by Sebastian Mackay
Music is about creation and connection. If you’re one of the lucky ones you’ll be able to both create and connect. And that, is what separates the great artists with the generic factory turnouts that produce hit after hit and that time after time are swallowed by ether. And it’s great artists that play shows in clubs and dingy back rooms and the never ending trek to the top, that change people’s lives.
“You can never be too grateful for that,” says Shane Henderson, the frontman for Shane Henderson and The Future Perfect, about connecting with people through music. “I’m one of the lucky ones that had people connect with what I’m doing and it’s extremely special. To have strangers come up to you and say ‘you saved my life’ or ‘you helped me through a tough period’…is one of the best feelings in the world. At that point, you’re connecting on a spiritual level.”
When Henderson laughs it’s a humble and friendly laugh, warm but not overpowering. It is, however, when he’s talking about music, that his gratefulness for what he has is near palpable.
“For me, it’s [music] has always been about real life situations…music is an outlet.”
And Henderson [and band mate Trevor Leonard] have used that outlet to connect with fans of Henderson’s other band Valencia and newer fans of The Future Perfect. He says he thinks people connect with music because it’s about energy and honesty.
“I think it’s associating with the band singing about something that connects with you. It reminds you that you’re not alone and that people are going through what you’re going through.”
Shane Henderson and The Future Perfect, in name at least, is also about transitional periods. Valencia, Henderson’s original band, are on a hiatus and he wanted to be clear that it doesn’t mean he or any other of the musicians are leaving music.
“I didn’t wanna use my name in the title but…i wanted to encourage people that followed Valencia to associate the new project with me. The plan is to drop my name and just become The Future Perfect.”
As well as an eventual name change there is also new music on the way. Henderson says while he and Leonard have 20 songs written that are waiting to be tracked, they’ll be working on more come the end of January. A writing session that will see the band looking at a 2014 release for new music, because as Henderson says, it’s been too long.
They are an indie band so you can’t go wrong no matter how you support them. Henderson says the duo hasn’t made any personal gain from the project and all of the revenue from their music and t-shirt sales is put back into the project to fund more shirts and more albums.
Check them out this Saturday at The Trocadero.
