Dan West, known by his moniker d’Animal, is releasing his new album, ‘Hedonistic Pillow.’ With a musical history that spans rock, jazz, and pop, West brings a unique blend of influences and personal experiences to his work. He opens up about the inspirations behind his new songs, his creative process, and the evolution of his sound.
The title ‘Hedonistic Pillow’ appears to be a playful nod to Jefferson Airplane’s iconic album ‘Surrealistic Pillow.’ What inspired you to choose this title, and how does it relate to the themes and messages of your album?
2024 meets 1964 (which according to Ken Kesey and Wavy Gravy, was the real summer of love.) My music has always been in limbo between then and now, old bottle/new wine, which incidentally, is one of my favorite Gil Evans albums. He was taking Louis Armstrong and treating it in a very sophisticated modern way with Cannonball Adderly as the soloist.
So I have always loved the idea of repurposing the past. Taking the little bits of old and using them to advance a modern and personal story.
On hedonism….
The famous Ken Russell quote from The Kids Are Alright in which he says the UK in the 1970s is in a ‘feeble, decadent, ambient state,’ describes our current moment in the US pretty well at a certain level. Bad behaviour is rewarded, good behavior must be some kind of evil conspiracy. If the 1960s were about ditching commerce for something less material and more spiritual, our era is defined by self indulgence lifted to a spiritual level. Haight Ashbury became Ashbury Hate. Social and musical juxtapositions are the tension that run through the whole album. On the one hand, there is far more acceptance for progressive and thoughtful lifestyles. Yet there is a materialism that’s off the charts. The openness of the 1960s has merged with the materialism that really took hold in the 1980s.
I am also taking a more literal approach to a lot of stories and characterizations that are present on the record in so many ways, despite the psychedelic or surreal music, the subject matter is handled in a very literal way.
The song “Falipa” is a heartfelt tribute to your cat. Could you share more about the process of writing this song and the emotions you aimed to convey?
When I think back to the last few weeks of my cat Falipa’s life, I’m always struck by the feeling I had at the time: that after so many years of being able to take care of her and keep her going, I was finally at a point where there was nothing more I could do. Realizing this, I felt the best thing for her was to be there with her through all of it until the very end. I wanted to celebrate our lives together in some way. So of course, I chose the musical/lyrical way. I have a recording I made on my voice memos while I was writing the song and Falipa had maybe a few days left and I just lost it, started really crying. So in the last half of the final chorus, the last 2 chords reverse and my voice climbs up to the highest register I can sing in. Those 4 bars are what the whole song is about. ‘I don’t want to say goodbye forever, but I know you’re always gonna be with me forever, you will always be with me.’
I say these things to comfort myself as I see a life that I treasured and adored slip away. I was listening to a lot to the Pete Townshend/Ronnie Lane album ‘Rough Cut’ and ‘Heart To Hang Onto’ really got to me. I have a fantasy of Pete Townshend singing this song someday because it was his voice that I heard in my head as I laid down the vocal track. I think he’d do a much better job of singing it than I do but I’ll just have to live with my version for now!
Your album includes a cover of Alan Price’s song ‘O’Lucky Man’. What drew you to this particular song and how did you approach reinterpreting it in your own style?
In the early days of the pandemic, Azalia and I had recently moved to our new place in Shadow Hills. In our living room, we have a big white wall on which we can project movies and television shows. This became essential during those seemingly endless nights of quarantine.
For a week or so, we went on a big Malcolm MacDowell/Lindsey Anderson kick and watched all 3 of the movies he directed with Malcolm as the Mick Travis character including ‘O Lucky Man.’ The Alan Price Set are integral not just to the soundtrack, but also the action in the movie and the storyline as they evolve their way into characters in the film (featured in a particularly memorable scene with a young Helen Mirren). The movie has a healthy bit of surrealism so it made sense to present my version of the song on the album. The music in the film does a great deal to bring us back to earth and function as an ongoing commentary after certain particularly bizarre or disturbing scenes. I also just love the lyrics to the song. In particular, ‘If knowledge hangs around your neck like pearls instead of chains you are a lucky man…’ here, here!
Which other songs from the album do you wish to highlight and why?
Sublime Port, which closes the album, was originally slated to be on the last LoveyDove record. The song is credited to both myself and Azalia Snail as the song arose from a jam we had back at our old studio. The song is the solemn bookend to Falipa. It’s a hymn and a promise that I will always be a spiritual safe harbor for her as she transitions into her next life.
New Century is all about our current political climate in the states especially, the religious extremism part of it: ‘Where did the children learn to hate before they know….’ It’s probably the closest thing to a punk rock song that Dan West/d’Animal has ever recoded albeit without the screaming. I can’t let go of melody no matter how hard I try!
Hollywood Moment is a satirical look at the risks of instant fame and All The Buttons, the risks of too many options. Hedonistic Pillow is all about studying the extremes and where the fall out lies.
How do you feel your sound has evolved from your previous albums to ‘Hedonistic Pillow’? Are there any new influences or experiences that shaped this record?
I’ve definitely gotten better at the recording part!
My father recorded my bands on his old reel to reel deck in our living room and then I moved to multiple cassette players for sound on sound recording. This evolved into a Tascam 246 and a Radio Shack microphone. It’s amazing how much I learned with just a simple set up like that. When I was in middle school, I built myself a little studio in my bedroom where I grew up in Studio City. I had a drum set and a Vox Amp set up and I’d lay down all the parts. I used to make tapes of my band Through The Lookinglass and give them straight to Rodney on KROQ where he’d play them almost immediately! I always loved the layering process and using a lot of echo and delay from the psychedelic sounds I loved so much. Then in college, I learned the orchestration part, writing out music for multiple musicians to play. In those years, recording took a back seat and I worked strictly in the live setting. Hearing what I’d written all come back at me could be frightening as well as quite thrilling. Once I was out of music school, I went back to recording and started working in big studios and moved to digital tape and finally hard disc.
So I think the point is my sound evolved with whatever new techniques I learned at the time, coupled with what I was reading, seeing or listening to. I have always had a soft spot for psychedelic music, although I’ve expanded that pallet with elements of electronic music and even moreso, jazz. I also love poetry and visual art. Many times I stare at paintings and hear music in them.
As far as new influences, I’d have to say Mazie and her producer Elie Rizk have really opened my ears to some new production ideas as well as Vinyl Williams, whose sense of harmonic surprise is truly breathtaking at times. On the Jazz front, Jacob Collier and Domi & JD Beck are both mind blowing and very inspirational to me.
‘Hedonistic Pillow’ was originally due for release in 2021 but was delayed until 2024. What were the reasons for this delay, and how did the extra time affect the album?
I always have multiple projects in the works, so oftentimes my solo albums take a back seat to whatever is more pressing. I’ve tended to prioritize the work I do as a band member and a collaborator and my production work keeps a roof over our heads, so that definitely has to be prioritized. As a result of all of this, my pet projects take a while to reach fruition. In fact, a song like A.D.D. on the new album was first demoed back in 2005!
That being said, this album occurred during a period of great personal loss for me. The years between 2021 and 2024 would ultimately be my father’s final years on the planet. There was a lot of personal business to take care of as we wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as possible, especially at the very end. I just sold the house I grew up in, so clearing out years and years of memories took up a lot of time and emotional headspace.
Reflecting on your early days in the Los Angeles music scene and the Paisley Underground, how do you think those experiences have shaped your career and your approach to music today? Which artists have been your biggest influences over the years?
I learned a lot very quickly about what to do and what not to do at a very early age.
The Paisley underground was truly something marvelous. Here I was, a kid growing up in the San Fernando Valley, listening to music that at the time was considered ‘old’ by many of my peers at school. By the time I was in my early teens, there were thousands of kids in LA grooving to the same sounds, creating bands, and playing the bevy of clubs that used to exist in Hollywood, Silverlake, the San Fernando Valley, and greater Los Angeles. There was a rich network of people pressing vinyl, making mixtapes, while Rodney Bingenheimer was chronicling the whole thing on his radio show. It was really an amazing way to start. At the same time, however, so much happened so quickly, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated how special it was until after the fact. Bands that should have stayed together broke up, would reform in some new aggregation, only to break up again. Inevitably, some people got heavily into drugs and tragically left us far too soon. And by 1987, the Los Angeles chapter was over, having wended its way up to San Francisco where a new scene emerged spawning bands like Jellyfish.
I realized that sticking to an idea and seeing it to its conclusion is the most important thing any artist can do. Also, if there is a combination of musicians that work well as a unit, don’t mess with it! Danny Lawrence from Sidewalk Society and I learned that after many years of working together, and then years in between where we wouldn’t work together. There’s a certain chemistry between us that exists to where it really is a form of telepathy.
The way I can keep it all going genre wise from rock to jazz and back again is that I make a living as a musician, playing solo piano gigs, producing and arranging for other artists, etc. There is no point where one form of music begins or ends – it’s all part of the universal musical mind that Bill Evans spoke of often. I am fully immersed in all forms of music from the moment I wake up to the moment I collapse in bed! The other thing is that I’ve always admired musicians who draw from both the rock and jazz sides: Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock. No matter the genre, the use of interesting melodies, harmonies and rhythms has always fascinated me.
You’ve collaborated with a wide array of artists across different genres. Are there any particular collaborations that stand out to you as especially memorable or impactful?
My current collaborator in music and life is none other than my wife Azalia Snail who is the main reason I ever considered releasing music as a solo artist. She is inspirational and supportive on so many levels, and I have not only enjoyed working with her in our duo LoveyDove, but also as a producer and instrumentalist on her solo albums.
I was honored to produce her last album Neon Resistance as well as having my bass playing featured on her latest effort POWERLOVER.
She plays all the percussion on Hedonistic Pillow as well as contributing backing vocals, sound collages and guitars.
As mentioned earlier, I am very proud of my work with Sidewalk Society. Danny Lawrence and I met when we were 11 years old and bonded over our love of ‘The Who Sell Out’ album. We would ditch P.E. class and talk about bands, guitars and all things rock and roll. Along with Jerry Buszek, it’s been a thrilling ride.
I’ve also had the good fortune to work with artists ranging from Sky Saxon to Maynard Fergusson to Lionel Hampton. In each case, I’ve picked up something very important: with Sky, never lose your optimism. In conversation, it was apparent that he never stopped being a flower child. Maynard taught me confidence when soloing and Lionel taught me that you can communicate musically without ever saying a word to the musicians you are working with. I had a wrong chord change to the bridge on Cherokee, and at 96 years old, he walked over to the piano where I was sitting and played the correct harmony and went back over to his vibes. Never said a word and I received the lesson!
Looking ahead, do you have any upcoming projects or collaborations that you’re excited about?
I’m finishing my first big band album entitled ‘State Of Swing’ and should have it ready to release early next year. It features Poncho Sanchez’ trumpet player Ron Blake, with whom I’m also heading into the studio with this summer to record his next album with The Assimilation.
Fruits De Mer Records are releasing a double album Sidewalk Society retrospective this fall.
I’m also working on the expanded version of the documentary I made about my father’s life. I have a version of it up on YouTube currently. And then I’m sure Azalia and I will be back with either another LoveyDove platter or a free jazz recording with our duo Snail Meets West.
I also hope to do a little more painting this year.
As always, there are a lot of projects in the pipeline and I am very grateful to be able to do what I do. Thank you Jason for the excellent questions and for your steadfast devotion to the music we cherish.
Further information
‘Hedonistic Pillow’ will be released digitally on June 7.
