Dan Mangan muses on robot love, newfound popularity

Dan Mangan

With Aidan Knight
Friday, February 5 at 6 p.m. (Tix available) and 9 p.m. (Sold Out)
The Haven Social Club (15120 Stony Plain Road)
$15 at Ticketmaster

Many a promising musician has fallen victim to the adoration of the media spotlight, becoming wrapped up in their own greatness as soon as they get a bit of positive publicity. For Dan Mangan, although it seems like he’s been receiving nothing but rave reviews lately, his feet are planted firmly on the ground.

“If you start getting entitled to [praise], and if you start feeling like you deserve it forever and always, then you’re just kind of setting yourself up for becoming a jerk.” Mangan says. “Like if somebody calls you some ‘Canadian indie darling’ or something, I can’t really read that and believe it. It’s not a healthy thing for me to read that and go like, ‘Oh, that’s who I am now.’”

Instead of dwelling on his own accomplishments, Mangan is much more concerned with the continued promotion and development of the talent that’s begun to surface in his hometown of Vancouver.

“I think there’s a really great scene that’s emerged here in Vancouver, and when I first started gigging, I don’t think it really existed,” he explains. “[Before], Vancouver was like, the home of Nickelback [...] They really got their break from the local radio station here.”

Having apparently overcome the unfortunate association with a band that’s usually only a source of shame for Alberta, Mangan explains that Vancouver musicians have since developed a true community of musical allies who promote and support each other’s artistic endeavours.

“Now it seems very much like everyone’s just a big conglomerate association of friends who all play music and are in different bands. People are starting to do well, and tour across Canada, and tour internationally, and you know, it’s exciting.”

The positive vibes from the west coast are also a huge part of what has allowed Mangan to attain the kind of success he’s been enjoying lately. In fact, without it, the music video for his single “Robots” may have been impossible to create.

“We applied for a bunch of funding and we didn’t get any of it,” Mangan laughs. “So we had to do the video totally on the cheap, and everybody worked for free [...] I chose a number of people from the local Vancouver music scene here who would be okay with just being ridiculous and silly. I think I chose well, and it’s kind of neat — my girlfriend got to be in the video, and everyone was just able to include a whole bunch of friends and kind of make it a big day of silliness, really.”

Those in the audience for Mangan’s upcoming concert might find that the cheerful silliness of “Robots” is contagious in real life, too. The song has become a crowd favourite, getting people out of their seats to clap along and sing with reckless abandon about how “robots need love, too” whenever it’s played.

“I used to encourage people to sing the ending, and then on the recent tour in Canada, I guess because people knew the song, then people just started singing the whole thing,” Mangan says with amusement.

“It’s sort of like being at a pool party,” he explains of his audience members’ lack of inhibitions. “Nobody wants to jump in the pool until one person does, and then everyone wants to jump in the pool.”

As for Mangan, he doesn't seem to mind getting splashed.