Video Premiere: John River Shannon, “City Lights”

Bad news for Louis C.K. fans; there won’t be any more Louie episodes until 2014. But in the meantime, there’s the music of John River Shannon to tide you over.

Shannon is the composer and guitar player for all the music heard on C.K.’s hit show. Before writing each episode, CK works hands-on with Shannon and his band SweetPro to create and record the music first, before the first scene is shot.

“My second favorite part of the whole process is making the music,” C.K. recently told The Times-Picayune. “SweetPro are a band that can really move from rock ‘n’ roll to jazz very easily. We always make music before I start writing. The first session is always pre-writing, pre-anything. The first thing I do all season is make two days’ worth of music. And some of that music helps me write. I listen to it when I’m writing.”

Shannon’s new album Time Was A Lie is due on October 16th via Obliqsound. Watch the music video for the track “City Lights” below.

“‘City Lights’ is a song about connecting with nature in the city,” Shannon tells American Songwriter. “The idea behind the video was to illuminate and pay homage to the natural flow and organicism  found in New York City.”