Talking Inter-Dan-Mensional with Dan Galea and Scott Thompson
By Zillah Ferguson
Zillah Ferguson is a freelance journalist based in Toronto, Ontario who loves all things having to do with comedy, music and literature. She takes great pleasure in reviewing comedy and music albums, critiquing live comedy shows, interviewing various entertainment personalities and writing pop culture pieces. When she’s not deep in the throes of writing, Zillah loves learning endless songs on guitar, getting lost in a good sci-fi or dystopian story, cheering on the Toronto Blue Jays and Raptors, seeing a good comedy or music show and running her natural skincare line, Face Forward Skincare. You can read more of Zillah’s work and connect with her at www.zillahferguson.com.
On the precipice of the release of his debut album, Inter-Dan-Mensional, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Galea and Scott Thompson, executive producer and contributor on the album. Spanning across 19 tracks, Inter-Dan-Mensional takes its listeners on a musical and comedy journey of Galea’s life, traveling through various dimensions of self, having contagious fun along the way. It starts off very appropriately for a Canadian with Galea introducing himself and thanking all those for listening to the album. He sets the scene, letting his audience know that we are about to, “Experience multiple Dans from multiple Dan-mensions.” This leads into the second track where the listener is immediately transported to Galea’s “Family Reunion”, the eponymous title of the track. It also happens to be Thompson’s favourite of the album, and it is easy to see why. Not only does it start off with a feel-good rock riff, but the laughs roll just as quickly. Remarking on how the album initially unfolds, Thompson accurately sums it up, “There’s a very easy intro into the album, but there’s a lot more going on under the surface.”
A musical comedy album is quite the feat to not only attempt, but accomplish, and successfully at that. The best of them not only have an ideal fusion of tight musicality and great jokes, but they flow in such a way that each track naturally pairs together and tells a story. Inter-Dan-Mensional does this and more. Even though it isn’t an autobiographical album per se, it leaves the listener with the feeling of knowing Galea more intimately, having temporarily climbed into his mind, completely into another dimension altogether, in the best of ways. There are instances where the listener is carried from his family’s kitchen in track 6’s “The Shiny Toast Song” – where his phobia of butter was born – to accompanying Galea in a coffee shop as he breaks up with a girlfriend in track 9’s “The Break Up Song”. I asked Galea why he decided to create a musical comedy album and how he came up with the idea to present it in a multiple Dan-mension fashion. “I’ve been keeping a musical diary forever. It’s supposed to be like every song is sung by a different Dan in a different dimension who liked a different genre of music. That’s kind of the premise of the album.” It may seem quite the ambitious undertaking to have such a vast mix of musical genres within constantly shifting dimensions of times in Galea’s life, but everything perfectly falls into place within the album’s runtime of just over half an hour. While having a blend of genres is undoubtedly smart, ensuring that most anyone would be able to enjoy a track as there would be something to appeal to everybody, it was not done purposely.
Galea is a self-taught musician, who admittedly, doesn’t necessarily know what he’s doing. Diminished chords, key signatures and 3⁄4 time be damned, Galea, “Just knows if it sounds good or bad.” It helps that he’s a fan of every type of music, open to whatever type of sound emerges from what he’s happily tinkering around with. Galea allows the formation of a track to unfold organically, explaining that it’s, “Really just about what comes out. What comes out musically will affect what comes out lyrically.” Official training or not, it’s clear that Galea is talented and has an ear for what works well musically, comically and in tandem. How true it is that one has more creative liberties and freedom to explore when they’re not operating within the confines of technicalities, a rulebook and stringent lessons. Simply put, having no rules doesn’t constrain one and instead frees. Not one to be hemmed in by rules, as Thompson so aptly sums it up, “Quite often, the best thing for any work of art or anything that’s created, is for the person to not know what they’re doing. I really do believe that quite often lack of knowledge is the best thing, and sometimes the obstacle is the way.” He relates this to his direct experiences with Paul Bellini, famed writer of The Kids in the Hall series and the other frontman of their band Mouth Congress.
Their fellow bandmates are well-versed musically and can be prone to speak in music lingo that essentially translates to jabberwocky to Thompson and Bellini. Regardless, their songs – much like Galea’s – positively hit and not just musically, but also in how insanely catchy and instantly hilarious they are. Take for example track 14’s “No Lyrics”, a song whose title pokes fun at its content. For a song with essentially no real lyrics, rapping and singing about the lack of lyrical structure is a witty oxymoron of an idea that works well. It’s easy to stay with the listener, in part due to the beat and the premise of the song itself, making it memorable from the get-go.
This isn’t the first time that Thompson has been executive producer on a project, but it is unlike anything he’s ever done (happily so, he notes). How was it then that he came to be involved with this project? Like a good friend, he very casually asked Galea why he didn’t have an album and upon his reply, suggested that they make one. Early into the interview, Galea explained to me, “The timing was really serendipitous because me and Scott were just driving, and Scott asked me why I didn’t have an album.” His response was that he didn’t have the money, to which Thompson graciously offered to supply. “It was the nicest thing anyone’s ever really given me, the gift of a comedy album.” More than enabling the financial means to proceed with the album, Thompson was generous in his support and encouragement of Galea, providing notes and feedback. Commenting on the current state of comedy, Thompson describes it as follows, “This is a very difficult industry, and it’s particularly difficult in Canada. There’s very little support for artists in this country. People don’t build on careers. I thought […] this guy’s great, he’s hilarious, he’s musically very talented. I watched him and no one else is doing this sort of thing. Someone should just give him a hand, just toss him some money. That’s all I did.” That’s just Thompson being humble and modest, because while the funds for an album are a necessity, having his backing, involvement, expertise and specific experience to draw from are truly invaluable. Moreover, as Galea states, “Him being on the album very much legitimizes the album in a way that I couldn’t have done on my own. This sounds like a classic album because Scott’s voice is on it. You know Scott’s voice ‘cause it’s in the ether […] he is in our brains.” This couldn’t be more true. As a comedy legend with four decades in the game – best known for being one of five members of the acclaimed troupe The Kids in the Hall and appearing in three seasons of The Larry Sanders Show – Thompson is a world–renowned talent, who we as Canadians are lucky to claim. Seeing Thompson’s name attached to a project gives an automatic stamp of approval that whatever it is will undoubtedly be funny – it just carries that weight. Thompson took note from one of his heroes, Bob Odenkirk (who also starred in The Larry Sanders Show), “Not just for what [he] does on his own, it’s what [he] supports as well. I’m at a stage where I like to use my influence or whatever to help other people get a leg up.” Inspired by how Lorne Michaels operates with talent, Thompson sought to apply what he observed firsthand. “Lorne has the wisdom to back off and he trusts people. You hire the right people, you let them do what they do. You don’t fiddle around. You just let people do what they do.” His instincts were right, because the final product really is something special.
Of course, it’s not just Galea and Thompson who make the album what it is. How grateful Galea is to each musician who helped make Inter-Dan-Mensional come to life easily comes across in the way he speaks so highly of them. Through hearing him recount stories of rehearsals, it is quite evident that Galea not only had obvious fun with the band, but that he really respects the artistry of each member. It would not have been possible without the collaborative effort and undisputed talents of Al Val, Gavin Whelehan, Kevin Mendes and Morgan Waters. As Galea
details it, “I got people to take my songs that I made and kind of just tighten them up musically for me. I brought in all these people that really leant their musical gifts to make what I wanted in my head happen.” Rather than redoing and effectively changing the songs that Galea already had (which he wouldn’t have minded), they used what he had as a base and added their expertise to it. By doing so, that ensured the resulting product was a joint effort, as opposed to the band doing it for Galea. Evidently, that was the right approach because the finished tracks have such a distinct polish to them musically, while still ringing true to Galea’s initial pieces, and not sacrificing the comedic element. Being able to find that balance and knowing how to enact it proved to be a bit of a challenge.
In response to my query of the obstacle he faced, Galea said, “I actually think it was a challenge, because musical comedy walks this line of cheese.” His main dilemma in the creation of this album was wondering if something was too fromage-scented or not. If he deemed it to be more on the corny side, he remedied it by tweaking the sound to emulate more of its genre. Clearly, Galea’s own skills in producing positively aided him through his adjustment and modification of each track. Thompson spoke to that fact by adding, “Dan’s a very good producer at heart as well and he gets the best of people. He’s not threatened by other people’s talent, which is a really good trait to have.” Thompson agrees that while some musical comedy can be cheesy, Inter-Dan-Mensional is certainly not. He and Bellini shared the same concerns when working on Mouth Congress’ upcoming album (currently untitled), a follow up to 2021’s Waiting For Henry. They sometimes wondered and deliberated about what to sacrifice – the comedy or the music? “That’s the hard part,” Thompson expounded, “Sometimes it will be the right line, the right lyric…everything’s right, but you know that it stops a laugh. Which, is weird, because listening to a comedy song, there’s not really room to laugh. […] You don’t really leave that space, but I thinks this does.” One major way in which space is made is through six spoken interludes between Galea and Thompson that are interspersed throughout the musical tracks. Not only do they break up the album in a natural manner that lets the listener feel more immersed in it, but most importantly, they allow for that room to laugh. One really does have the feeling of being privy to an actual conversation of Galea and Thompson’s, even though there is the knowledge that they were crafted for the album. That just speaks to how palpable the natural rapport between them is. Interestingly enough, the spoken tracks that weave in and out of the musical ones mimic the first phone call between the two. True to track 3, wherein which Galea receives a call from Thompson at 4am, the latter admits, “I’m not the best at knowing what time it is; I’ll call any time of day or night.” Galea – who was told that the spoken tracks are a nice palate cleanser – affectionately reminisces on them being, “A little bit of an ode too.”
Toward the end of the interview, Galea expressed his gratitude to Comedy Records – who the album is released through – for allowing him to just be a comedian. Usually, he would be having to balance paperwork, distribution and all the behind-the-scenes work in addition to the product itself. As a producer, it is oft easy to get sidetracked by the production side of things, as opposed to just focusing on the comedy alone. Everything came together in a way that cannot be described as anything other than kismet, it was simply meant to be. Galea was candid in sharing that he has been dealing with depression for a long time, having recently been able to better manage and control it. With the clarity that comes with being in a good mental state, encouragement from Thompson, freedom provided by Comedy Records, an amazing band and hilariously unique material, there truly was nothing to stop Galea from realizing his dream.
Admittedly, Galea purposely wanted to make a silly album. “Everyone’s trying to be so preachy and prove some point and make a huge statement about something that’s bothering them. I just wanted to make an album where people can turn off their brain and just have a fun time. I just want people to have a break and that’s what comedy was supposed to be to me.” True to his art – choosing to create from a place of expressing oneself, as opposed to looking to receive accolades – Galea has no real concern/ambivalence as to if others do not like the album, he just wants people to be able to hear it. Thompson very fittingly encapsulates the effects of Inter-Dan-Mensional, “The thing about this album and I think it’s the same as the album I’m making is come for the comedy, but stay for the music. It’s far better musically than it ever had to be. Every song is catchy, they’ve all got hooks […] and they work as pop songs as well as comedy.” Indeed, it would be a disservice not to listen to Inter-Dan-Mensional as it is a wonderfully silly, funny and addictively memorable album that will have you laughing and jamming beyond the first listen.
Inter-Dan-Mensional was released by Comedy Records on April 1, 2023.
