Brian David Collins is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter raised in The Colorado Rockies. He is a CSU graduate, and a long time performer, entertaining crowds of all walks of life for two decades and counting. In his hometown of Fort Collins and the surrounding areas he is most well-known for his time with The Seers, a variety acoustic duo. In recent years he has dedicated his creative efforts to his solo project, Brian David Collins. Brian has just relocated to the small historic town of Hodgenville Kentucky for a new chapter in life.
Hi Brian! Thank you for taking this interview with us! How long have you been making music? I have been making music for about 37 years, and I am 42 now. Since I was five years old ideas for original songs have come to me, and even way back then I had ways to capture my ideas on tape. As I grew my song ideas and recording methods grew with me, becoming more elaborate as my life progressed. When I was thirteen layering tracks with a machine that used cassette tapes called a Tascam, and when I was eighteen I went in on an Adat machine with my good friend and musical partner Jason Tempero . Adat machines, for those of you who do not know, convert digital signals to analog tape. All of these recording methods were excellent practice self-producing music and preparing me for making records in my adult life. Why did you choose the title for the new music? Since I am having trouble with the digital distribution of my new record, Good Morning Music, I will focus this answer on the title for my most current release, Sad Songs Glad Songs. This album was named after the song, Sad Songs Glad Songs, a song that appeared as pure inspiration on the morning of February 28 2020. This song says in its opening line, “now in every style of music, there’s a song for every mood.” The real meaning to this is whether it’s George Jones, Doctor Dre or Phantom of the Opera, there is a song for every mood. Feelings are expressed very differently between styles of music, but all artists have all feelings and the message will get across in one way or another. This is why “there’s sad songs and there’s glad songs in any place you go.” Can you tell our audience what the song is about? For this question I will choose a song off Sad Songs Glad Songs, a tune called Five Alarm Fire. This is a song I wrote for my wife, Dana Collins. It is a song about undying passion between us. Whether it’s been one month or twenty years, the feeling, though it changes, remains just as strong. The Five Alarm Fire is a physical manifestation of this passion, and it needs to be put out to get a good night’s rest, hence the chorus, “we get that five alarm fire, but we put it out right, and we sleep just like babies tonight!” Why did you choose to release the music now? This is not a record with songs that address the current political/social climate of the world we live in, I’m saving that for The Forgotten Door. I formed my solo project as a way to keep up with my song writing. The Seers recorded many of my songs, but they were still being written faster than they could be recorded. The songs from Sad Songs Glad Songs were all written from 2019/2021, with the exception of one tune, Without Saying a Word, written in 2017. Once I have a group of songs that work well together, and pleasing arrangements of them have been thought of and practiced, it is time to record! I’ve heard it said by another artist I like very much, Joseph Arthur, “do your thing, get it out and move on.” Sharing my personal expression with listeners I have never met is a passion for me, and I try to stick to material that is pleasing and relatable for my audience. Can you tell us the journey about making the music? For this journey to even begin, it took falling in love, life experience and imagination, followed by hours of practice each week. From there the journey of recording begins. For this album I didn’t have to journey very far. I wanted to use the digital grand piano we had in our living room, and so that’s what I did. Darren brought his mobile studio gear to my house and had me ready to record playing and singing in the living room, while Tom played in the basement, recording his drums in real time with me. The philosophy was to be one take wonders, and we made fixes only when absolutely necessary. The journey wasn’t complete until we went back to Darren’s physical studio space to record horns, cello and petal steel. In the midst of pleasing recording sessions with Phil Broste on petal steel and Russick Smith on cello, we had a surprisingly pleasing recording session with Brian Keller on sax/clarinet. We got him on this tune called Crash, one that we were considering throwing out until he colored it with killer Benny Goodman type solos. After this session I always liked to refer to him as Brian Killer. He made this track into something truly special. I also want to give special props to Russick Smith for his orchestra arrangement, done with twelve overdubs on cello, for the song Without Saying a Word. He made what I was hearing in my head possible for others to hear, a truly gifted musician. What kind of journey was it for you to be ready to release the music? It was a miraculous journey and a very fluid creative process. I miss the days and times that went into the making of this record. This is especially true now that I have relocated and am essentially starting over with newly acquired mental blocks that affect my creativity. The making of all of the solo records are remembered as the prime time of an era in my career, and now I am gathering up the wisdom and creative strength to start a new journey. Even though the times are changing, I intend to hold on to the passion found in my solo project and hope to bring new songs to the table in years to come. Where can new fans stream it? The music from my solo project can be streamed on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music and all other streaming platforms. How do they follow you? For any new fans interested in following Brian David Collins, please pick your preferred method. I can be followed on Spotify, Facebook, and Instagram. What's next for you! I have two records that haven’t been heard/streamed yet. My next album, Good Morning Music, is completely finished and we are in the final round of trouble shooting to get it up on digital streaming platforms. I can’t wait to share it with you all! Then will come the release of The Forgotten Door, an album that is still in process. Yes, the current journey is not yet complete, and there is definitely more work to share! Essential links: Website: www.briandavidcollins.com Brian David Collins Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UFK00xLg94Y1O75SAJAgE Brian David Collins Facebook: www.facebook.com/briandavidcollins/ Thank you for this interview!