Interview With Rocking Canadian Virtuoso The Harpoonist
In our interview, The Harpoonist, discusses his upcoming debut solo album, his creative process, the gear that shapes his signature sound, and much more.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Shawn Hall, aka The Harpoonist, as he prepares to release his debut solo album, Did We Come Here to Dance. After 17 successful years with The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer, Shawn is venturing solo, bringing his exceptional harmonica skills and vibrant Southern rock influences to new heights.
In our conversation, Shawn shared insights on collaborating with producer Gordie Johnson, his unique recording process in Texas, his imaginative gear setup, the challenges of transitioning to a solo career, his thoughts on the impact of AI in music, and more.
Chris Roditis, Musicngear: Your upcoming debut solo album, 'Did We Come Here to Dance', has a distinct Southern rock and swampy blues vibe. How did the collaboration with Gordie Johnson influence the sound and direction of this album compared to your previous work with The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer?
Working with Gordie was magically effortless. And just super fun and ridiculously easy, like school kids reunited. We both grew up in the 90s in Toronto's music scene, which was steeped in blues, reggae, and funk, so we had those shared experiences to start with.
We gathered ideas I had collected over the year down at his family's ranch just outside of Austin, and that lent all the rest of the southern expression to the raunchy riffs from my zany travels over the last 10 years and clever bathroom graffiti quotes and any other tidbits I brought with me.
What I just loved about the whole process was how much he indulged my every schism and quirk .. and nothing was too off-limits. It's a relationship I've always wanted to explore with songs but shied away from with Harpaxe (Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer) over the years as it didn't always suit the nature of that band's narrative.
We cut a song a day stuck to a narrative of espresso, no lunch, and heavy Italian for dinner. That really sets a tone for record-making...
Your harmonica is central to your sound. Can you tell us about the specific harmonicas and microphones you prefer, and how they help you achieve the gritty, soulful tones that are a hallmark of your playing?
Sure! My harps are custom-made by this incredibly talented guy named Andrew Zajack out of Kingston, Ontario. They're loud, bright, and fast. I've always likened my harp work to - a clav reggae ridim section, with lots of room to dub out lasers that I try to emulate using my Moog envelope and a Strymon El Capistan with an expression knob instead of a pedal custom-made by the super wizard that is Jason Tawkins of The National Music Centre in Calgary.
I use a Bulletini mic from a cat named Greg Heumann out of California. It's light years more responsive than a standard Green Bullet mic and tiny, so it's easy to cup.
My Epiphone Valve Junior seals the delivery with a custom GT transformer and 10-inch Jensen speaker instead of the normal 8 that was stock.
You described your current live rig as "super duper Willy Wonka styles." Could you break down some of the key components in your setup, and how this gear has influenced or enhanced your live performances?
I guess I'm always exploring ways of living in my imagination and the harp has just so happened to have been my vessel of choice out of necessity really, and as the years click on so does my excitement trying to morph the instrument out recognizable terrain.
Currently, I blow harp on a Bulletini mic into a Roland VT-3 vocal transformer, then a Moog envelope filter, a Lone Wolf octave pedal, Electro Harmonix POG for texture, and a Strymon El Capistan with a custom expression knob by my dude Jason Tawkins. For whatever reason I've always chosen to use my old faithful Epiphone Valve Junior. I know its tone and it cuts through any room and scenario.
Oh yeah, and I also added an Electro Harmonix vocoder pedal that I control with a Korg Minilogue synth to help steer production tricks into my drummer's vocals on songs like 'Heartbreak Autobahn' and 'Good People'. That usually goes through a DI with a wet-dry mix to FOH.
The recording process for this album sounded incredibly unique, with different shacks for drumming, guitars, and vocals. How did this environment shape the creative process, and were there any specific pieces of gear that played a pivotal role during these sessions?
The biggest difference between this record and any of my previous records with Harpaxe is that we didn’t use my rig, or any tube amps for my harp sound. Contrary to live shows where I use a whole circus worth of “Animals’ to colour and shape the harp tones. It was harp live off the floor, not with a Neumann TLM 103, either in or out of the shack, and Gordie allowed very few takes and no prepared solos. Just shooting by the hip so to speak. So harp and vocals were usually done together on the same take and mic.
I’d say his Mellotron played a unique role on songs like 'Heartbreak Autobahn', given the bridge's distinct lifts and Bowie-like strings. For Gordie's guitar tones, he opted out of using any fancy mics and instead used his guitars from his collection extensively and placed a cell phone in carefully and used that for his mic (no s**t!!) and it worked like magic.
His drums involved a great deal of micing and we both wanted BIG 90s style hip hop drums, so those took the most amount of gear and mics. Ahhh I almost forgot…all the bass tones for the entire record were played on his Moog Minitaur Foot Bass for the early 70s sounds… for fat-ass bass tones. Almost every time we powered the thing up it was on a different planet…but holy s**t it's got tone for days.
Transitioning from a duo to a solo artist is a significant change. What were the biggest challenges you faced during this transition, and what advice would you give to artists who are going through a similar experience?
Indeed, going out alone is daunting at times, and requires one to pace themselves, and breathe and trust the spirit, let it guide you. Also, try not to get lost in socials, and their comparative arts. My biggest was my own confidence in my approach, and my ability to lead new bands, and get out from under my own “Egos” shadow of an 18-year reputation in Harpaxe and just be the off-centered natural a bit zany guy that I am and follow that muse.
Don’t let previous fiscal lours of your past “big successes” guide you, as money will come and go in the arts and that shouldn’t control where and how you create your music. Transition can be hard and takes some time, but the freedoms that come with it allow sooo much love and light and playfulness to come as you awkwardly go through very vulnerable stages… and that’s ultimately beautiful.
Your album features a blend of influences, from Sonny Terry and Aretha Franklin to Daft Punk. Are there any artists you haven't yet collaborated with that you’d love to work with in the future, and how do you think their influence could shape your sound?
I would love to continue some explorations with my dudes in Royal Canoe from Winnipeg. I did co-write a few years back with Matt Peters (lead singer) from that band, on a song called “Ballet in a Phone Booth” and that was so fun and so outside the box for me and synth-heavy.
I also really really dig “Tony Allen” and the whole Afrobeat world or ridim. Being that the legend passed away in recent years that collaboration is impossible, however, I’d love to Marry those drums to approach to blues and call and response style that's becoming more the norm with my current band. I believe those ridims would free my writing style and allow me to get out of the traditional verse, chorus bridge world and explore themes versus stories and get into that Mantra territory.
'Good People' is quite special and personal to me in it asks universal big questions hidden in code from other lyrics on the album
Humor and off-the-wall lyrics are prominent in your new album. How do you balance these elements with the serious themes in your music, and do you think they offer a unique connection with your audience?
I’ve always worked and lived my life both in and out of music in these HUGE contrasts, from responsible and caring and nurturing, to running away with the circus and in love/lust with the “Wilder People” the ones way outside, the outcasts. It has always fascinated me and I have a wide pallet in taste for all the flavours we put out as humans.
I think my knack for songs that I’ve gathered or created for this particular album grab the listener in with lightness and vibe like “ Trucker Speed” and contrast it with the loneliness, and brutal sadness of a trucker's plea for help lost on the endless freeway of life and otherwise heavy lyrics. I'm endlessly fascinated with placing these sorts of contrasts for listeners as opposed to always writing a sad ballad for sad emotions and happy dance songs with happy themes… I'm simply not as interested in that for my own writing.
It's almost a clown-in approach to emotions buried in humour or as my friends call me a “leprechaun ‘ sometimes. I really hope they offer deeper connections for my audience and are constantly something we all strive for as artists.
'Good People' asks some big questions about life. What inspired the lyrics, and how do you hope listeners will interpret and connect with this track?
"Good People" is quite special and personal to me in it asks universal big questions hidden in code from other lyrics on the album...Here’s the trick that we employed for this song to achieve a lift-off that I’ve never done on previous records. We took our best “lyrical lines “ from each of the other songs on the record and combined them together with a loving theme, and mantra-like whirl to completely flip their meaning and allow them to be interpreted under a different light.
This was under the assuredness of the warmest and most supportive blanket I could play on the harmonica to support the experience for the listener in a loving context. Go back and listen to the album and you’ll be able to pick out the Lyrics like a BIG REVEAL.
The big neato moment for Gordie and I was how all of the lyrics placed in different music contexts presented themselves with entirely different meanings and emotional worlds for the imagination to explore. Take the line “ I may not have it together, but together we have it all” that was from the silliest song on the record about middle age “man problems” and we employed under a different light to connect us all in our universal hope for love and humanity.
I hope listeners will pick up on that in subliminal ways and explore those seemingly simple themes…that obviously aren't so simple.
As an artist deeply rooted in the blues and rock traditions, how do you view the rise of AI-generated music, and what impact do you think it will have on the authenticity and emotional depth of music in the future?
I hate it!!!! Using AI to replace one of the most “HUMAN” things we do and cherish is NUTS!!! Trying to connect us with AI's interpretation of our humanity in a world that seems to be endlessly striving for faster commodities is a recipe for sadness and even more disconnectedness.
I'm speaking about songwriting, and lyrics, not tech with plugins and soft synths, although it becomes a slippery slope when we replace mix engineers, mastering engineers, etc with plugin tools and people lose their careers and connection with one another. Why would we want to lose our personal connection with humaneness in the name of getting AI to generate our expression and love, lust, hate, sadness, hope, political song, protest, etc?
So that we can sip margaritas by the sea and watch the sunset till oblivion? Seriously why??
Connect with The Harpoonist
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Thank you, Shawn, for sharing your journey and insights with us. We can't wait for everyone to experience 'Did We Come Here to Dance' when it drops on October 4th. Keep an ear out—this album is not to be missed!
About Chris Roditis
Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.
Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@kinkl.com
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