Interview with Canon Hill

Canon Hill is a band that hails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  The young musicians release high-energy music that is raw and passionate.  The various influences and sound they produce set them apart from other young artists in regard to their versatility.  It was a pleasure talking to the band about what is in store for them in 2020!  The band is comprised of Ben Hayden, Logan Tichnor, Noah Pelty, and Gabe Duff. 
 
WCBG: How did you guys become a band?
Canon Hill: Ben and Logan have been friends since the 1st grade, and when in 8th grade they decided to write and record music together.  The rest of us got mixed into the fold later on.
 
WCBG: How did you pick your respective instruments?
Logan: I loved Aerosmith from a young age and I thought the guitar would be pretty cool, so I picked it up.
Noah: I went to a boarding school in Montana and it was a fully functional ranch, there was nothing to listen to music wise unless you made your own.  I begged my mom for a guitar and before I met Logan, I exclusively played acoustic.
Ben: In middle school band I played the drums.  I took lessons at the same place Logan did since it was easier for one of our parents to take the both of us.  I started playing set around then.
Gabe: I played piano when I was 8 and then in high school, I started playing guitar and bass.
 
WCBG: What type of music do you listen to?
Noah: We all listen to different styles of music.  I listen to a lot of music in the folk realm as well as old-school country and bands like Mumford & Sons.
Gabe: I listen to everything.  Writing wise I like indie, folk, and jazz.
Logan: Jack Johnson and Sublime.  I’ve been listening to a lot of west coast punk bands like SWMRS and FIDLAR.  Also, old rap like NWA, and some new pop like FUN.
Ben: I listen to the same stuff I did in middle school.  All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Led Zeppelin, stuff like that.
 
WCBG: You guys are from Cape Cod…
Canon Hill: We all are except for Noah.  The band is based on Cape Cod.  Logan and Ben are from Harwich ad Gabe is from Brewster. 
WCBG: What’s the local scene like on the Cape?
Canon Hill: The local scene is a bunch of high school kids under 21.  The only places to gig at are bars.  It’s not as good of a community as we would like but we do get to stand out.  We’ve had to play three-hour sets which has pushed us to learn as much as possible and write our own music.  The scene itself is not super alive, it’s more so a small underground scene.  There are a lot of cover bands.
 
WCBG:  What’s your writing process like?
Canon Hill: It normally starts with one of us and then we add layers to what we already have to form a complete song.
 
WCBG: What’s one thing you would change about the music industry as it is today?
Logan: I think the music industry has flipped lately.  In the past you could only put out music if you had a record deal.  I would say the rates of recording studios should decrease so they’re more accessible.  We went from physical cd’s and vinyl’s to streaming.  It’s low money so you need to tour a lot or do ad deals and sponsorship.
 
WCBG: What is your opinion of streaming services like Spotify?
Canon Hill: It is easily accessible, and you have the complete collection.  You’re renting the music and not owning a physical copy of it.  I miss having a physical copy I can retreat to.
 
WCBG: You mentioned that you prefer having a physical copy, do you collect vinyl?
Canon Hill: Yes, we do.
WCBG: What is your favorite album in your personal collection?
Gabe: It changes a lot.  I really love Kind of Blue by Miles Davis.  It’s not just background music you can hear all the complex melodies.
Logan: Musically it would have to be Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, it’s perfectly imperfect.  Sentimentally, it would have to be FUN.’s live album.  [Before Shane Went to Bangkok: Live in the USA]
Noah: Robin Williams’ Live at the Met [ropolitan Opera].  It was my dad’s and it is so worn and listened to.  I also have my grandma’s Beatles’ 45s which is exactly what Americans were listening to when The Beatles first came here.
 
WCBG: Can you tell me about your full-length album dropping in April?
Canon Hill: We don’t want one genre to define us.  It’s what we want to do and who we want to be; we don’t want to be in a box of any kind.  Gabe will be playing banjo on one of the tracks.  It’s about our lives ad something different.  We don’t want to do the same thing over and over again.
 
WCBG: What are your plans for 2020?
Canon Hill: To do new, different, and exciting things!  Our tastes have grown, and our music is now more complex, interesting, and relevant.  It can mean more to more people.  We are also working on creating more merch!
 
You can follow Canon Hill on Instagram and Facebook
You can listen to their music here