QC, That's Where Podcast with Brian Fanning
Brian Fanning of FVNTVNV Records has been in the music scene since he was a kid. Growing up in a musical family, he took to writing music at a young age.
Coming from the Chicagoland area, Brian studied and graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, a move that led him to find a group of other passionate musicians; together, they started East$ide Sounds.
Now, taking on his own project, Brian started FVNTVNV Records with the goal of showcasing the talent of those living and working in the Quad Cities art space and using creativity as a way to highlight the beauty and opportunity of the Quad Cities region. Check out FVNTVNV Records and stay tuned for what's to come!
Read through the transcript of this podcast, below.
Intro 00:33
Where do you find a family of communities connected by the storied Mississippi River, where young explorers and dreamers, investors and entrepreneurs thrive? Where can you connect with real people living and creating in a place that's as genuine as it is quirky? QC: That's Where.
Katrina Keuning 00:56
Welcome to QC: That's Where. I'm Katrina, your host. And today, I'm so excited to be here with Fantana music producer and entrepreneur, Brian Fanning. How are you today, Brian?
Brian Fanning 01:06
I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Katrina Keuning 01:07
Good. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. I'm really excited to talk to you about what you've got going on in the music world. Kind of how you got your start as a producer. And you know, we'll just take it from there. So you're in Florida right now. But can you bring it back? Where did you get started? And how are you where you are today?
Brian Fanning 01:29
Well, I was born in the Chicago suburbs. I'm actually born in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. And you know, I've been a musician my whole life really, I came from a musical family. My father was a drummer as well as me. So he kind of taught me and showed me a lot of things as a kid. And then really, what brought me to the Quad Cities is I started going to college at Augustana in 2011. And so from 2011 until last summer, I lived in the Quad Cities, both during and after school.
Katrina Keuning 02:07
So you were able to help start a studio here.
Brian Fanning 02:13
Yep. Yeah, so me, Avery Pearl and Tavian Johnson, along with the help of a couple other people in the Quad Cities over the past couple years have started East Side Sounds recording studio in East Moline. And that's been operating since 2019. Kept it strong through the pandemic. And we're still going today. So yeah, that's been kind of really what came out of my time at Augie was those relationships with those people that I founded Eastside Sounds with.
Katrina Keuning 02:46
So thinking about the Quad Cities music scene and producing music here, what kind of like, what kind of genre what kind of message was Eastside Sounds going for when you guys got started?
02:59
Um, so when we founded, we primarily were making music that us and our friends really enjoyed making that was kind of our first mission, which is primarily hip hop and r&b music. And that kind of has, you know, been our focus up until this point, just because, again, that was kind of going off of what us and our friends and what they like to listen to. A lot of our family too, really. So yeah, it was kind of just geared towards something that made us and our friends excited to get together and do music and providing that same space and place for the community as well.
Katrina Keuning 03:39
How have you seen it change over the last few years?
Brian Fanning 03:44
Well, the scene itself, you know, as the Quad City scene as a whole is always kind of changing and expanding. You know, it kind of reflects what, you know, the national scene is looking like where a lot more hip hop and r&b are coming on to the scene. And I think the Quad Cities also has always had a very healthy blues and jazz and, you know, classic rock country, I think those genres have always been really healthy. And so I think, it's a great mix of all those different genres really. And that kind of was what drew me to want to stick around in the Quad Cities and starting you know, music as my career and looking for a place that I kind of wanted to go and really start setting up. The Quad Cities has such a great diverse, healthy music scene and so many people are interested in music and support music and it's really great to see how you know, I growing up in the Chicago suburbs, you know, a lot of those cities and populations of those cities are a lot bigger, quote unquote, bigger than then one of the Quad Cities. It's amazing to see how even though all of the cities in the Quad Cities don't have the largest population, the percentage of people that really support music and participate in the music community is really overwhelming.
Katrina Keuning 05:12
You're right about that. I think like the Quad Cities has so many talented people. And it's kind of a place where I see a lot of transplant people come from, like you from Chicago, I'm from Michigan, my husband is from Kansas. He's a drummer, too. So it's like, we've got all these really talented people who come here. And although there's a lot, and there's a lot of like, you know, venues and places to access music, it doesn't necessarily feel like cutthroat. It feels like everyone kind of gets a shot, you know, everyone gets a chance to find a place that, you know, they they feel welcome to, you know, share their talents or, you know, kind of find a niche group like you were able to with you know, your studio in East Moline. I love that about the Quad Cities and I'm really glad that you brought that up. So you're now in Florida. So can you take us to how and why and when you were going to Florida?
Brian Fanning 06:04
Um, so same time I met the group of people that I started at Eastside sounds with I also met my current wife, who is a, she is a PhD student at Florida International University. So we are down here while she is finishing up her PhD program right now. I got tired of doing the long distance thing, so we're down here for a couple years. It's great. I didn't abandon the Quad Cities, I promise. Yeah, no, we're living down here for the next couple years, while she finishes up her program, and then, you know, we plan to move back to the Midwest once she is done with that. But, um, yeah, so she's down here, and she's a clinical psychology student at Florida International. While I'm down here I get to experiment with my creativity down here a lot, too. It's been a great inspiration.
Katrina Keuning 07:06
How do you collaborate remotely in music and producing?
Brian Fanning 07:10
I'm very fortunate to work with some artists who, you know, can afford to travel down here and kind of, I have a studio space in my home. I'm actually sitting right now in my spare bedroom that has some soundproofing up and I have some microphones and stuff in here to be able to record so, um, either people come and stay with me for, you know, a long weekend, and we get to work for that time, or, you know, the magic of the internet is amazing. Being able to send send files to people, and I actually have people that record, you know, at Eastside sounds, and then send me things here, and I get to work on them and send it back to the Quad Cities. So yeah, there's all different kinds of ways that I'm able to do it. And I've got a couple of trips planned during the remainder of spring and early summer, to go back to the Quad Cities and do a couple events. So, um, yeah, between me going there and them coming here. And, you know, the internet, it's definitely, definitely doable.
Katrina Keuning 08:15
And the internet. And with the internet, you have a really big project that you're working on right now with Fantana records?
Brian Fanning 08:21
Yes, yes, I just launched about mid 2020. I think it was about almost a year ago now. It was about late May last year, we launched Fantanarecords.com, which has just been a place so far for my music to kind of live and my collaborations that I've done. I've released four titles through Fantana records on physical copy, we've done one vinyl and three CD releases so far. And yeah, so we just kind of started that as a place to kind of sell those and you know, we do merchandise. T shirts, sweatshirts, all different kinds of custom merch for the different projects and whatnot too that are available for purchase there. So yeah, right now we've got two exclusive digital only releases by a Quad City artist called E face and notch. It's produced by West music and written by West Julian. So another Eastside sounds team of local Quad Cities people that are highlighted on the website right now, as well as the most recent full length projects by Xavi Rusan, Lottie and Big Man G. So all Quad City natives so far.
Katrina Keuning 09:42
Yeah, I wanted to ask you to talk a little bit more about your collabs like, do you have a favorite? I know that like “hey, let's just fall in love”, you know, was very, very successful. Can you talk to kind of some, you know, highlights in that realm.
Brian Fanning 09:58
Um, I mean, as far as favorites, super hard to pick a favorite, I would definitely say, one that I'm super proud of as my most recent collaboration was Avi roofs on. He's a Davenport based artist for a really long time and is now living in Texas. And I think there's a great showcase that came out in this past January and is available on streaming services as well, it's called Dead Serious. I think that project is a really great culmination of all the work I've put in for the last, you know, few years, I started doing digital releases on streaming services in 2018. And so, you know, for the past five years have really been trying to get to the point to where, you know, I'm building things on the physical releases and getting them released, more than just on digital streaming. And I finally feel like, that is a great representation of a project that has kind of been the culmination of the last five years of me trying to put in some work as a music producer, and just keep getting better, and trying to showcase how great the Quad Cities in the Midwest as a whole, you know, how great the artists are, and how great the art that comes out of it is. One of the things that we're trying to do is put together a couple events, where artists like, like ze can come and, you know, showcase their art and and pair it with businesses in the area. That's one of the future projects outside of Fantana records that the team at Eastside sounds is working on, we're developing a way to try to bring creatives in the community, to businesses that want creative marketing and creatives involved in their live events and things like that. And really trying to bring those business opportunities to creatives while also showing creatives how many amazing, or excuse me, showing brands and businesses, how many great creatives are in their community that, you know, maybe they're just not even aware? Because I think that really, I don't think that the problem in the Quad Cities is that brands don't want to support local artists, I think that it's unfortunately, there's just not enough ways for those brands to really be even aware of what creatives are even out there and how they can be useful to their business. And I think that's where we come in as really showing these businesses, how these creatives can be useful to their brand, and how we can do effective marketing and effective live event planning that can be effective, you know, marketing tools for the businesses, as well as providing really cool opportunities to the community and like cool, unique experiences to the community as well. So
Katrina Keuning 13:01
Being in Florida and having a taste of like another region at the moment. Would you say that, like, there are better or different ways out there to like, for communities to work together to showcase and, and utilize, you know, creatives, artists, musicians, more so than the Quad Cities is currently?
Brian Fanning 13:24
I'm really, I'm actually really happy that you brought that up, because so I was doing live event planning, from 2019 all the way until, well, obviously, there was a large pause during the pandemic, but I got back to it after the pandemic, and was doing it in the QC up until last summer, when I moved down to Florida. And in the time away, you know, obviously, I haven't been planning events for a little bit, you know, since I've left, I'm just about to start getting back to it this summer. But in my time in Florida, I really have observed a lot of different great, fantastic ways that they do things in this community, and kind of how they pair businesses with creatives and use that in amazing ways to do amazing events and create really effective creative marketing. And that's been a very eye opening experience for me getting to take that in down in a city like Miami where you know, art is definitely a commodity in Miami. There's a people see the dollar sign value in art. And so I think it's not that that doesn't exist in the Quad Cities. I think it's just that people haven't really been properly shown how they can fully capitalize off of the creativity in our community and use it to not only the business's advantage, not only the artists advantage, but also to the community's advantage and really give the community the best, you know, events and creative spaces that they can enjoy, you know, so again, bringing that back to the team at Eastside sounds, and really figuring out how it is that we can most positively impact all three areas of our community like that.
Katrina Keuning 15:25
I think like, I know, there's organizations in the Quad Cities that are like actively trying to build the bridge, so to speak between, you know, corporate and our community. Um, I think a good example of that here is common chord previously RME. I mean, they're, you know, one facility that reaches you know, people who want entertainment, kids who need to learn, people who like history, um, you know, sustaining our you know, history and education opportunities and just community awareness in the Quad Cities and it's, there's like something for everyone there. Like Quad City Arts partnered with us to make the QC Public Art Trail where people can sign up for a pass like online and then you check in at different murals, sculptures, art spaces in the community, and then you know, a little bit more about someone's, you know, someone's history, someone's culture, someone's experience. So there's a lot of ways that I think the Quad Cities is like, starting to try to incorporate all of this and see art as a commodity, like you said, in Miami, and I love that you're getting kind of a new and different perspective of how we can further this mission.
Brian Fanning 16:44
Right, you know what Tyson Danner over a common chord, and that whole team has done and has been doing for years is amazing. I love it. And like you said, QC Arts provides a lot of great opportunity. There's a lot of other, you know, great entities. And I think one of the things, I've had talks with Tyson, and not to speak on his behalf, but just from experiences, even with talks with him. He was like, “There's only so much that one entity can do.” So we really do need to start. How can all of us come together? How can Eastside sounds come together with, you know, Common Chord and come together with Quad City Arts and start bridging those gaps and, and working in ways in tandem that all of us can, like you said, each individual organization has been working in their own regard towards really making a change and making a difference. And now I think we're right on the bridge of really bringing that to the Quad Cities. And so, yeah, like you said, it's super exciting to see so many different groups and entities trying to bring that to so many different, you know, niche communities in the Quad Cities, and I think, um, you know, we definitely have an opportunity to really bring some great things to, like I said, not just the businesses and creatives, but also to the fans and people who just enjoy art, you know?
Katrina Keuning 18:21
yeah, absolutely. I think like, you know, if you don't grow up in a family that's like, involved in that world at all, like, I think everybody at least starts as a person who enjoys entertainment, and enjoys learning more about their communities. So it's like, yeah, like you said, it's, every entity is kind of working together to, you know, build the bridge and make that happen for everybody. And so it's very exciting. Being part of Fantana records, East Side studio, what do you see in the way of like, competition between between these different entities, like you work together, but is there also like a competitive edge or anything you guys, you know, don't want to tip your hat for everything?
Brian Fanning 19:10
Well, um, so be to be completely honest, in terms of where we operate in the hip hop world, there really isn't necessarily an air of competition, I would say as much as an iron sharpens iron mentality. I think what was really great to see when we opened Eastside Sounds is a lot of people who didn't have a place to get together and collaborate and work together, all of a sudden had a place to do that. And it's been great to see the groups of people that didn't really know each other before we opened and how they've gotten together and started working together and the relationships that have grown from that and the art that has come out of that. Um, I think that is moreso the attitude of the quote unquote, competition. Um, I think it's really great to see people get inspired by other people doing good and really improving themselves and trying to get better themselves and taking that as a, Oh, I gotta, I gotta now start competing on that level too, you know what I mean? So I think that's what's one of the great things about Quad Cities is there kind of is that attitude of, you know, people are always kind of trying and hungry to be as best they can. And I think just having places that provide space for that type of collaborative work are crucial, because that really is how people can work together truly. Because without spaces like that, it is very hard to meet people and work together with people and create new types of art together. When you have a place like that, to kind of meet together and get together with each other, it really creates that environment of trying to be as good as the guy next to you.
Katrina Keuning 21:18
Yeah. I love that iron sharpens iron. That's a great way to put it. The year is 2040. What is Fantana Records?
Brian Fanning 21:27
Oh, wow.
Katrina Keuning 21:30
You have to answer this question.
Brian Fanning 21:31
Yeah. Wow, I'm trying to figure out the rest of 2023 still, but in 2040. Hopefully, we have a very large catalog of releases that can really be a place that people look to to go and appreciate some really great fine art that's from the Quad Cities. And I hope that people can really start to make art the commodity that it really is in the Midwest and really just trying to create a space for that. So hopefully we accomplish that.
Katrina Keuning 22:14
You said you kind of got the music bug from your dad.
Brian Fanning 22:17
Yep.
Katrina Keuning 22:19
What did that look like growing up like? Were you playing, were you gigging, practicing what was your kind of?
Brian Fanning 22:26
Kind of, not really. I wasn't that much of a gigging artist. So that's kind of why I actually took the producer route. I've always been more so a writer than a performer. I've always kind of played and performed because like, when you're in high school, you just joined band, you know, that's kind of just what it is. But like, I always was writing so I actually, right after high school, so my senior year, the summer after my senior year, I started teaching high school drum lines, actually.
Katrina Keuning 23:03
Oh my gosh.
Brian Fanning 23:04
And so I worked for Huntley High School, the school that I attended, and a couple other Chicagoland high schools and I actually taught at United Township High School for one season. And so that was primarily when I got into writing was drumline music, and I would like write their competitive show, the drum line book. So like whatever the drumline would play for the field competition show, I would write those shows and then teach them to the students. And then, you know, kind of do the next thing next season. Um, that was kind of actually more what I was into in high school was writing music and composing music. All through Augustana, it was more so in, like I said, the marching world and I was in orchestra at the time at Augustana. And so I was writing more of that style music at first. And then after I graduated and had a little bit more free time and wasn't involved in orchestra or anything, I kind of was left to my own devices and kind of was figuring out what it is that I kind of wanted to write and where I wanted to go with it. And that's kind of where I picked up electronic production and making hip hop music. And that was kind of reinforced by getting with Tayvian and Avery who they were already Hip Hop musicians before I really got super close with them. So that kind of helps, you know, steer the direction that I went in as well. But um, yeah, it's been kind of always, you know, my dad. He was a composer as well and would write music. Blues was one of his big genres growing up. So like writing blues music was kind of the first genre I was exposed to like, how to write, he would show me how the lyrics are written how they line up to the beat and, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Katrina Keuning 25:13
That's awesome. It's cool. Also, I notice you said, You're from the Chicagoland area, Hoffman estates and then you came here and you kind of just realized, like how, how cool and eclectic and how many opportunities were in the Quad Cities. So, you know, we obviously we'd love to hear that because I think that rings true in in all fields outside, you know, outside of music as well and in the art scene. So, I want you to take me back in time a little bit, can you speak to Car Chronicles and how that came about and what that was?
Brian Fanning 25:42
Totally. So Car Chronicles is the culmination of two frustrated young men trapped inside their houses during the pandemic, with no space to go perform or create. Big Man G for those of you who don't know, Big Man G, he was in a rap group called Sons of Mars for a long time, before being known as Big Man G. They have been outside performing, before they were old enough to get into venues, they would just bring mics and amplifiers to the street corner and just start yelling. So those two performing and rapping has been in their, you know, DNA since they were children. And so, you know, me and Big Man G, we used to, before the pandemic, you know, we would perform a lot together and do shows a lot. And they were one of the main artists that I when I was booking shows, I would go to them a lot. And so when the pandemic hit, he had a serious itch to keep doing that. And with no outlet, really to do it. Um, one day, he just sat in his car and filmed himself, you know, rap a verse, like, he had a mic live, like he was on stage and just kind of went in his car and did it. And then that kind of just sparked the idea of creating a space where we could go out into the Quad Cities and, you know, get that itch off of having to just go out and do our art form. But at the same time, you know, recording it, and showing people how beautiful the Quad Cities really is, because one of the things that we have always felt, and have always kind of talked about with the Quad Cities is, like a lot of people who are from the Quad Cities, it's very easy to neglect how the natural beauty of the Quad Cities and how great of a community it is, and all the good things about the Quad Cities. It's really easy to get bogged down in how life can get sometimes and forget that you live next to a natural national monument, basically. And so that was kind of one of our motives was to just like, Okay, let's go out, we'll do our thing. We'll make, you know, our opportunity to go and perform. But then also doing it in a space where people can truly appreciate how beautiful their community that they live in is, and really showing them how real the art and the artists that that live in those communities are too and kind of making that a more tangible thing. Like, oh, wow, he's sitting on the park bench that I've sat on, you know, he's in the parking lot that I park in, sometimes. He's on the street corner that I stand on. And just kind of bringing that real life aspect to it to really show people that how beautiful not only the art that's made in the Quad Cities is but also how beautiful their community and city that they live in is.
Katrina Keuning 29:07
It helps to see things like that through a different set of eyes. It is so easy to just go about your day life and oh, yeah, there's a Mississippi River. Okay, yeah, cool. Whatever, you know. But yeah, it's amazing. And it's here and when people come here, the Quad Cities traditionally, it tends to be like an undersell. No one really knows outside of here, what you're gonna get when you come. It's just growing in popularity. It's growing in like, awareness, but I think a lot of the country would just be like, what is the Quad Cities? Well, you know, it's two states along a world renowned river and we do all kinds of fun cool stuff here and you should come check it out.
Brian Fanning 29:52
Right?
Katrina Keuning 29:54
So it's really cool that you can use a dark time like the pandemic to turn your creativity on its head and show people what they've got in their backyard. I think it's really awesome. You guys were able to do that.
Brian Fanning 30:07
Totally. And we appreciate all the, you know, love and support that people kind of gave around it. It was kind of just a social media thing. So nothing for anyone to do, but just kind of watch and appreciate it. But we got a lot of kind words from doing that project. We're still kind of doing it from time to time obviously, as life got back to normal our motivations of wanting to do it so badly every day, kind of went away, but, um, it's definitely a series that we're still trying to expand on and keep going and keep showing people how beautiful the Quad Cities and the rest of the world is.
Katrina Keuning 30:48
And you're still doing that, because your newest tape Big River Loops features the centennial bridge, correct?
Brian Fanning 30:56
Yes, yep.
Katrina Keuning 30:58
The album artwork.
Brian Fanning 30:59
Yep. Yeah. Um, so Big River Loops, again, is a great example of me just trying to show people how beautiful the Quad Cities can be and trying to curate a selection of instrumentals, that kind of fits what I think the sound of the Quad Cities is. I think, again, like, that is something that I think a lot of people who are from the Quad Cities can easily forget that they have such beautiful scenery and things to play off of in their music design and what inspires them. So just trying to remind people of that, and, you know, keep that alive in the Quad Cities, because, you know, back in the day, there's a lot of songs written about the Quad Cities, about people who weren't even from the Quad Cities because of how important it was to the travel back in the time. But you know, you had some of the biggest artists in the world at the time singing about Davenport, Iowa, in the Quad Cities. So, you know, I think it's like, easy again, to lose that. And when you, you know, forget that people have been doing that for so long. Again, it's really easy to dismiss it as something that shouldn't be done. But you know, I think we shouldn't forget things like that. And really, I like to pay homage to the history of the area, and how much great art and culture has come out of the area.
Katrina Keuning 32:38
How many Miamians do you think are gonna follow you up here once you've told them the great tales of the Quad Cities?
Brian Fanning 32:45
Hopefully many. I hope they make the trip all the way up the river?
Katrina Keuning 32:50
Is that what you call yourselves? Is it Miamians? Did I have that right?
Brian Fanning 32:56
You know, I haven't really identified as a Miamian yet, but I guess that's probably what I would go by. Yeah.
Katrina Keuning 33:04
You know, Chicagoan, I don't know. Moliners, everyone's got their own little way to refer to themselves. Well, is there anything else that you wanted to touch on that I didn't get to?
33:20
No, I think we've pretty much talked about everything.
Katrina Keuning 33:24
Yeah, so per tradition on this podcast, I love to have everybody fill in the blank QC, That's Where? So would you please share your QC: That's Where?
33:36
QC, That's Where: the magic happens.
Katrina Keuning 33:40
I love it QC, That's Where: the magic happens. So, Brian, thank you so much for your time. This was really fun. I hope people check out Fantana records.com. Is that website name?
33:50
F V N T V N V records.com. I know it's spelled a little funny
Katrina Keuning 33:55
But when you see it, it looks right. So I'll go ahead and link that whatever you're listening to this on if you're listening on our website, if you're listening on Apple or if you're watching this on YouTube, check the description link of this podcast and I will link that website for you. I'm super excited for you, Brian to return to us in the Quad Cities here in the next coming few years. So hopefully that works out well. And then, for all music information in the Quad Cities go to visitquadcities.com. We've got events coming up and every thing you need to know to go and enjoy the live talent here. So Brian, thank you again.