LA’s Explosive Cannons
Emerging from a John Cusack fever-dream, CANNONS are a three-piece synth-pop powerhouse who’ve had a hell of a year. When guitarist Ryan and bassist/production master Paul put out an ad for a singer on Craigslist, the match was made – enter Michelle, a Floridian moved to LA whose ethereal vocals and dreamy lyrics fit perfectly into the fusion of punchy basslines and enchanting guitar riffs.
Last week, we sat down with Michelle, Ryan & Paul to discuss how they craft such a nuanced sound and their iconic visual influences whilst also engaging them in a round of ‘Never Have I Ever’ (a tame version, sorry…) inspired by their masterpiece of a song, ‘Fire For You’, featured on the Netflix hit show of the same name. The atmospheric track garnered huge attention after featuring in episode 8 of N.H.I.E and shot to #1 on the Top TV Song Chart announced by BILLBOARD, beating tracks from Killing Eve and Normal People.
Expect roller blades, sequined facemasks and countless hedonistic 70's references. With that – we present to you, CANNONS. 
LAST BUS: Hey guys, how are you doing? Thanks so much for sitting down to chat with us. First off, can you let us know how you’ve stayed sane and kept the creativity flowing over the past year?
Michelle: For us it’s kind of stayed the same in our own Cannons Bubble because we all work from home a lot. We send each other files back and forth and once we’ve recorded we meet up and flesh things out. Lyrically, I have a notes app on my phone that I fill up with things I find poetic or words and sentences I hear when I’m looking. I go on lots of runs often and jot down a lot of stuff that turns into lyrics. Any emotional time I like to write that and put that into lyrics as well.
Ryan: I think naturally we’re all pretty introverted people so lockdown is kind of like another day for us. In the studio we’d usually experiment with a particular part of the song and then I’d have a week to make an arrangement and produce it.
Paul: It’s natural! I think the main thing that’s still the same is trying to get a good top line – a really good vocal melody.
You released your latest single and video ‘Bad Dream’ in March – what’s been your best/worst dream to date?
Ryan: My best dream has been able to write music with my friends…worst dream? I had a dream where my teeth were pulled out and cracking – those are very stressful...
Michelle: I’ve had the teeth one too!
Ryan: It’s interesting – I’ve talked to people about the ‘teeth’ dreams – it’s crazy because we’ve all had the same one which shows you something about how we’re all connected subconsciously in dreams.
There’s also supposed to be a recurring dream about snakes?
Michelle: (Gasps) – I had one about snakes recently! I was ice skating and fell into a crack of ice but I was holding on to both sides and there was a pool of snakes around me…it was pretty terrifying.
Ryan: That sounds like Indiana jones on ice…
You guys have covered songs by The Neighbourhood, Harry Styles & Kings of Leon. Covers are often difficult to get the balance right, but you guys reinvent the songs in such perfect ways that have bits of the originals but are wholly your own sound. Why did you choose to do these songs and how did you design them to match your own band’s style?
Paul: We pick songs and we ask – how do we make these our own? I don't think we do well with covers that are our favourite songs because we don't want to make something exactly the same.
Ryan: I think a good way to go about it is to just listen to the song and try to play it by ear, without looking at how the song’s actually written because then the song gives you creative freedom to try new freedoms within the song and that’s how we get the song to sound like our own version.
Do you all have the same musical influences?
Paul: Definitely a mix – we all are interested in anything from the 30s to current music.
Ryan: I’ve been bugging the band recently because I’ve been on a country kick… I like sending Michelle and Paul YouTube clips of country artists and I’m waiting for them to eventually tell me to stop sending this stuff…
The photos on your Instagram are so stylish and cultivated so beautifully – where do you get these stylistic/visual influences from?
Michelle: We have a lot of movie interests in common – when we want to make a music video we meet with the director, Ryan Rundle, who’s directed pretty much all our stuff this year – we make a moodboard together, colours that we like, films, all that.
Ryan: It’s neat to work with Ryan because he really understands where we’re coming from – our whole aesthetic world. Like Michelle was saying, we pull a lot of influence from cult films – things that have a nostalgic feel to them…
You can definitely see that, especially in the video for ‘Fire For You’. I was going to ask though, the facemasks in the video – were they always the plan or a byproduct of COVID?
Michelle: It was kind of a symptom that we turned into an aesthetic – my mom ended up making those sparkly masks and they were pretty cool – it gave the video a Blade-Runner-esque look.
Ryan: Like a post-apocalyptic feel.
There was also rollerblading involved – are you rollerblade aficionados or is it something you learnt on the job?
Ryan: Paul and I used to rollerblade as kids! I haven’t put on a pair of blades in a while but Michelle roller-skates now.
Michelle: I’m not too good though…which is why we ended up having this Venice beach skate crew who are FANTASTIC choreographing the routine for us.
Ryan: I could be wrong but when we were listening to ‘Fire For You’ it immediately gave us a roller-disco feel and that’s when we thought: ‘we’ve got to roll with it’ – no pun intended…and see what we could do. Coincidentally, the photographer we were working with got really into roller-skating because of quarantine and everyone was just getting into new hobbies and stuff. We were talking to the guy about the shoot and mentioned roller-blading and he was like “I JUST got into roller-skating, I know this Venice crew of skaters…” Everything worked out, it was like puzzle pieces fitting together.
Who are your biggest style influences?
Ryan: I like David Lynch – he has such an odd cool vibe. I also love the photographer Anton Corbijn – all his mostly black and white photography – it looks all really classy and timeless. Also decades – I love the 80s, the 50s…
Michelle: The 70s…mix it all together.
If you’ve never been to LA before, what’s the one place you have to go for live music?
Paul: The Trobadour (all nod in agreement).
Ryan: It’s amazing, iconic and historic – it’s a smaller venue but feels you’re at a significant show, and sounds great too! I’d also suggest The Hollywood Bowl…it’s super epic.
You’re out on a night out – what’s the song that’ll 100% get you on the dancefloor?
Paul: I love the 70’s so anything by CHIC.
Michelle: Steve Monite – Only You
Ryan: The thing that comes to mind is my go-to karaoke song…INXS – Need You Tonight
And finally…we’re going to play a round of Never Have I Ever.
Michelle: Oh no…
Bought something from Craigslist:
Ryan: Oh I have – I buy a lot of music equipment from Craigslist…it’s cheap!
Walked around with toilet paper on my shoe:
Ryan: I have! I don't know if you know that I have… a couple of years ago: I didn't even go to the bathroom to use toilet paper, but I was about to go on stage and one of Michelle’s friends was going ‘RYAN RYAN!’ And I was like ‘…what does she want?’ I turn around and she pulls of literally a roll of toilet paper from my shoe.
Michelle: This was right before we went on stage and Roland were there shooting a synthesizer commercial with us.
Played music out loud for a prolonged period of time without realizing:
Paul: I kind of just do that regardless…I like loud music.
Forgotten lyrics / how to play the song live at a show:
Michelle: I’ve definitely forgotten the lyrics
Ryan: Me too…it’s wild cause we’re all huge Prince friends and he never messes up – and also Paul McCartney’s band – they’re so tight that when they do mess up you can really hear it.
Gotten a tattoo I regretted:
Ryan: I regret my first tattoo…it was a sparrow but looks like a Pokémon now
Been played on a hit Netflix TV Show…
Michelle: Eyyyy!
What was it like watching your song being played on a Netflix hit show?
Michelle: We were all really shocked that they played the song so loud for so long and was the number 1 show when everyone was sitting on the couch during quarantine.
Ryan: The producer made a bang-up job of matching the song with the visuals and that’s something we really strive for. And it’s a great show! I didn't know it was on the show until it was out…it was like watching a mini music video for ‘Fire For You’ – in a weird sense it was kind of the best timing because everything was closed.
Paul: It was a life changing moment for me – once that happened, I thought ‘things are going to be different now’
Finally – you’re on the Last Bus home after a crazy night out. What are you listening to?
Paul: I would say anything Prince…1999 probably.
Ryan: I don't know why but I just thought of Motley Crüe – 1980s, sunset strip, heavy metal…
Michelle: Steve Monite – Only You or Fleetwood Mac.