Todd Hannigan at SOhO

Having already built an impressive live resume that includes supporting stints for Jackson Browne, Ben Harper, and Jack Johnson, Todd Hannigan and his band will venture out on their own on Thursday night and bring a gorgeous blend of acoustic surf-infused rock to SOhO. But Hannigan is not just making waves in the live music sphere. A respected producer and engineer, Hannigan is part of the driving force behind Ojai’s Brotheryn Studios. And with a new album of his own currently in the works, having his own studio must surely be a big plus.

“It is definitely a huge plus for me,” Hannigan offered. “Not just for my music, but I also get to work on things like scoring and working with other great musicians. : The other plus is that I end up hiring back the best people I have come across through other people’s projects to work on mine. It really gives me the pick of the litter!”

And while the ensemble that assisted Hannigan on his forthcoming Courtside for the Apocalypse certainly reflects that, the defining factor in the recording is undoubtedly the songs themselves. With a guitar in one hand and surfboard in the other, Hannigan has made a career out of traveling his music around the world. With his adventures seeding a myriad of ideas for Courtside, Hannigan ultimately feels that it’s the songs that called the shots.

“You start getting a collection of songs,” he explained, “and they’re all current songs about what’s happening in your life right now. So I just started picking the ones that seemed to resonate over a period of six months to a year and finished those and put them all together. There are tons of ways to approach an album, but the way I did this one was just to keep writing from the same head space, and that’s what ties them all together.”

With the album scheduled to drop in November, Hannigan must surely feel some trepidation about releasing a snapshot of his life to the world.

“Oh for sure!” responded Hannigan. “But I just have to trust myself to be as honest as I can.”