Hello Our Basement:

Craving an escape from the endless parade of yoga mats and craft beer culture that defines my native Vancouver, I accepted the invitation of Pat Riley and Alaina Moore (of indie heavyweights Tennis) to record in their home studio in Denver, Colorado. We traded instruments and ideas, and with Beach House drummer James Barone in tow, I came out the other side with the solo EP Johnny, out September 28th.

Lazy Love is just something that came when there was nothing much on my mind. It breezed in one morning and landed on my piano. Just a couple of chords for the melody to dance around on.

There is nothing wrong with being lazy. Especially in love, it is a virtue. I finished the song very quickly and made a demo which I sent to Pat and Alaina because it reminded me of them. I suppose that was the birth of this little EP.

For the video, we just wanted to film an honest performance of the song with me at the piano in a white suit. But as the day of shooting dragged on I decided to have a few drinks and I ended up, inadvertently, making the whole scene extra schmaltzy. So where I was going for a sincere John Lennon I think I wound up with more of a drunken Liberace. Fortunately, it suits the song better. I knew from the start that I wanted Alaina to appear at the end like that. Two Alaina angels on my shoulders.

Thanks for listening,
Johnny Payne