The Human Cannonball launches into Athens as Southeast Engine bassist's side project
By Kelly Vormelker, Staff Writer
April 11, 2008 | 3 p.m.
The Human Cannonball, Southeast Engine bassist Jesse Remnant’s first solo album, has projected smooth, indie hits throughout the Athens area. The Human Cannonball officially took off Friday, April 4, with a CD release show at Donkey Coffee and Espresso.
Kid brother to Southeast Engine’s lead singer, Jesse Remnant has large shoes to fill, but the process has already begun. He comes off as innocent and shy yet quirky and relaxed. He talks to an invisible person over his hunched shoulder, eyes darting, giving away his nervous state. He smiles, alluding to a more playful and confident side of himself that stems from pride in this project. Remnant may look young and mischievously innocent, but he reveals much more in the tracks of The Human Cannonball.
The Human Cannonball has been forming for years, Remnant said. Remnant began the formal process of gathering his musical material five or six years ago after Squid’s Eye Records approached him. The independent record label wanted Remnant to contribute one track to a compilation album of unknown artists from Dayton, Ohio. Jesse eventually paired with the budding label to put out The Human Cannonball, his first full-length album.
“They [Squid's Eye Records] said, 'Eventually when you are ready, I would like to do a full-length with you,' which encouraged me to get it [the album] done," Remnant said. "I have been working on it forever. I started writing when I was like 15 or 16, and I’m 21 now, so it has been in the process for years."
Years of material have rolled up into one complete showcase of upbeat songs backed and fronted completely by Remnant himself. The inside fold of The Human Cannonball reads like a running resume for Remnant. He wrote the material, recorded it, drew the artwork for the cover and performed all instruments with the exception of drums on one track. Credit is given to Andrew Humphrey and Adam Torres with help in recording.
Remnant defines his sound as pop, but it is not the annoying, in-your-face kind of pop music that bores the general public. Remnant’s songs are upbeat yet mellow, while his melodic voice is soft and light, and melodies in the background are either energetic or slowly soothing.
One cannot help but compare Remnant to his Southeast Engine counterparts, but Remnant can easily separate the two. “[The Human Cannonball] is definitely different from Southeast Engine because it is poppier," Remnant said. "I really like '60s pop-- Beatles, Beach Boys, stuff like that.” That '60s feel does come across throughout Remnant’s album but with a more modern, indie rock translation.
As Remnant rattles on about the eccentricities of his first album, his inherently relaxed and smooth nature is revealed. Ideas seem to randomly come to him-- this persona is evidently also carried through in the way he writes music.
“I come up with lyrics very randomly," Remnant said. "I don’t like to think about them too much. Sometimes lyrics come out very simple, and I like that. Usually they just come out as I am writing the song. Sometimes I will sit down with a notebook and finish writing a song. But usually it is just relationships with people, images in my head.”
The length of time that this record has been building is evident in the story behind its title track, “The Human Cannonball.” Ultimately, the human cannonball acts as a symbol, a simple man fighting for his right to be important and appreciated. The title track celebrates this idea and privileges that individual.
“This [song] came about in high-school government class where we were doing a survey," Remnant explained. "This guy was a human cannonball at a circus, and they showed his act on the news. He was suing because people weren’t paying to see his act because they were seeing it on the news for free. So we took a vote-- 'Do we favor with this guy or do we favor with the news?' We favored with the guy, so the teacher said, 'We favor the human cannonball.'"
Fans that followed Remnant’s recording process through MySpace saw a track list that was posted one year before completion-- and that changed countless times. “As it kept taking longer and longer, I kept writing better and better songs or songs that I felt fit better on the record," Remnant said. "There are some old songs that didn’t go on this record and will probably go on the next because they just didn’t fit as well on this one. Basically the track list changed 100 times."
A perfectionist artist may never finish an album, but Remnant said he is satisfied with the final product and has plans to begin recording a second album this summer, one with a completely different feel.
“Next time I want more of a 'live band' feel, so I am going to try and get more musicians," Remnant said. "I will probably use a lot of the Southeast Engine guys and just collaborate more. I think I can learn stuff from them and come up with a more interesting record."
Remnant will attempt his next album while simultaneously touring and completing new musical projects with Southeast Engine. Needless to say, it may be hard to catch Remnant actually performing songs from The Human Cannonball.
“I take shows when I can get them," Remnant said. "I am busy with Southeast Engine-- we have a much more rigorous touring schedule because we are trying to make something of ourselves. I don’t try too hard to book for myself, which I should be doing because that is the best way to get your music out there." True to cannonball form, he makes a rare, mesmerizing performance then disappears behind the veneer of the checkered tent, otherwise known, in this case, as Southeast Engine.
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Catch Jesse Remnant at 5 p.m. April 12 at The Watt Manor for Leo DeLuca’s birthday potluck with Columbus' Spanish Prisoners.