive nervousness. As long as the band is well rehearsed, I am okay. It’s when things are a little shady with everybody having there parts down, or there’s sound issues at the places I’m playing. Things like that.

What do your touring plans look like for 2010?
Reagan: I plan on touring anywhere and everywhere they’ll have me. I’m in the process of moving to Austin so once I have the full line up ready to go, I’ll be posting the dates on my website. It’s my goal to tour as much as possible behind the new album, and build up a following from California to New York. I’m also working on playing some shows in Europe as well, because my music seems to go over well in places like England, Italy, Germany, and France.

What is next for Reagan Brown?
Reagan: I really wish I knew!? The album comes out February 23rd so I just plan on promoting it through live performance, radio, interviews and TV shows. I am also in the process of flying out to L.A to shoot a music video for my first single off the album “Goodbye L.A”, so I should keep busy for a while. I do hope that some cool opportunities come my way from the album. It’s all been a lot of fun so far, so the sky’s the limit!  [ END ]