Inspired by: John Norris

John Norris is a regular Renaissance man: an up-and-coming artist and an accomplished musician with the local indie pop band Harlan. He married his two loves for his master’s thesis and created The Still Beat, a collection of funky pop art paintings and an accompanying pop album. Harlan has since grown from a one-man project to a full-on four-member outfit. Over a cup of coffee Norris brings us into his circle of trust about his early influences, what he’s got on his iPod… and he even admits to having an embarrassing Aerosmith crush.

Chicken or the egg? What came first for you: a love of art or a love of music?

I started drawing a lot when I was really young, like four and five, and then I started playing music when I was about 12 or 13, and that sort of took over. I didn’t get serious about art or painting again until college.

For your MFA thesis you married your art and music to create The Still Beat. Where did that idea come from?

The situation kind of brought the two together. I was doing independent studies at the recording studio at LSU, I was writing a lot of songs and I was really doing a lot with the same two. I thought, why not try to put them together instead of feeling like I’m making this music in my spare time.

Where did the name Harlan come from?

Harlan is a county in Kentucky, and it’s also a fairly common name in Kentucky—and is my middle name. So, really, that’s what I started putting on my first demos that I would give to my friends. It wasn’t even a decision to name the band that, it just kind of turned into that.

When people ask you what kind of music you play, how do you describe it?

There’s definitely an element of pop to it. I think I would call it eclectic pop, if I were forced to. We like to investigate lots of different things within that.

Are you reluctant to call it pop? I know for some musicians that term has a negative connotation.

Yeah, I know, but for me when I think of pop I think of people like the Gershwin brothers and that sort of stuff, you know—popular music, popular songs. All rock ’n’ roll is pop music to me, so it’s all the same.

What was the first album that made an impact on you?

I was a big Aerosmith fan when I was like 11 or 12. I remember Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic was like the coolest thing ever. It’s embarrassing now, but back then it was amazing.

So, post-Aerosmith infatuation, who are some of the musicians you admire now?

John Cale, who was originally in the Velvet Underground. He has a sort of restless quality. I like a lot of his albums, but I don’t necessarily like all of them. But you just never know what his next album is going to be like. He just does unexpected things and I really like that about him. The person I kind of looked to when I first started writing songs was Paul Westerberg from The Replacements. Anyone who is a singer/songwriter has to be influenced by him to some degree.

What’s new on your musical radar right now?

The new LCD Soundsystem record Sound of Silver is really good. It’s a pretty recent release—dance music that’s smart as hell and full of musical quotes and references that are a lot of fun as well. Also, pretty much everyone in our band is completely obsessed with the album Tender Buttons by Broadcast—minimal but completely fleshed out, mysterious songs and arrangements.

What are some of your fail-safes, the stuff you turn to when you just want to chill?

The Beatles and Bob Dylan are always good. Also Luna-Rendez Vous is great comfort listening and Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust is another one I never get sick of.

You’ve finished your master’s, so what’s going on with your art these days? Are you more focused on your music?

No, I’m painting a lot these days. I just had a show at Moreland Studio, and I have a show in Houston coming up in September. I’d like to have another body of work to show when the new album comes out.

Are there any artists whose style or technique you really admire?

I like figurative painters like Lucian Freud and Jenny Seville, but I also like people with sort of more pop things going on like Peter Blake or David Hockney. Peter Blake is the one who did the cover for Sgt. Pepper’s, so he kind of mixed things from pop music and art early on. I like that about him.

Do you have any pieces by local artists in your art collection?

I don’t have much of an art collection, really. I have a lot of friends who make stuff that I’m into like Robert Moreland, Todd Hines and the guys in my band (Britt King and Scott Campbell). I honestly think they’re some of the best artists around.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever traded a painting for?

Well, I gave Bill Kelley a painting for helping me learn the recording studio. That was definitely worth it. I feel like I owe him another one at this point.