Indie pop group Cannons look to dazzle with first time in Spokane

Childhood friends and musicians Ryan Clapham and Paul Davis had a feeling they struck gold when they stumbled upon Michelle Joy’s voice in a Craigslist advertisement seeking a band to join.

The pair sent Joy demos to see if her vocals meshed with their music and quickly realized their search for a lead singer had come to an end.

“It was her tone of voice,” Clapham said, “I remember very vividly listening to the demo that we sent. My wife and I were in the car and I’m like, ‘All right, let’s listen to this together.’ We both click play. And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, this is gonna work. This voice really complements the music’.”

The trio wrote two songs together online before meeting face-to-face in 2013, forming the indie-pop band Cannons.

After more than a decade of curating chemistry and sharpening their sound, the Los Angeles-based band will bring their Everything Glows tour to the Knitting Factory on Saturday, ready to show why their shimmering tunes and unapologetic theatricality have no intention of fading into the ether.

Before Joy drafted up her fate-defining Craigslist advertisement, she was living in South Florida. She grew up singing, took guitar lessons and was involved in her high school’s radio station. But she admittedly never saw music as a serious career option before her move to Los Angeles in 2012.

“I wish I knew what was going through my head, but for some reason, I just wanted to start a band one day,” Joy said.

Joy had used Craigslist for finding apartments and furniture, so thought it was worthwhile to take a stab at their music section after lackluster responses to her Facebook posts seeking musicians to collaborate with.

Clapham (lead guitar) and Davis (bass/drums/keyboard) had been in several bands together since they began making music during their teenage days growing up in Southern California but had struggled to find a vocalist that would move the needle.

“In the past, we’ve had singers for our emo bands and stuff that have all had varying degrees of success,” Davis said.

Coming across Joy’s angelic vocals in her Craigslist advertisement was a welcoming surprise, Clapham said.

Cannons released their first EP “Up All Night” in 2014 and released their fifth studio album, “Everything Glows” last March.

Since their inception, Cannons has gained international appeal, gaining over 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify and selling out shows across the globe. Their hit song “Fire for You,” released as the first single in their 2019 album “Shadows” has reached over 299 million streams.

The new record is the band’s emphatic statement of their sonic progression throughout the years, with each track among the 11 having its own unworldly melody paired with funky grooves.

“I feel like a lot of the songs on this album grow on you in an interesting way. I feel like it’s been growing on people and doing really well. And it’s been fun to play a lot of new songs live,” Joy said.

One particular track audiences should keep their ears peeled for is “Take Me to Tokyo,” Clapham said.

“It feels like a really emotional song where people just kind of like stop in their tracks and really watch us play it,” Clapham said.

Joy’s polished vocals on the new records and gravitating presence on stage didn’t come all natural, though.

“This past year I’ve taken for the first time I’ve been able to like actually consistently take vocal lessons and learn more about my voice and how it works … just trying to use music as a medium to express myself,” Joy said. “Performing has been something I’ve had to learn, and the growth has been enormous.”

This growth isn’t exclusive to Joy, she said. With top-notch production design and retro-esque outfits, the optimism that radiates during a Cannons’ show isn’t the sum of a singular effort.

Each member of Cannons brings a tailored vigor to the band.

“I never want our songs to feel like it fits into something that’s like, a trendy sound this year, because in a couple months, everyone’s going to be sick of it,” Joy said, “I feel really lucky since day one, that all of our different energies come together and can’t help but make Cannons its own thing … We all think about making sure it has that timeless feel to it.”

Clapham is aware how easy it is to be defined by genre labels but is sure not to give it the time of day, he said.

“In the beginning of our band, we kind of had a sound people were telling us we sounded like. And I think it’s easy to go down that rabbit hole of trying to create songs that sound like that or like write another ‘Fire for You’ or another hit we did. But I think just continue writing songs that you really like to listen to,” Clapham said, “I think just allowing yourself to write and not really putting any boundaries on it.”

Come Saturday night, the Lilac City for the first time will get its dose of these unbounded tunes with the shimmering backdrop of the production design where local audiences can leave their grievances at the door and boogie all night long. Cannons performs 8 p.m. Saturday for an all-ages show at the Knitting Factory.

“Expect to be taken out of reality for the evening,” Joy said. “If they need a little blissful escape, we can take you there.”