Throwing Chairs.
On Fire.
These two songs have struck a chord with listeners all over the country.
For those of you who may not know, Daniel Victor, an incredibly talented singer/song writer, collaborated with Jon Foreman a few years ago to write these songs.
I thought it would be great to get an insiders perspective on writing with Jon, so I contacted Daniel and VOLIA! The interview was well underway!
Land of Broken Hearts (LOBH): Daniel, thanks so much for doing this with us! Well I guess we should start at the beginning of the story! How did you meet Jon?
Daniel Victor: I called Jon’s manager years ago with the plan to put him on my upcoming [Neverending White Lights] (NWL) album. After he put Foreman and me in touch, I flew down to California. I took a train from LA to San Diego and he met me there. We had never met previously, so it was interesting to confront a complete stranger. He took me into his home, gave me dinner, and even gave up his bed for me to spend the night. We wrote 4 songs in a day or so, then I left to come back to Canada.
LOBH: What was it like working with him?
Daniel: Jon is a very low key person. He’s one of the kindest people you’ll ever come across. Very laid back and very open to new ideas and good music. It was very natural and unassuming to work with him.
LOBH: You collaborated with him on two songs that have been made public; ‘Throwing Chairs’ and ‘On Fire’. What do those two songs mean to you?
Daniel: Throwing Chairs comes across to me like a breath of fresh air. It’s the perfect song to lay in the middle of a field and stargaze. It was one of the very first songs written for NWL, so it has a history with me, though it was ironic that it didn’t end up on the album.
On Fire has a lot of meaning to me as well. We wrote this song in a hurry one morning in San Diego. I came up with the music by sitting at his keyboard and playing chords while Jon flipped through some different sounds. All of a sudden, I said, “Stop there!” and the sound gave me this nice idea for the notes – C to B, a nice major 7th sound.
Jon began writing lyrics and we went through some ideas together. It took probably 20 minutes in total. I was so excited when I took my train back to LA, I couldn’t wait to show it to my friends.
In fact, there was a girl who I was quite fond of, and she had been on my mind a lot while I was staying with Jon, and I remember telling him about her. She was some of the inspiration for me writing anything in those days. Lyrically, Jon had a different idea of what the words meant then me, but they both worked so well. I showed her the song and told her she had a lot to do with it, having been caught up in my mind so much. She laughed and said it was nice. 2 years later, it came out on Switchfoot’s The Beautiful Letdown and sold millions of copies and made its way to many people’s hearts. That is an amazing feeling. I was honoured they used it.
LOBH: How do you feel about the popularity of ‘On Fire’?
Daniel: It was my first collaboration, so it means I was doing something right. It’s nice to know that ideas that swim around in my head translate well for other people.
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on that song, and its mind boggling to know that you can affect people with your ideas and music. I’m ecstatic Jon and the boys recorded and released it.
LOBH: I was curious about the original version of On Fire. Was the version on the CD lyrically or musically different from the one you had both originally written?
Daniel: It didn’t change much. I have the demo we recorded right here. It had a keyboard sound instead of a piano, but the piano is quite nice. It’s obviously more polished now, but all the elements are exactly the same. The approach drums slightly changed the feel since we had only drum loops originally. But if you listen close, there are some tidbits of sounds Jon and I had recorded in his basement in the background, drum loops and things. It was good that he left some of the original music there.
LOBH: I know that on Throwing Chairs, the music was written before the words. Was it like that with On Fire or did the words come first?
Daniel: Words didn’t come first, music did. Always the way it works for me. I kept on playing the chord progression to On Fire over and over while Jon sat next to me in his bedroom with a pad and pen and jotted some things down. Before we knew it, we had a melody line and lyrics. I just remember him singing “standing on the edge of me….standing on the edge of me….hmmm….does that work? I think I like it.” I said “I love it.”
LOBH: Speaking of the song process, how do you write your songs? What’s your writing process?
Daniel: I tend to come up with chord progressions or music ideas quite often. All I need to do is sit down at a guitar or piano, and off I go. I will instantly hum along a melody line, then record myself singing it…usually without any lyrics at all. Then when I listen back, I hear words that start to trigger my creativity for full lyrics, then I finish it from there.
LOBH: What are your current projects?
Daniel: I’m recording NWL Act 2 literally right now as I write this in the studio. I’m also producing a band called The Pleasure Machines which is New-Wave-Grunge. There is a band from LA called The Sunday Drivers, they are flying here to Canada soon so I can produce their EP. I plan to eventually work on a solo record too when all this clears up.
LOBH: What is your favorite song that you have written?
Daniel: My favourite song that I’ve written is called Return Our Lives. It’s a song that still gives me warm feelings after so many listens. It’s on my last album.
LOBH: What is your goal as a musician?
Daniel: My goal is to be able to create, write, produce, record, and perform music until I die, and to do it well and also to maintain being true to myself in all those areas. Success is also on the list.
LOBH: Do you have any tips for aspiring musicians?
Daniel: Find out what it is that separates you from all the rest. Find it, and focus on it. That is your ticket.
LOBH: I know you need to get back to recording, so let’s wrap this up with what we call the “Land of Broken Hearts Three”…
1. What is the best advice you’ve ever been given/heard?
Daniel: It’s better to regret something you did, than something you didn’t do. (think about it).
LOBH: 2. What’s one song you wish you had written?
Daniel: “Morning Theft” by Jeff Buckley
LOBH: What’s one question you’ve never been asked and the answer?
Daniel: Q: Are you scared of dying?
A: No.
LOBH: Daniel thank you so much for your time and we look forward to hearing more music from you soon!
To find out more about Daniel and his music, visit his myspace here!: Nevereding White Lights