Inside The Bubble: Exclusive Interview With Shaun Finn

For those who aren’t in the “know,” Shaun Finn is the best kept up-north secret since Frosty the Snowman. Canadian native Finn is a wonder to behold. He possesses the faculty to command the elements of rock and soul to combine in a muscled mix of music. As this star is starting to emerge on the scene Shaun has just busted out another hit single. The new song “Mrs. Doctor” is a Herculean expression similar to an S.O.S. Shaun brings a passionate thrill to the vocals he builds into his work.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Shaun to ask him about the new single and to find out what else he’s been up to.

The Artist

Bubblingbox: Tell us about yourself, where are you from?

Shaun: Hello! I’m an indie musician out of Vancouver, Canada. My shtick is using a loop pedal when I perform live with a number of multi-FX pedals and instruments: guitar, vocals, percussion (beatbox, whacking my guitar), and harmonica. New instrument in the mix this year with the new midi keyboard equipped with drum pads which really brings the live sound to another level which has been tons of fun!

Bubblingbox: How did you discover you were a musician?

Shaun: I was always drawn to instruments from an early age. At 6 or 7 years old my childhood friend had a piano and guitar that I got glued to pretty quick. I pissed them off quite a bit because whenever I’d go to their house all I ever wanted to do was play music. My parents got us a piano around then. The following year I performed Beethoven’s Für Elise for my 3rd-grade talent show. So Mom and Dad were like “K. Yah. Guess the kid’s a musician.”

Bubblingbox: You have a knack for live performances, how did you learn to be on stage?

Shaun: I actually used to be painfully shy on stage. Eyes closed completely for the first 2 songs I ever played in the stage lights. But my university friends were all great musicians and got up on stage at the weekly Acoustic Tuesday open mic nights and absolutely ripped it up and got all the attention from the girls. So with their inspiration and liquid courage, I quickly learned to love performing on a stage.

Bubblingbox: Who are your favorite live performers and why?

Shaun: I’m a bit obsessed with Tash Sultana. The first few YouTube videos that went viral a few years ago of them live looping in a bedroom and performing on the sidewalk is 1000% the reason why I got into live looping. The incomparable talent, the shredding guitar solos, the innovative fx/loop pedal game, the fierce energy – gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Anything in music I do I’m really aiming to do just a fraction of what Tash does.

Watch Shaun perform his single “Clean & Dirty” below.

The Music

Bubblingbox: Tell us about your most recent single “Mrs. Doctor,” where did this vibe come from?

Shaun: This one I got some serious writer’s block from. Some tunes just flow out in a night but this one I had to wrestle with. I had the instrumentals and the “woah’s” hook off the bat but struggled with lyrics. Generally, a few adult bevies work to efficiently lubricate creativity. But for Mrs. Doctor the first night I only had “the drink don’t work more” written down and that was it. Then it turned into “Your drugs don’t work no more” (sounds cooler. I mean drugs aren’t cool kids!… except in music lyrics hehe) and from there it spiraled into lyrics begging for love like a drug addict. The title Mrs. Doctor I drew from the tune “Mrs. Officer” by Lil Wayne also has the catchy “woah’s” in the hook.

Bubblingbox: Did any other musicians work with you on the track, any shoutouts?

Shaun: Huge shoutouts to Tom Maguire, Tom Maguire, and Tom Maguire. A really good mate of mine, an old roommate, and a great musician. Mid-pandemic we had a chat and I mentioned “I’m thinking of recording and releasing while gigs are on pause.” Tom goes “I’ve been getting into recording and producing.” (so we’re like “f*ck ya m8”) When we got into the makeshift studio for our first single “In the Dark” he set low expectations that it’s his first tune producing. Of course, he absolutely killed it as well as the singles that followed. In the process, he’s elevated my songwriting, overall attention to detail with music, in turn elevating my live performance game to simply keep up with the quality of the songs he’s produced.

Bubblingbox: Are you working on any future projects such as an EP or an LP?

Shaun: The project in progress is to bundle 5 great ‘demos’ into an EP that Tom and I are super proud of (so far so good) then work on promoting the sh*t out of it. Every single release is a bit of a practice round on what marketing tactics work, what doesn’t, then go heavy by the 5th release to (in theory) have things figured out well by then. (‘Figuring it out’ part is still in progress…)

The Future

Bubblingbox: Where can people see you perform live?

Shaun: Haven’t actually done any of the live streaming things this year since my following is still a bit low to justify it. Really just put out snippets of performing tunes a couple of times a week on Instagram/Facebook. But in the coming months when things open up I’ll definitely be out busking again in downtown Vancouver and hustling to get some gigs going again (which I’ll film or stream for the folks on the internets) In the meantime you can stay tuned on all the social media channels @shaunfinnmusic 🙂

Bubblingbox: Musically, what is it that makes you unique?

Shaun: Long story short: my vocals.

Also Shaun: Long story long: I really take pieces of inspiration of what I like from a ton of my favorite artists which results in a level of novelty in my own music. Vocally aiming for a mix of Kaleo/Paolo Nutini/Bobby Bazini. Instrumentally would be Tash/Two Feet/Black Keys/Chet Faker/FKJ

Shaun wrapping things up: Long story medium: I’m unique; and happily, all over the f*cking place.

Bubblingbox: What do you want the world to know about you? What does your music mean to you?

Shaun: Music for me is a little escape from reality. Any problems with work or love or life happen, music either helps me make sense of it or unapologetically expresses myself emotionally or full-on escape from it. I don’t like playing music. I need to play music.

Also Shaun: To the world: Feel free to come to join me on my escape. I’ll be frequenting here anyways. And for a long

We would like to thank Shaun for giving us such a candid look into his life and art. Shaun Finn is a brilliant artist with a lot of talent, we enjoy his music and wish him the very best in all future endeavors.