A few days ago we featured music from one of my new favorites, CHUCK After a few spins I decided we probably needed to get to know CHUCK a bit better…
What attracted you to the styles you practice?
I think the most distinct thing about my music is my voice. People always comment on that right off the bat. I sing in a higher register for two main reasons I think. Number one is, I grew up in a family that was full of women with loud and boisterous laughs that I grew up emulating. Their voices rubbed off on me. My laugh is sort of like the dude in Amadeus haha. So to me, in music, when singers pitch their vocals up or have really high singing parts, like in Beach Boys songs and stuff, it tickles some spot in my subconscious I think. So I sing like that a lot too. Also, Daniel Johnston was a huge influence when I first got my first guitar. I think his sense of humor, songwriting style and singing all remain big influences on my style. Besides them, in more recent years, I’ve certainly had my eye on ‘DIY’ bands like Alex G, Girlpool, Frankie Cosmos, Porches, Elvis Depressedly, Told Slant, Hovvdy etc. They’re pushing me to a new phase of what I want to sound like.
How long have you been making music? Have you been performing or sharing it with the public all that time?
I’ve been making music for almost 10 years. I started on my home Dell desktop computer in High School. I was going for an Aphex Twin / Boards of Canada vibe back then. I think I was messing around on a keyboard at a friend’s house, and I looped something that everyone thought was really cool, and that was the moment that made me wanna make music. Then I got a MacBook Pro at 18 and an acoustic guitar at age 20 and I just started recording really fast. With everything I made, I would burn CD’s and give them out to friends. And then once Bandcamp came around and the music got better, I would just put it on there and share it with friends and blogs. But I never really got a lot of coverage, so I haven’t pursued music as a real thing. I haven’t performed a whole lot, because I don’t think I’m a great performer, and for me, the pleasure comes from writing the songs. Whenever I have a show, I’m a mess for like 48 hours before it. I haven’t been able to enjoy playing. But I’m considering playing a little bit more, depending on what kind of response I get from My Band is a Computer.
Who or what influences your writing and performance?
A lot of my songs just come as melodies while I’m walking on the street and I record them on my iPhone. Then I flesh them out later when I have time. I think the three big influences on my songwriting now are Alex G, Destroyer, and Sun Kil Moon. I think Sun Kil Moon specifically influenced a lot of people over the last years with his tracks. The specificity of his narratives can be really haunting. Also, he’s not just writing love songs. I think I heard him in an interview talking about how, at a certain point, you can’t just keep writing songs about break-ups and love. So I’m trying to follow his path a bit. I’m also not so self conscious anymore about my music, so if I’m writing a song and a goofy lyric comes out while I’m writing, even if it doesn’t make sense, I’ll probably just keep it. I’m trying not to care how my songs make me appear to other people.
It seems all creative people go through rough patches or writer’s block of some sort. What motivates you to keep going?
I’ve tried to retire a few times. I just can’t do it. I think I’m going to slow down considerably though. I just don’t have the time and free space to create songs any more. I live with my soon to be wife and making music just doesn’t fit into our apartment and lifestyle. It has become more of a chore some times. I don’t get writer’s block really, I feel the opposite actually. I think my imagination has out grown my skill. I’m trying to become a better producer though. I think that’s big. But everything I do is very intuitive, so I’m just not sure how technically skilled I can get. I have about two albums worth of material that’s half finished that I want to release, so I’m gonna get those out in the next year or so and then I might hang it up for a while. I’m writing sketches and a screenplay. I get more pleasure out of working on those.
Were you trying to accomplish something different or specific with this project – creatively or otherwise?
As I said before, I’ve been doing PR for my own music ever since I got started, and I was never good at it. Also, my music was never buzzy enough to attract anyone to write about it. So I’ve got a body of work that I think is aging really well, and Audio AntiHero was nice enough to be a fan and realize that there might be an audience I haven’t been able to tap into on my own. It’s been really fun working with the owner, Jamie, to repackage some of my greatest hits on this record. He’s very organized and he’s got a great reputation. So the real goal is to give new people a sample of what I’ve been doing, and if they like it, I hope they will investigate all my other albums released as Charles Griffin Gibson and CHUCK.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Sorrow” by Life Without Buildings
Do you prefer a certain medium for listening – vinyl, CDs, mp3, reel-to-reel, Pono,(lol sort of)?
I’m awful. I listen to music on Spotify almost exclusively. I would rather do vinyl, but I don’t have space for a record set-up in my apartment. The convenience of Spotify is what makes it my primary medium. I go to a lot of shows too though.
If you had to choose one place to host your music, would you prefer Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, or … ?
For me, Spotify is the best way to get people to listen. If I see something on Bandcamp, and I have to buy it, download it, organize it, plug my iPhone in, get the music on there etc. I love Bandcamp, but this process is annoying for me. If something is on Spotify, I can just add it to a playlist, put it offline, and I’m ready to listen to it where I want. I think a lot of people are, like me, lazy, and Spotify is the best way to get those lazy people to listen.
Do you ever feel as if your tunes are lost in a sea of music? What are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract new listeners?
Of course. That’s why I don’t have all my eggs in the music basket. I’m more of a writer and video editor, because the music industry is insane to me. Hollywood isn’t much better, but I think it’s easier to navigate. One of the issues is, there’s just too much music in the world. I almost feel guilty for making so much.
I don’t look at anything in relation to ‘attracting new listeners’ though. My strategy is, I work really hard on making music that I’m proud of, and if I get any attention, that’s great. If you’ve listened to my music and you like it, that makes me ecstatic and I feel blessed. And if people don’t listen, oh well, it’s not a big deal. That’s just how it goes. The turn around in music is so fast. You can be hot for like one week and then disappear off the planet. You can’t get too emotionally invested on the outcome and stay sane.
Are you playing on live stages, clubs, bars, the local town picnic, festivals?
I haven’t played in a long time. There used to be this club where you could book your own show in Brooklyn, it was called the Cameo Gallery, I did my biggest show there for the Let’s Make Out EP. I’m gonna do a show in November I think though. Not sure where yet.
Do you ever stream your performances over the net? Where can music lovers see you perform?
There’s a video of me playing ‘”Death” on YouTube somewhere.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and/or discover more of your music?
I would say go to my Bandcamp, get the lay of the land, and then find what you like on Spotify. Unfortunately, my CHUCK stuff is lumped in with several other Chuck bands at the moment, so that page is a mess. It’s best to find a record of mine that interests you on Bandcamp first, and then go hunt for it wherever you stream.
Can you share an anecdote or tale of woe or inspiration like a story about an out-of-touch club manager, your favorite fan interaction, broken busses, or you know… just some experience in your musical journey you’ll never forget?
I made a hip-hop record that’s on my Bandcamp, it’s got too many samples to put up anywhere else, and one time my friend who is a DJ played some of the tracks at this packed bar and it was a pretty intoxicating feeling to see people happily dance to the music. People were coming up to me and telling me how much they liked it. It was intoxicating. Making hip-hop felt like such a goof to me. It was fun, and I love hip-hop, but besides that it just seemed like a really weird thing for me to do. So to see people enjoying it in a public place got to my head, and for like a week I acted like I was Action Bronson or something haha. I told my girlfriend that I might need to start acting outlandishly to gain attention as a rapper. Those dreams faded, but they’re still dimly lit in the background ready to go if I ever get more time to rap.
Lightning Round
What’s your favorite ice cream?
Mint Chocolate Chip
Dream vehicle?
Electric Car
Sailing yacht, catamaran, bass boat, or kayak?
Kayak
Place on Earth you must visit some day
Africa
Batman or Spiderman?
Batman
James Bond or Jason Borne?
Jason Bourne
Bugs Bunny or Anime?
Anime
Favorite beer or beverage of pleasure?
Patron on the rocks
Movie or book quote you are liable to drop at the wrong moment?
Something from a Million Dollar Extreme YouTube video
Left with a choice of one instrument, which would you keep?
Acoustic guitar
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
If you’re reading this, I love you.
