In the midst of ongoing social distancing to combat the spread of COVID-19, SOCAN continues to conduct video interviews with our members online – in our video series, “Staying Home with…” Today, it’s grandson.
grandson (aka Jordan Benjamin) won the 2019 SOCAN Songwriting Prize for co-writing (and performing) “Blood//Water.” The song, whose hard rock and social comment is typical of grandson’s approach, was also certified Gold in the U.K., and Platinum in the U.S. and Canada. His single “Apologize” reached the Top Five on the Billboard Canadian Rock Chart , while “Dirty” was Top 10, and also reached No. 11 on the Billboard U.S. Alternative Chart. He’s toured with Smashing Pumpkins; worked with his early heroes Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine; and performed on Late Night with Seth Myers.
When we spoke with him in early 2021, he’d just released his current album, Death of an Optimist, and had a lot to say about making music to connect listeners to each other in the middle of ongoing pandemic self-isolation.