Last November I had the pleasure of attending two nights of Chasing Kings‘ residency at Silverlake Lounge. Since then, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard their name mentioned in passing by new fans, and I even ran into the group hanging out at The Roxy a few weeks ago at a showcase. They seem to be everywhere,  and though they’ve only released a six-track EP it’s clear that the budding SoCal band is on the verge of bloom. It was only fitting that I should meet up with the quartet at (you guessed it) Silverlake Lounge to discuss their past, present, and very hopeful future as a band. Don’t miss the free stream of “Maybe It’s the Distance” below.

Laurel Kathleen: How did you come together as a band?

Drew Beck (guitar/vocals): Matt and I grew up in Lake Arrowhead, a couple of hours away. We started playing together in middle school in like, concert band. My junior year of high school I moved down to Malibu and met Nick from playing basketball. So then us three started playing together for a bit.

Mike Goldman (bass): And me and Nick played in jazz band together in high school, and then he suggested that I play.

Nick Sandler (drums): We wanted a fourth member, and so we decided to try Mike. We started playing with the four of us, and that was like…four years ago?

Matt Schwartz (vocals/keys): Four and a half years ago. It was just us three, and then Mike came in and made it a band.

Maybe It’s The Distance-Chasing Kings by Laurel Kathleen

 

Laurel Kathleen: Since you’ve been together as a band, do you find that your musical tastes have changed at all?

Chasing Kings: They’re constantly changing. We all grew up with a lot of 60’s and 70’s music and jazz. We all listened to and played a lot of jazz, and I think that’s reflected in the music we play, the different styles we all listen to. At first, the band was attempting to write pop songs.  We finally got a chance to record our music when we were really confident about it about two and a half years ago, but even now it’s hard for us to go back to our original tracks compared to what we’re writing now. Being able to go out to shows now that we’re all 21 has really helped shape how we look at the scene and music in general. That’s kind of what some of these new songs are referring to.

 

LK: The track that you’ve offered our listers “Maybe It’s the Distance” contains one specific line I’m intrigued about: “I hope that God is a fan of my credit score”. What’s the significance of that particular phrase?

CK: (laughs) That was probably our most debated lyric. We definitely sat down and discussed in for awhile. The song has been around for about a year and a half or so, and it went through several variations on the lyrics. When we recorded the song, it was supposed to just be lighthearted. It was like this super serious lyric that somebody who was really involved with the band but isn’t anymore just sort of gave us…it was just this idea. So it’s not quite literal.

 

LK: The title of your EP is unusual as well: The Current State of Our Future. Is there a specific message you’re trying to get across?

CK: No message that we want people to really take away; it’s just sort of a title that’s open to interpretation. For us at the time, it just seemed applicable to our situation.

 

LK: Last time I saw you guys play at Silverlake Lounge (for the full BnB review, click here) you were accompanied by painter Norton Wisdom onstage.

Drew Beck: Yeah, he’s my uncle. He’s painted with us quite a bit in the last few years, and he paints all over the place with other people as well. When we can have him, it’s fun.

 

LK: Your Facebook page used to list your music as “bathtub rock and soul”?

CK: (laughs) It was kind of a joke, but at the same time it kind of makes sense to us. It kind of defines our music, and it just sort of sounded right. Sort of like chillwave; it sort of tells you what it sounds like without really telling you anything too specific musically.

 

LK: Do you have a specific songwriting process as a band?

CK: It’s kind of always changing. But no matter what happens, it takes place when the four of us are sitting in the room. It’s never like one of us writes all the music or all the lyrics: it’s always just sprung from everyone feeding off of one another, and the lyrics always come like right at the end. Right before we’re going to record it, or the day we’re going to record it.

 

LK: Have you ever written the lyrics, recorded, and then thought up a better lyric later?

CK: Well, we’ll have a song around for like 6 or 9 months, and we’ve still only recorded like 8 songs. There are lyrics that we have…general ideas about, so towards the end we’re really just fine-tuning I guess. Sometimes when we play we’ll come up with something on the spot and it’ll stick, but it’s been awhile since we sat down and really written and recorded a big group of songs.

 

LK: Do you feel like there are any topics in music that aren’t talked about enough?

CK: Well comedy in songs is entertaining, but when you’re in a band you’re in a very defined and specific scene. So you can’t always be funny .

 

LK: Does that mean we can expect some outrageous comedic numbers soon? Or cover songs?

CK: We were going to cover Ke$ha for a party, but it didn’t come together. But really, people don’t write love songs anymore. When’s the last time you heard just a love song? Not like, a satirical love song or a metaphor for something else. Or anything that Katy Perry is singing. Like Beatles love songs.

 

LK: So when can we expect to hear said love songs?

CK: We’ll be recording a couple of songs soon, at this point we just want to make a full record. We just have to figure out how to do it right and raise the appropriate funds.

 

LK: How involved will you be in the production process?

CK: We’re not really ready to do it all ourselves. We record all the time by ourselves, but we enjoy motivation and collaboration with another party. It would be fun very soon to do that, but for now….we like being dominated in the studio (laughs). We’re a kinky band.

 

LK: Now that’s a topic I don’t think has been talked about enough. Maybe Ke$ha will cover your song!

 

Chasing Kings will perform next at The Dressing Room in Phoenix on March 11th.  For more information on tickets and upcoming tour dates, please visit their Facebook and Myspace pages. You can also catch their in-studio performance at KCRW on Sunday, March 13th.