Photo Credit: Deonne Jahnke
When singer Sam Llanas left the BoDeans in 2011, he faced the challenging prospect of going solo after 25 years in a popular band. Any pressure he might have felt, however, isn’t reflected on his latest solo album, The Whole Night Thru. As he tells it, he’s enjoying the freedom and comfort in this new chapter of his life.
His longtime interest in the night gets revisited on the The Whole Night Thru, with its title referring to his habit of working a lot during night hours. It was during many a night (and day) that he crafted the songs for this album, refining his songwriting approach while staying true to what’s worked in the past.
“This record is me,” Llanas says. “It’s a good representation of what I do. I think I found my voice long ago and this is just another expression of it.”
That representation features plenty of the roots rock and other influences that have been trademarks through Llanas’ career. At times the songs are reminiscent of his work with the BoDeans, but he says that’s never deliberate.
“I was in that band and was a big part of that band,” he explains. “I’m still the same guy so a lot of what I do is going to be reminiscent of what I did with the BoDeans, because it’s me doing it. It’s not anything I thought about. It’s how I sound and the way I write. Of course it’s going to sound like the BoDeans.”
He started writing the songs for the album last year and recorded the basic tracks at his house. Afterward, he turned to longtime producer and collaborator Gary Tanin, who produced his previous two solo albums at Tanin’s Milwaukee home studio Daystorm Music. Llanas says, that “it was a very homemade kind of record,” and that working with Tanin has become very natural.
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“He’s just somebody who’s diligent about doing the work,” Llanas says. “I’m kind of a workaholic when it comes to making records and he’s very similar. We seem to work together fairly well and fairly comfortably. I met him a long time ago and we were just good studio partners.”
He also received some help from his backing band, which features Milwaukee musicians Sean Williamson, Matt Turner, Ryan Schiedermayer and Tanin. “I liked the way they played and they liked the music I was writing,” Llanas says. “And we seemed to get along together and seemed to be able to make music together so we just decided to play together. We’ve been playing together about three years now.”
Llanas says that while he’s enjoying the freedom that’s come with being a solo artist, he’s not entirely dismissive of the band environment.
“When you’re in a band you don’t get to decide everything,” he says. “Everything is a democratic process. Everybody gets a vote. So it’s hard to do what you want to do because maybe the other guys in the band don’t want to do that. There’s always little arguments or discussions about whatever it is that you’re going to do. But when you’re a solo artist you don’t really have that problem. You can pretty much do what you want to do. And there’s been a lot of freedom in that. But sometimes it’s tough because every decision falls on you and sometimes it’s nice having other people carrying some of that weight. So it’s kind of a two-edged sword.”
As he’s faced challenges going from the success of the BoDeans to a solo career, Llanas has kept his expectations realistic. He hopes to keep making music and work many more nights.
“The plan is to just survive in the music industry,” he says. “It’s become quite a challenge. If I can just survive I’ll feel successful.”
Sam Llanas plays Shank Hall at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27 with The Delta Routine.
