Page 59 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2019

Chris: It’s such a really unique thing. There is still a lot of live rock and roll out there. We have a
unique thing. We are coming from a real narrow perspective. It’s kind of a double-edged sword.
There are people that get it…that know about early Aerosmith, Hanoi, Princess Pang, some of those
bands…really get it, see it and enjoy it. I’m confident that we do it really well. We write really good
songs. We perform well together. We have a blast being in the same room. We’ve become this band
of brothers. It’s a spectacle to see.

JP: Since you’ve come on board with HighVolMusic and Bill Chavis, you have a new release
st
out, ‘Exit to the Velveteen Lounge,’ which dropped on February 1 . I would venture to say
that you’re proud of the music you created on the album. Is there a track that sticks out as
your personal favorite?

Chris: There is. A lot of people are like, ‘You don’t like the lead-off song?’ I like them all, but the song
‘No Pictures Please’ resonates with me. It’s always been my favorite, since the day I wrote it. I fell
in love with the way it feels and the way the backing vocals work in the chorus. It’s just really, really
pleasing to me.

JP: Did you guys have a hand in producing as well?

Chris: We did. We knew what we wanted everything to sound like, the arrangements and the
composition of everything. So, we put it all together and sent it to our producer. He just took what
we recorded, and he added all of the filters and the reverb and everything necessary to pull it
together to get that nice, full rock sound.

JP: You’ve been on the road off and on for a while now. What are your tour plans for 2019?
Do you anticipate staying mainly in the Mid-Atlantic are or do you expect to hit other areas
of the country?

Chris: We’ve got a lot more East Coast dates. We’re looking to get to Florida in the second half of
the year, possibly go out west. We’re working on a Las Vegas show in June that potentially will come
together. We’re just hoping to get in every possible direction we can. Baltimore, Philly, and New
Jersey treat us well. They respond very well to this type of music.

JP: Where does the band call home?

Chris: Right outside of Staunton, Virginia. Right in the Shenandoah Mountains.

JP: Do you think the mainstream music industry is more interested in talent and music or
looks and gimmicks these days?

Chris: Hmmmmm…mainstream…I think it’s probably more looks and gimmicks. It’s sad because it
seems like what is really, really popular these days and what is at the top of the iTunes or the
Billboard Charts is the creation of a producer. They bring in a talent who’s really fashionable that
they can put out there on social media or television. I know there are a few artists out there that are
true artists that are producing ten or more quality songs per album, but it seems for the most part
(artists being the creation of a producer), that’s really what sells. Since the day of American Idol, that
is the paradigm for the modern pop star.

JP: If there is one bit of advice you could give to a teenage kid who wants to make music his
life, what would that be?