Shaun Fleming, the brainchild behind Diane Coffee, is a very intriguing person, and his journey to releasing “My Friend Fish” is just as compelling as the personality.

A crowd at Hangar 9 Nov. 22 had the opportunity to see Diane Coffee open for Those Darlins. Chances are they were not disappointed by Fleming’s flamboyant stage show– his feminine embodiment that dominates his live performances.

Fleming gives it his all on stage. He awkwardly contorts his body around his guitar while hopping around on stage; his long, blond hair bounces and sways over his face as he simultaneously makes silly facial expressions. His high-pitched howls resonate throughout the building as he dances with his hips and passionately clenches a fistful of air during a guitar break.

Indeed, Fleming is as animated on the stage as he has been off of it – literally. A little known fact about the 26-year-old, California-born musician is that he was once a Disney voiceover actor, starring in “Kim Possible,” “Lilo & Stitch: The Series,” “The Lion King .” and the video game “Kingdom Hearts.” Fleming also starred in the horror film “Jeepers Creepers 2,” playing a young farm boy named Billy.

Fleming is also the drummer for the psychedelic retro-rock group Foxygen, which hit the music scene big time earlier this year and last. However, Foxygen has been a collaborative effort, and right now Fleming is focused on promoting his solo effort as Diane Coffee, “My Friend Fish.”

Fleming moved into Foxygen guitarist Jonathan Rado’s apartment in New York City to escape Los Angeles.

“We had these two weeks off. [Rado] went back to LA to do some recordings and spend some time at home for the break. And I immediately got really sick,” Fleming said. “I didn’t know anyone in New York; and I just shut myself in and started playing and writing music.”

Fleming felt constrained to the small apartment, surviving on a diet of canned chicken and Sriracha hot sauce. Comparing his isolation to “the loneliest pet in the world” – a pet fish – Fleming took advantage of his agoraphobic state and begun composing songs.

“I started thinking about how I felt just sort of trapped in this little room – looking out the window,” he said. “Also, the loneliest pet in the world is a fish. It’s like the only pet that we can feel fine with having as our pet or eating; we don’t care either way. So “My Friend Fish” was how I felt like a fish in a fish bowl.”

Rado had taken almost all of his equipment back to Los Angeles. However, Fleming used what was available to create songs.

“I had half a drum kit, a guitar, and one mic and that’s all I had,” he said. “So for all the bass I had to detune the strings – drums I had broken cymbals and pots and plates. It was a mess, but it was fun!”

There spawned a brilliant Diane Coffee debut record.

“My Friend Fish” is packed with classic rock jams glazed over with psychedelic sounds and 1960s singer/ songwriter appeal. It is almost as if Fleming was living vicariously through George Harrison and John Lennon during his sickened two-week stint of isolation and composing. The spirit of Harrison can be heard through the guitar work of “Tale of a Dead Dog;” Lennon’s voice comes out in “New Years.”

The first and second tracks – “Hymn” and “Never Lonely” – are the highpoints of the album. “Hymn” opens the album with a haunting organ and a slow tempo that trails into a passionate vocal lead and jangly guitar part. Suddenly, the song allegros into a lively track lead by Fleming’s distorted vocals.

“I catch a cold with you/It just seems like the right thing to do/Lord knows I can’t take all of this (stuff) by myself,” Fleming sings on “Hymn” – a song that seems to grapple with the relationship between Fleming and his feminine personae as Diane Coffee.

“Never Lonely” features a groovy, unwavering bass line that trots on throughout the track’s entirety. It is a song that has the soul of Motown through the enthusiasm and attitude, only with a filter of a Foxygen song, as one would expect. It often has the flashiness of a Brian Eno art-rock record, particularly in tune with “Here Come the Warm Jets,” and the sentimental touch of Marvin Gaye.

There is only one song that is bit of a lull – “That Stupid Girl who Runs a Lot” – but overall, Fleming has done an exceptional job with “My Friend Fish,” considering that this is his first effort as a solo artist.

“My Friend Fish” is a direct callback to the past musically, and it offers listeners a glimpse inside the imagination of an ill-stricken artist who was in peril and severe isolation.

Indeed, Fleming lives a peculiar life. He has starred in Christmas specials with Mickey Mouse and built didgeridoos while living in a cabin in the hills without electricity before ascending into a talented and respected musician. However, his success is the result of the foundation he framed himself and the foundation he continues to build upon.

Fleming is wrapping up his Diane Coffee tour and will soon be back in the studio with Foxygen.

Dylan Frost can be reached at [email protected] or 536-3311 ext. 254.