Darian Sahanaja (born May 20, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and arranger who is best known for co-founding Wondermints in 1992 and playing with Brian Wilson's supporting band since 1999. He has also performed alongside

the Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

and

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

as a session musician.

Background

Darian Sahanaja was born and raised in the United States.

Association with Brian Wilson

According to Sahanaja, the first record he ever bought was

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation '' Endless Summer'' (1974), and that he "used to take physical beatings from neighborhood boys for being a fan." In the early 1980s, he became obsessed with the band's unfinished ''

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

'' album after hearing an unreleased version of the song " Wonderful". Sahanaja stated that it "pretty much changed my life." He said, "When I met Nick Walusko, who I formed the Wondermints with, one of the first things we bonded over was ''Smile'' bootlegs. We got to know usic historian

Domenic Priore Domenic Priore (born January 15th 1960) is an American author, historian and television producer whose focus is on popular music and its attendant youth culture. Biography He has written extensively about The Beach Boys' ''Smile'' album, includin ...

and a small group of us became the ''Smile'' intelligentsia of that period." In 2003, Sahanaja worked with Brian Wilson and

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle'' and for his collaborations with ...

in sequencing and arranging the fragments of the unfinished ''Smile'' album into a completed work. Wilson, Sahanaja and the rest of Wilson's band performed ''

Brian Wilson Presents Smile ''Brian Wilson Presents Smile'' (also referred to as ''Smile'' or the abbreviation ''BWPS'') is the fifth studio album by American musician Brian Wilson, released on September 28, 2004 on Nonesuch. It features all-new recordings of music that ...

'' both live, and in the studio. Wilson's wife

Melinda Melinda is a feminine given name. Etymology The modern name ''Melinda'' is a combination of "Mel" with the suffix "-inda". "Mel" can be derived from names such as Melanie meaning "dark, black" in Greek, or from Melissa (μέλισσα) meaning ...

praised Sahanaja as "an unsung hero on the ''Smile'' project. If it weren't for him, and Brian feeling so comfortable with his assistance, I don't think it would have happened." In 2013, Sahanaja was the Supervising Music Consultant and acted as

Paul Dano Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career on Broadway before making his film debut in ''The Newcomers'' (2000). He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in '' L.I.E.' ...

's musical coach for the Brian Wilson biopic '' Love & Mercy'' (2014).

Other work

Sahanaja performed alongside

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

on the 40th anniversary tour and the 2015 tour of their 1968 album ''

Odessey and Oracle ''Odessey and Oracle'' is the second studio album by English rock band the Zombies. It was originally released in the UK in April 1968 by CBS Records. The album was recorded primarily between June and August 1967. The sessions took place at ...

''. He later performed with

at the '' Dreamboat 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 ''That's Why God Made the Radio'' is the twenty-ninth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 5, 2012 on Capitol Records. Produced by Brian Wilson, the album was recorded to coincide with the band's 50th anniversary. ...

'', and the subsequent anniversary tour, playing keyboards and providing backing vocals. Sahanaja was the composer for the

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

original series ''

Future-Worm! ''Future-Worm!'' is an American comic science fiction animated television series created by Ryan Quincy, who previously created IFC's '' Out There'', for Disney XD. The show features the adventures of Danny and Future-Worm, who time travel by us ...

'' (2016-2018).

References

External links

Brianwilson.com entry on Darian
* All-Music Credits entry for Darian {{DEFAULTSORT:Sahanaja, Darian 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers Living people Brian Wilson Musicians from Los Angeles 1963 births