Darian Sahanaja | |
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 Sahanaja performing withBrian Wilson, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1963-05-20)May 20, 1963 (age 62) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
Darian Sahanaja (born May 20, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and arranger who is most notable for co-foundingWondermints in 1992 and having played withBrian Wilson's supporting band beginning in 1999.[1] He has also performed withthe Zombies andHeart.
According to Sahanaja, the first record he ever bought wasthe Beach Boysgreatest hits compilationEndless Summer (1974), and he "used to take physical beatings from neighborhood boys for being a fan."[1] In the early 1980s, he became obsessed with the band's unfinishedSmile album after hearing an unreleased version of the song "Wonderful". Sahanaja stated that it "pretty much changed my life."[2] He said, "When I met Nick Walusko, who I formed the Wondermints with, one of the first things we bonded over wasSmile bootlegs. We got to know [music historian]Domenic Priore and a small group of us became theSmile intelligentsia of that period."[1]
In 2003, Sahanaja worked withBrian Wilson andVan Dyke Parks in sequencing and arranging the fragments of the unfinishedSmile album into a completed work. Wilson, Sahanaja and the rest of Wilson's band performedBrian Wilson Presents Smile both live, and in the studio.[1] Wilson's wifeMelinda praised Sahanaja as "an unsung hero on theSmile project. If it weren't for him, and Brian feeling so comfortable with his assistance, I don't think it would have happened."[3]
In 2013, Sahanaja was the Supervising Music Consultant and acted asPaul Dano's musical coach for the Brian WilsonbiopicLove & Mercy (2014).[4][5][1]
Sahanaja performed alongsideThe Zombies on the 40th anniversary tour and the 2015 tour of their 1968 albumOdessey and Oracle. He later performed withHeart at theDreamboat Annie Live concert, writing string arrangements, while also playing percussion, keyboards, and singing background vocals. In 2012, Sahanaja appeared on the Beach Boys' reunion album,That's Why God Made the Radio, and the subsequent anniversary tour, playing keyboards and providing backing vocals.[citation needed]
Sahanaja was the composer for theDisney XD original seriesFuture-Worm! (2016-2018).[citation needed]
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