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Chris, Just wanted to let you know that you are bookened on my ipod by The Pogues and Queen and solo by The Clash and Chris Isaac.... pretty good company..... I would think it would be amazing to a singer songwriter that in anytown USA a shuffle could go from Fat Bottomed Girls to At Sea. I also wanted to see if you could use your connections to make the most natural concert happen. Yourself, Great Big Sea and the Saw Doctors playing the same bill... There is some money to be made on that tour in the states. - Brian Brian, Thank you, that is some nice company. I don't really know if I have any connections, but that sounds like a concert I'd rather be in the audience for, with the possible exception of my set. - CT Hey Chris, I caught your recent show at the Steel City Coffee House in Phoenixville, PA and I have been trying to see your show for about 6 yrs now. I'm still cursing myself for not bringing my camera. Nevertheless, I finally was able to break free and see you. I must say your performance was amazing and everything I imagined and the new album rocks! You definitely know how to say the things (in your music) that the rest of us dont know how to. And I'm sure most of us can relate to your songs. I just thought your song "Starlight" was brilliant, as was every song. It was a song of yours I never heard before and I imagine it is about the feeling you get when you are on the road away from your lady, or something like that. When you sang about being "jeolous of the pillow and starlight by your side." That stuff was emotional and almost made me turn on the waterworks. How do you write such great songs like that? Anyways, just a few questions... When did you pick up the harmonica cause it was definately "SEGEResque" as you mentioned? Also, do you prefer acoustic performances more than electric? From the photos what kinda electric guitar do you play? It looks like a cats eye gretsche or something. I could ask you questions till the cows come home, I just think you are one helluva an artist and best of luck to you - Ryan, Harrisburg, PA Ryan, I picked up the harmonica years ago, but I still play it the same way as when I first started playing it, which is not very well. You would notice very little difference between how I play and if you were to just stick a harmonica in someone's mouth and say "breathe." Lately, I have liked playing acoustic better, because my voice is actually getting stronger from straining less. I really just enjoy playing music period. Logistically, acoustic / solo shows are much easier, but the performance is more daunting. An electric / band show can be chaotic, but spontaneous and fun. I play two different electric guitars. One is a blue mexican Fender Stratocaster, the other is a Harmony Rocket. I bought the Fender around the time the Push Stars toured with Matchbox Twenty, because it had a fuller sound than the Harmony. The Harmony Rocket has an amazing tone quality for what was essentially a toy guitar when it came out (1950's) - CT Chris: [Insert obligatory compliment on new record, love your music... longtime fan... yadda yadda yadda.] Now my two questions: Question 1: The new album's lyrics include the phrases "Whisper to a scream" (old 80s tune by the Icicle Works) and "Reach the beach" (song and album by the Fixx). What's up? Going through some kind of 80s flashback period? (Welcome to my life.) Question 2: I was flipping through the channels a while back and saw Jessica Simpson on screen singing a familiar tune--it was, in fact, Patty Griffin's "Let him fly." I wasn't sure if I was psyched or nauseous or both at this taking place on my tv screen. My question to you is... would you be sickened or thrilled to hear Jessica singing something like "Ocean view" on her next VH1 special (huge piles of cash aside, of course).- Dave in Auburndale, MA (again) Dave, Like a lot of people, I consider 80's music a guilty pleasure and the influence was actually quite natural for a couple songs on "Hey,You." For instance, the rhythm of "Feelings Without Weight" could be directly pulled from several tunes of that era. However I'm not imitating to be tongue in cheek but rather drawing on music that I had,and have, a genuine passion for. I think I equate the late 80's music with freedom, and escape, because that's when I first moved away from home. So, in my mind, that sound was perfect for "Feelings" because the song is meant to tell a story of two people fleeing their pasts. For question 2, if Jessica Simpson was to sing my song on VH1, first I would kiss the television, then I would find you, and maybe kiss you if you were willing. Because, you see, it has nothing to do with money. What I would be most thrilled about is that so many people would be hearing a song that I wrote sincerely for some dear friends of mine (with no thought of commercialism at all.) In a way, the world would be meeting my friends, or lovers, and those souls who have real substance to me, and that, no matter what the context, would be cool to me. - CT Hey Chris! How’s it going? First of all, I must say that I might be the only Brazilian who is a huge fan of yours and The Push Stars and who’s already had the pleasure to meet you in Hollywood, specifically when you played at Room 5 Lounge on the past Feb. 4th. That night was very special for me, and a lot of fun, too. We’ve talked before the first act, and I’ve even given you my demo (I don’t know if you have listened to it, but if you did, I’d love to know your opinion!). During our conversation, I‘ve mentioned the song Jukebox Lights, and surprisingly, you played it afterwards. It brought me to tears. And it still does whenever I listen to it. Then, I told you how difficult I was for me to play your songs, and you revealed your little secret: the capo. Yes, you are cheating, but you’d better cheat on that cheating on your lover, right? The first thing I’ve purchased after that night was the capo, and boy, that made things a lot easier! The first songs I played by ear were Cinderella, Small Town Geek (my girlfriend loves it!), Wild Irish Rose and Can’t Shake It. They’re a lot of fun to play, and I’ll try to figure out all your songs which require the capo. It’s challenging, yet rewarding. By the way, the new album is just fantastic! As I’m in Brazil, it’s nearly impossible for me to purchase it, but I got the samples and I hope (fingers crossed) to buy it when I get my immigration to Canada next year. It’s already a must-have! It’s funny, but sometimes I go talk to my mother and she’s in the shower, I sneak a little and I start hearing “I am burning, to be burning”, and then she just mumbles the rest of the words. Obviously, she never got the word ‘yearning’ when I play the song. I think next time I will just stick some socks into her mouth so that she will stop singing like that. I know this message is getting a little too long, but I’ve got some silly-but-extremely important-to-me questions. As I play too, it would be nice to get some advice coming from a pro like yourself. Here they are: 1) You said you are not the most skilled musician when it comes down to musical theory. You compose and play by ear, just like me. Do you think things would be different if you mastered that? Or is it just an optional thing, given the fact you already do the difficult part, which is composing? 2) This is a very silly question, but how can you manage to memorize all your lyrics for a concert? I mean, as time goes by, you make more and more songs, and you tend to forget the first ones you’ve done, so what do you do to avoid that? 3) If you have a concert right ahead, and you wake up and realize your voice is a little raspy, what do you do to keep it crispy until the show? When that happens to me, I sound like a duck being tortured to death. 4) Is there any basic hints or tips you could share about live performances based on your personal experience? Things you do that always work, or things you do that never worked. When I do something that I realized no one approved, I feel like throwing my guitar on the first drunken guy I see. It can be that frustrating! 5) In general, what can you say to musicians who are pursuing a career? 6) I’ve read on your myspace that you’ve done a song for a movie called “This Time”. What song is that? 7) And finally, I’ve been looking for the lyrics of the Push Stars’ B-Sides and Gone Again albums, but they’re nowhere to be found! How can I have access to those lyrics? Have you ever thought about creating a lyrics section on your website? I’d be highly appreciative if you answered these questions. It’d mean the world to me. And speaking of that, the world needs more people like you. Seriously. You bring joy to people’s ordinary routines, and when I saw your act, you turned out to be my new idol, ‘cause in many ways, I feel like we are alike. I do hope to become the kind of person and musician that you are, and I will struggle for that. You may not have noticed, but you did change my life. I expect to see you, performing or not, again and soon. Thanks a lot and good luck with your new album! -Fabiano in São Paulo Brazil Fabiano, 1. I sometimes wish I knew more musical theory. Although it doesn't affect my composing, it would help me communicate musical ideas in the recording studio, to session musicians in particular. I have, on a few occassions, had to resort to friends (such as Dan, the Push Stars' bass player) to create tabliture and chord charts in order to move a session along. I think the benefit of not knowing is that, without a map, you sometimes get lost in beautiful places, if you allow yourself time to get out of the car and see them. 2. I eat more seafood. Someone told me once that seafood helps to boost memory, and although I have no idea if it actually works, I BELIEVE it does, which goes a long way. I've been writing songs since I was a little kid, so my memory is pretty strong when it comes to lyrics. When it comes to remembering names or what meal I had yesterday, that can be a problem. 3. If my voice get's raspy, I stay away from all dairy products on the day of a show. I find this usually makes the rasp worse. I will also sometimes try to "burn" my voice back into shape by drinking a shot of scotch, and smoking a cigarillo, and believe it or not, it sometimes works. 4. One suggestion regarding live shows, is to just try to focus on the feel of your music. Live, there are so many distractions, but I think the key is to forget that people are judging you, and remember that music is from the heavens, and no matter how we try and control it, what is greatest about it is probably beyond our own comprehension. 5. I would only say that if you want a career in music, you must love it with all your heart and soul. You will always swim against different tides, some good, some bad, but at the end of the day, if your arms are tired, at least you know you put your strength into every note. 6. "This Time" is a song I wrote specifically for a film called August Rush. It hasn't come out yet. 7. I'm thinking of doing a lyrics page at some point. Thanks - Chris Trapper Dear Chris, Hi, my name is Mary Eileen and I am a big fan of yours. I live in Chicago and you know you my brother. His name is Tommy Poro. The last time you were in town, he was working something for you. In the concert you told the audience to talk to him because his dog just died. I thought that was really funny. Like I said I am a really big fan of yours and I try to get more people into you. My best friend Anna is a dance club girl who only likes techno. When she was in my room hanging out, we were listening to a mix cd that Tommy made me and she really likes you too. Because her car only has a tape machine, I made her a copy so she could listen to it. Anna's parents are from Poland and her father HATES American music. Well he was in the car the other day with her and the tape I made her was playing and he really liked it too. So keep up the good work that you do with your good music because if you can get Anna's dad to like, you can get anyone to like you. Love, Mary Eileen P.S. could you write a song about Chicago Girls... Thanks! Hello Mary Eileen, I don't know where to start. Thank you for forcing my music on everyone around you, first of all. I am certainly glad that Anna's dad likes my music, although I find it hard to believe he hates ALL american music. Has he heard Kenny G or Michael Bolton yet? I suppose since I grew up in Buffalo, only 10 minutes from the Canadian border, and in a heavily populated Polish community, there is some connection. And yes, I will begin working on "Chicago Girls" immediately. Thank you, and your brother, for all the support. You are my musical family, so to speak! -CT Chris, I was fortunate enough to catch your performance on Fox news this morning. Wow what a great way to start the day! I live in the Newburyport area--any chance of you appearing nearby? Best, Mary T. Mary, I think my next show in this area will be at The Center for the Arts in Natick, sometime in April. Newburyport is beautiful, however, so if I ever have an excuse to play there...I will. -CT Hey Chris, I heard you on the Joey Reynolds show recently and loved the songs you did with the ukelele. What is it about that instrument that makes the songs so extra charming? -Mary Mary, The ukelele is probably the simplest way to play a song, because there is much less chordal movement that can happen. Initially, I thought it would be cool to play such an innocent, old fashioned instrument in gritty rock clubs, but I didn't pick it up for real 'til now that I'm playing mostly listening rooms. It's challenging as well 'cause I have long fingers and big hands, so making a chord is kind of like fitting a ham into a sock... Actually, there is a great scene in a movie called "The Jerk" where Steve Martin is serenading Bernadette Peters on a beach. He is walking while playing the Uke, and it helps the scene feel romantic, funny and nostalgic. I guess the charming factor is really in the tonality of the ukelele. It is small strings strung tightly, so it sounds almost like a homemade instrument, something one might make with a box and some rubber bands. Of course Tiny Tim popularized the ukelele, and I'm trying to follow in his footsteps, without the helium-like high voice, of couse. CT Chris, Congrats on your new CD, I cannot wait to listen to it. I subscribe to the Napster Music service and was wondering is there any chance I'll see your record on their site sometime? Any chance your album will get up onto iTunes? Best - Castnera in Philly Castnera, "Hey You" should be on iTunes in two weeks. As far as Napster, me and my people (ok, person) are looking into it. Thanks- CT Chris, Do you have a favorite song on the new CD? - Greg, Charleston, SC Greg, The CD is still so new to me that I'm in the "What the hell did I just do?" phase... I spent most of the summer working on it, and immediately went to press right after I finished. It's 15 songs, all that I care about to some degree. I think right now I like the opening song "Feelings without Weight" because it combines a washy atmospheric lap steel part, double tracked and hard panned left and right (studio jargon) with a very deliberate rhythmic track. It was an ambitious recording, as well as a song that has a lot of meaning for me personally. It was nice for me to get to hear the parts that Martin Sexton and Great Big Sea added as well, because I basically sent the tracks to them in their respective hometowns, and they added their parts and sent them back to me, so there was a huge surprise factor for me. - CT Chris, Thank you for the great (and casual) performance in San Diego last Friday night (Friday, Sept. 22). Your comments about the songs made them even more special (particularly the story about "All Time Favorite"). See you next time - Mike Michael, Thanks for attending. That was a really fun night for me. It's not often that I get to sing without a microphone to hide behind. And the beach was only two blocks away! See you again - CT Hey Chris, I love all of your work especially the theme song for Pepper Dennis and I am sooo sad that's its all over and I would like to know when "Better Half" is going to come out on cd so I can buy it... Thanks -Kate, New Milford, CT Kate, "Better Half" will be on my new CD, which will be available on my website, i-Tunes, CD Baby and at shows as of October 10th, if not earlier. Thanks - CT Chris... What kind of car do you drive, and what's the deal with the Push Stars? Together, separated, divorced? -Lyndsay, Liverpool, NY Lyndsay, I drive an '88 red Cadillac which takes up half a block. The Push Stars played on some of my new solo record, and are none of the above. We are sort of disengaged for the time being, but we're planning to meet up next fall and make some new music together. Thanks - CT Chris, What does the new CD sound like, and when will it be out? -Tom, Delaware Tom, Actually, when I originally started recording, I wanted to try and mimic some of the mix tape cassettes that I've made and brought with me on tour for the past 7 years, so there is a lot of variety. It will be rock music, pop, folk, celtic-y, and latin. As far as release date, I'm hoping for late September. - CT Chris, Was it wrong to go see the Devil Wears Prada for the sole purpose of hearing your song on the big screen? And since you're playing MN at the end of September any chance of taking the 4 hour drive to Milwaukee? (I'm tired of driving to Chicago or Madison to see you!) Thank you for writing songs that I could play for my wife to express how I feel about her 'Freedom' still gives me chills every time I listen to it. Thanks. - Dan, Milwaukee, WI Dan, No you are not wrong to have gone to see DEVIL WEARS PRADA to hear my song. In fact, you were RIGHT to do it. See, a lot of guys were a little worried that this movie was a "chick flick," including me, so, for me, having a song in the movie justified my going to see it. In the end, I loved the movie, not for my song's input, but just the fact that it was great. I was just excited to tell my family that one of my songs was in a Meryl Streep movie, albeit quietly. It makes them believe I'm actually doing something with my life, at least for a week or two. Unfortunately, Milwaukee is off the radar for this fall, but maybe in the spring I'll stop by. Thanks for the nice words about the songs... - CT Chris, When all is said and done and you "hang-up" your musical gloves so to speak, what would you have hoped to accomplished as a musician and a person? - Kevin, Rochester, NY Kevin, I don't really think think I'll ever hang up my musical gloves, because, in truth, I have no other skills... Music saved my life as a youngster, and has made my life as an adult. My identity is wrapped up in it, and my fantasy is that I'll be able to enjoy it 'til I'm old. It is way more than business to me, it is beauty, and it is more than a career, it is a love. As far as what I hope to accomplish, that would have more to do with songwriting maybe, and in that sense, I would hope to have moved a few souls or at least related to someone in some sense. I guess it would be enough to have been nice background music at a cookout. - CT Hi Chris, I love the song The Bridge, don't know where it comes from since it doesn't appear to be on any of your solo or Push Star releases. It brings tears man, and makes me wonder if there are other unreleased gems hiding out there...? You're a national treasure dude. Tom in Monterey, CA. Tom, National Treasure? OK, now I know there are drugs involved! The Bridge was one of those songs that I wrote during a scary period in my life. So I wrote it and tucked it away after realizing that the lyrics were way too cryptic for our label (at that time Capitol) to get, and that singing it would cause me great discomfort. We put it on a B-sides record that is now out of print. I have a lot of lost songs that fall into either a strange emotional place for me, or a "not good enough" category. I keep them around though, in the hopes that I'll either grow up and face my demons or lower my standards on what equals a good song. - CT Chris, What's the deal with the Push Stars show in L.A.? Does this mean another tour? or even an album? - Tom, Baltimore, MD Tom, Well, the show at the Vine Street Lounge in L.A. will certainly be a special one, as it will be the first time Dan, Ryan and I have performed publicly in a long time. (Yes, the show is open to the public!) Although we have played together recently, both in the studio working on a few of the tracks from my new solo CD as well as playing some private shows. So no, we won't be completely cold! The show in L.A. came about because a very good friend of ours is involved in the grand re-opening of the Vine Street Lounge, which is supposed to be a prestigious club. So we are playing opening night, which is quite an honor. It should be a who's who of Hollywood, with such celebs as David Hasselhoff and Jerry Mathers already RSVP-ing. Seriously, we are all looking forward to it, and we plan to cram two years of not touring into one fiery rock show, so it is a must-see. And speaking of touring, we are planning shows in the fall of 2007, with a new CD, tentatively a "best of" package with new songs as well. - CT Hey Chris- Your "job" takes you to the far reaches of, well, at least the United States, sometimes beyond. You meet all kinds of interesting, famous people, yet you write a lot of great songs about very ordinary people in ordinary situations, sometimes with a twist. Why do you think that is? Thanks, John in Bellingham John, "We were all born naked, and we all will die alone." That's a little thing my granddad used to tell me when I was a little boy. Not really, but the point is that we are all in the same boat: celebrity, elite class or even janitor. The other nice thing is that I started in music late (I was 27 years old) so I have a good amount of real world experience to draw from. It's not like I'm hanging with Paris Hilton (yet) so, I have a few friends who have large fan bases, or however you might choose to think of it, but the reality is, it's just like having friends at any job. Some you like, some you don't. I am always conscious of trying not to cross the line too much. For instance, I am in the middle of recording a new song, which is all about touring with The Push Stars. It is one of the few times I specifically call out my own career as a lifestyle, and I always worry no one will relate, but I believe there are commonalities, whether you work in a cubicle or on a stage. The key is finding them, and shining a light on them.- CT Chris, What have you been up to this summer? -Cheryl in Baltimore Cheryl, I have actually been busy recording and writing. Ryan (MacMillan) and Dan (McLoughlin) came to Boston last week to play some tracks on my new CD. We cut basic tracks to six songs and we had a blast. They will be the rhythm section for most of the rock songs on the record. Their playing was amazing... I also recorded two songs with just me and guitar, and sent them to St. John's, Newfoundland for my friends in the band Great Big Sea to add parts to. These songs lean more on the roots music side of things. I can't wait to hear what they come up with. I am also making plans now to record a song in New York with a Cuban band called Sonando. I'll probably do that in August. Right now, I'm trying to write a good song for them to play to. I really like this kind of challenge, though, as it makes me step outside of the box. I also like this band a lot, so I don't want to write anything sub-par. I did a photo shoot in San Diego wth a really talented photographer named Lawrence Brillon. I'm also trying to plan my fall tour. Oh yeah, I've been writing songs with/for some other artists... Overall, I had planned to have a laid-back summer, but it's ended up being incredibly busy, but mostly just getting lost in the creative process, which is the exciting part of my job. - CT Hey Chris, I have been to a couple of your shows and am a big fan, but I rarely am able to hear you guys on the radio. What I have been surprised by is that I have heard "Any Little Town" over the speakers at a couple of grocery stores, both in my hometown in Washington and where I went to school in Minnesota. How does that work? One more thing, come to Toledo! -Luke in Toledo, OH Luke, Someone who programs cable radio for commercial in-store purposes apparently LOVES the song Any Little Town, because they keep adding it to the playlist. I get calls all the time from friends saying, "Hey I heard you in Home Depot," or "Hey, I heard you in Frugal Fannies" and my response is usually, "Not to brag, but I make five cents every time you hear that song!" I remember when they originally picked up the song in 1998, it was like, "Yeah, great, no-one's gonna hear it," but lo and behold, a LOT of people have heard it. I heard it in a CVS near my house, when I was home off tour, and the last thing I was thinking about was my musical career. I think I was picking up cat food or something. I felt like telling the 16 year old at the check out counter, "Hey, this is me singing!" but then I figured he wouldn't give a sh*t... - CT Chris, I happen to be a disciple of the doctrine of the magical golden liquor: tequila. Unfortunately, most people do not share in my pleasure. Since everyone has a "bad tequila" story, what's been your worst touring moment of all-time? (You can exclude tequila and all drinking stories if necessary... but surely there have been some Spinal Tap-Esq moments to be told.) - Jared from SC Jared, One of my personal favorite Spinal Tap-esq moments actually has happened several times on tour, but luckily, not recently. The first time was at a show in Boston where, as word spread through the crowd that my girlfriend at the time had just broken up with me, it became "buy Chris a shot" night. Of course I couldn't turn away charitable sympathy (and I decided I didn't care about ANYTHING anyway), so I drank and sang a song and a half and then realized the English language might no longer be an option. So without skipping a beat, I asked the crowd "who knows the words to these songs?" Inevitably, many people volunteered, all who were much more drunkerer than me, and didn't actually know ANY of the words, and they all took the stage for the ENTIRE set. So basically, people paid $15 to see drunken karaoke to Push Stars songs. The best part was, most of the crowd seemed to enjoy it, although I realized how useless I was. - CT Hey Chris, Where do you shop to find your fabulous stage wardrobe? - Loren from San Diego Loren, As soon as I hear "fabulous stage wardrobe," I know someone is on heavy drugs and should not be operating machinery of any kind. I do a combination thrift-store-meets-bargain-basement-meets-clothes that are given to me by people who think I should dress better. My last cool gift was from my Mom who gave me a Ratt t-shirt. When I asked her why she even had a Ratt t-shirt, she could not answer me. - CT Hi Chris, Two years ago at the Middle East in Cambridge, MA you and the rest of The Push Stars were kind enough to play a song for me...well actually I asked you to play "Starlight" for my wife as it was a prominent part of our wedding the year before. You made the night better than I could have believed by not only playing the song, but actually inviting us on stage to dance! So yes there is a question in here...I don't know if my request was out of the ordinary or not, but I am sure that you have had some over the years that have gone beyond the traditional, "Can you play...." Care to share any interesting stories about them? Bryan from Manchester, MA Bryan, I remember that moment well. I think strange requests have all kind of blurred into one: from "turn it down" to "bring on the headliner," requests come in all shapes and sizes. What is more remarkable is the vehicle that the request travels in! (Hence my "set list request" page on this website)... For instance, The Push Stars played an unfortunate gig at a Boston bar called O'Brians years ago, where an old drunk guy continuously walked around in circles from the back of the bar to the front of the stage, and then back around again. Each time, I thought he was going to throw a swing at me, but instead, he started spouting out different classic rock requests under his breath as he passed me, none of which I knew or could play. In fact I could barely make out what he was saying, due to the Doppler effect (like when the pitch of a train changes as it passes by). Usually, people will gently place a napkin on the stage, written in a drunken scrawl that says "Today is the 5th anniversary of the time my girlfriend and I first took a shower together. Could you play that song with the line about the rain in it?" or that kind of thing. But no matter what form the request comes in, it is always a nice compliment. - CT My question has a few parts to it, so here goes: Coming from a singer/songwriter like yourself are there any other singer/songwriters that you really enjoy their music? If so who might they be? Also are there songs by other artists that you enjoy so much that you would like to cover either on the road or on an album? If so which songs? Who's CD is in your CD player right now? Keep up the good work!!! Todd-East Bridgewater, MA Todd, Just for kicks...here are the cd's I brought with me on tour for the last few weeks: 1.Charles Brown / The Classic Earliest Recordings 2. Greg Brown / Essential Recordings 3.The Weepies / Say I Am You (my favorite of the tour) 4.The Carter Family / Hall of Fame Recordings 5.The Greatest Choral Show on Earth / Choral Compilation 6. Gene Ammons / All-star Sessions with Sonny Stitt 7. Noam Chomsky / The Emerging Framework of World Power 8. The Sun Records Collection 9. Cuba Romantica / Songs from a Cuban Heart 10. Jo Stafford / Blues in the Night 11. Melissa Ferrick / Velentine Heartache 12. Ladysmith Black Mambazo / Best of... 13. The Lemonheads / Best of... 14. The Mills Brothers / Cocktail Hour 15. Chris Trapper and The Wolverine Jazz Band / Gone Again 16. Paul Simon / There Goes Rhymin' Simon 17. Martin Sexton / Live Wide Open 18. The Push Stars / Paint the Town 19. Appamatox / Self Titled 20. Great Big Sea / The Hard and the Easy 21. Bob Dylan / Greatest Hits Vol III 22. Nicole Simone / Self-titled 23. Evan Dando / Baby I'm Bored 24. The Joey Reynolds Show / Featuring Rich Little 25. Catie Curtis / New Flowers demo. I also will either bring my XM or Sirius radio with me, both of which I love. As far as covering other songwriters, not yet, as I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all of the songs I write. And yes, of course I love so many other songwriters... - CT Hi, I have recently heard a song of yours and I totally liked it so much... Better Half. Was wondering when you would be making it able to download and if it is already how can I make a CD out of it that I can listen to when I am on my way to work... Because I really do like it... Traciey in Boswell, Oklahoma Dear Traciey, Actually, we are working on making "Better Half" available through iTunes, although it may not be up there 'til September. (The agreement between iTunes and CD Baby, which is my distribution company, is that in order for a song to be on iTunes, it must first be on a physical release). I am trying to come up with a way to get it out to people quicker, so stay tuned to my website if you can. And I'm glad you like the song. - CT Chris, I've had the pleasure of talking to you a couple times when you've been in Rochester and once down in D.C. I am a big fan and love your music. You once sang a song in Rochester a year or two ago and it's called Marie, or Maria? I haven't seen it anywhere --- Are you going to release that? Thanks again- Jackie Jackie, If it's the song I'm thinking of (because the name Marie is in a few of my songs) it is new, and it is in a holding pattern for the next CD. It's tentatively called "In from the Outside," and it's a little bit similar to "Freedom" in its revolving chordal progression. I originally wrote that song with the Canadian band Great Big Sea in mind to play it, but the timing wasn't right for them to record the song, so I'm going to this summer. I played it for a friend's wedding ceremony last year, and it was received well. At least, no one threw bottles at me. - CT Chris, Do you find that playing music as a career is challenging, or exciting, or both? P.S. Please come to Texas!!! - Lori K. in San Antonio Lori, Actually, both. The challenging part nowadays is transitioning into playing singer/songwriter rooms, as opposed to rock clubs. I am essentially a newcomer to most of these places, but I love the challenge, and the ability to connect in a way that might be lost in a rock club. The excitement factor is high this week. I'm in Hollywood right now, about to do a scene tomorrow for the TV show Pepper Dennis (WB Tuesday 9 PM). I'm going to be playing "Kiss You Where You Lay" (from Gone Again) in a beer and pretzel bar, as Rebecca Romijn (Pepper) comes to a realization she must risk to find true love. The script is really beautiful and funny, and I've been doing character research all week, in order to play myself accurately. Thanks for the question... - CT Chris, In a lot of your songs you or your character play the underdog. Whether it be no money, or not getting the girl, or not being cool, the narrator doesn't always win in the end. As you accomplish more and more in your career, and people praise your work, is it harder to get into that mindframe? I'm assuming by the amount of references to your family you have in your material that your extremely grounded, but do you find that you've changed at all since you started your career? Brian in Melrose MA Brian, Good question. Because I started in music late (not playing, but pursuing the career), I had plenty of years to grind it out in miserable jobs, not getting girls, and certainly not being cool. I think playing music gave me a voice I never had, and more confidence, occassionaly, but mostly it gave me an escape from my limited world in general. It has been my tool to travel, meet great people, and most of all sing until my spirit's content. What has changed is that my life is sometimes left of center, but I think I have plenty of experience to draw on if I'm stuck with songs about touring, hotels, and fast food. I have been grounded from day one, realizing how lucky I am to play music and how in an instant, if people don't show up at gigs, I'm flipping burgers or selling life insurance. (Not that there's anything wrong with those jobs.) The best part is, I'm making music I believe in, so pass or fail, I feel that I answered the test honestly and sincerely. - CT Chris, Lisa, Chris, I just saw Pepper Dennis on the WB channel this week, and was wondering how did you come about getting the theme song for the show? Jeff, Austin, TX Jeff, About a year ago, I got word from my manager that a new TV show was looking for a theme song. (I get invitations to write songs for different stuff, and depending on the amount of down time from touring, I will try to and come up with something). I knew that the main star of the show, Rebecca Romijn, was well known, and the synopsis looked interesting, so I wrote and recorded two songs for it, on my own dime. Now it's always a lottery and many songwriters will scramble for this type of thing, so I never think the odds are more than a longshot. So I was surprised when the producers called and said they loved the song"Better Half", and as far as they were concerned, it was THE theme song. Now the next phase is the toughest... convincing the people upstairs in the business offices that it's the right song. And because they usually look for a band on a major label (so there will be cross promotional dollars spent), I was surprised it stuck it out. The show's creators really believed strongly that the song was right for their vision of the show, and since then they have invited me on set to see an episode being shot, and to even perform for the cast and crew, which was really cool. I've been lucky to have had songs of mine placed in shows/films before, but this is the first time I've ever felt invested and involved in a show, from the ground up. The show is like a family, and the creators are sincerely good people, which can be rare in show business, so I hope you tell your friends to watch. It's a funny show that can be disarmingly heart warming too. After all, aren't you tired of reality television? How much American Idol and The Bachelor can you take? - CT Chris, I met you at the Tin Angel in Philly, and at the MAKOR in NYC on April 1, 2006. Both were great shows might I add; I actually learned stuff from you just by watching closely! I play guitar too, and was wondering if you could give me some insight on "Jukebox Lights." To make a long story short: the song is fantastic; I'd like to learn it for myself if I could. Any technique, chords, or anything you could shed would be awesome! I don't know if it's cool to ask such a question, by ways of asking you to give up how you play it. Something close would be sufficient. Thanks and best of luck on the upcoming tour. Patrick Patrick, I'll tell you a few key details, but to be honest, I am highly unskilled in the art of "chart" writing, and I compose by ear... but, I play "Jukebox Lights" with a capo on the 6th fret. The entire song is based around the G chord position. And most of the song is just a vamp, with descending D string movement. The other chord shapes used (keeping in mind the capo) are Em, D, C, Am etc... All of my finger picking is done with my thumb and index finger only. I think if you try that, the riff will almost come naturally, because you will limited as to how much movement you can do. Oh, yeah, I also keep the G string open and droning during the verses, so the D string is moving against a droning G string. Check back and let me know if this helps. - CT Dear Chris, I think my strength may be in the ability to cultivate a vision for a song, and sometimes hear it in my head before it's actually achieved in the studio, which is a skill necessary for producers. I can estimate technological concepts as well, like reverbs, compression, vocal comps
etc...but as far as turning the dials, that's when I take a long
winters nap. Hi Chris! What can you tell us about your guitars? Who made them? How long have you had them? What are they named? Etc. Some of your musical instrument challenged fans, like myself, would like to know for the sake of knowing. But I am sure your musically gifted fans would also love to know. I was watching "Made In America" where they were talking about Martin guitars and that got me wondering the specifics about your guitar. Yes, you can admit to us that you have named your guitars. Thanks! "Chell," Hickory, NC Dear Chell, Greetings from Beantown. I wanted to answer you: My main guitar for solo shows is a Fender Acoustic. It's painted Ivory, which is very rare (I've never seen another) I actually had it augmented with electronics, so now it has a very good pick up (amplifier) in a cheap guitar. For Push Stars shows, I've been playing a Mexican Stratocaster. It's a remake, and I bought it because I liked the one I borrowed from my manager (Abe) for the Matchbox Twenty tour. In most of the early years, I played an even rarer Harmony Rocket, which is actually the first brand of guitar I learned on. It's the prettiest of all of them, but the most limited in terms of sound. I've never named them, but you got me thinking...CT Chris, I'm old enough to have been a fan of the band and yours for, well, probably longer than either of us care to think about. First time I saw you was at the Old Vienna I think opening up for Ellis Paul. Second time was a Push Stars show at the Common Ground--you didn't have enough songs for two sets, so you guys played the same songs twice. Anyways, my question is this: How did you go from shy (I mean you didn't TALK in those days), quiet and uberthinker to the charismatic showman you've become? Just the gradual progression of a touring musician or a mixture of prozac and espresso? Dave in Auburndale, MA Dear Dave, First of all, thanks. I think the answer to your question is experience. And education. I have actually drilled some of my favorite live performer friends (Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea, Cassidy from Antigone Rising, and Butch Walker) as to what their secret is to "turning" a crowd is. To "turn" a crowd means to change them, liberate them from their daily lives, and unify them with one another so there is no distinction between bodies. One body, moving together. They have all told me the secret is letting go of fear. As well as letting IN the need to be heard. To believe you have something to say is essential to the performer, because if you don't believe it, no one else will. With me, I see myself as a songwriter first, although I have been a performer longer than I've been a songwriter. I can remember as a little kid, my parents would make me lip-sync to Tom Jones records for our relatives. Afterwards, they would shower me with tips adding up to about 65 cents. The best shows for me are when I feel like I truly need to get something off my chest. There are some nights when I'm in writer mode, when it is hard to get out of my own head. I've gotten better at hiding it, but I still have much to learn. But I always love performing, which makes me want to get better. And I've been lucky to play with some people who are truly great at it. CT Chris, Where are you at as far as recording a new CD, and what will it sound like? Jenn, Philly, PA Jenn, Nice to meet you, and thanks for the question! I have demo'd over 50 songs for the next album, and am now sorting through the songs to see which ones might stand out. My plan is to start recording the last couple weeks in June. As far as sound, I will most likely get back to the pop/rock format, with some eclectic stuff thrown in for good measure. I can't wait, though, to see where these songs will go, but what I'm needing now is to focus, and find a center for the record. I tend to write in a lot of different styles (ala a dixieland jazz record) so the trick is to try and find some continuity among the songs, and capture that without losing spontaneity. CT Hey Chris - How do you think emerging technologies like podcasting or on-demand entertainment through cable or cell phones, etc. will help or hinder local musicians in the coming years? Thanks, John in Bellingham John, As far as I'm concerned, whenever there's an outlet for music to be heard, it's a good thing. When it's exploring new territory, even better. I feel like musicians have a lot to be happy about these days. My friends Antigone Rising (who recorded my song "Waiting, Watching, Wishing") released their new cd solely through Starbucks, and the result has been great for them. The theory is that, yes, people may not be going to record stores as much these days, but if you can bring music into their daily routines, then you create new fans almost by accident, because the thirst for music never changes, it's just the accessibility. I have seen my friends The Churchills on Demand, with a video that was great but not done on a million dollar budget. It was totally able to communicate the vibe of the band without helicopters, explosions, and dancers. I know Great Big Sea has been doing a lot with Pod Casts, and it is a great thing for their fans. So to answer your question, I think it's a great time for fans and musicians alike, as there is greater access to one another. CT Chris, I've noticed that the idea of being naked shows up in several of your songs: "Me," "One Summer Day," "Shy," and "Midnight Cabaret" come to mind first. Focusing on the last two I've listed, my question is: What's with the naked allusions? Do they result from conscious choices or just what came out when you thought? My over-educated and trained must - find - meaning - in - everything mind keeps envisioning references to Portrait of the Artist and similar readings required of English majors the world over. In peace, Nell, New York, NY Nell, Thanks for exposing yourself through this week's question of the week! Although you've won no cash prize, your question will be seen by tens of people throughout America. Since the time I was born naked, I've always valued the contrast between naked and clothed. The truth is, I've always been someone who has a hard time hiding what I feel, pretending to be someone I'm not, and trying to appease others by sacrificing what is most true to me. I often refer to this as being "naked" because in truth, we all are. I like using this theme lyrically, because it's something everyone relates to. Very few of us are the type, who, immediately upon meeting someone, can walk around naked in front of them with absolute and total confidence. We all suck it in, stick 'em out, or turn down the lights accordingly. So being naked is a good measure of human insecurity, or confidence, whichever the case may be. In the song SHY, I thought it was a good way to show the central character's feelings being outed for the first time, and what the reaction might be to someone saying what is real, versus what is right. In MIDNIGHT CABARET, I think the initial inspiration was when a friend of mine and I were driving in downtown Philadelphia, and we came across a semi-homeless guy, who for whatever reason just decided to take his pants off and walk through the streets. It was amazing how traffic literally stopped for him, and people couldn't believe what they were seeing. It makes you wonder who's crazier... CT Chris: What's up with your hair these days? Thanks- Todd, Punxsutawney, PA Dear Todd, Thank you for the important and artistically relevant question. I have a terrific hair stylist named Kyle who works out of the South End in Boston. I would highly recommend him, although he is very busy. To be honest, not much is up with my hair these days, other than I seem to have slightly less of it. I now have to resist looking into three way mirrors, due to the fact they enable a rear view of my hair, or rather, scalp. Thanks for ruining my day. Love, CT Hey Chris, I have some comments more than questions. Thank you for making music that is pure and true. I couldn't bring myself to watch the Grammys last night because it's artists like you who should be up on that stage. I lost a friend to a brain tumor a few days ago. He was 46 and his last months were very dificult. His funeral is tonight. I am having some friends over afterword and "Keg on My Coffin" will be played in his honor. Thank you for writing a song that helped me deal with his loss. I have a satellite radio and was wondering if there is anything your fans could do to get you on their play list. Thanks - Greg from Cleveland Greg, Thank you as well. Actually, one of my best and longest friends died of brain cancer last year. It came from nowhere, and I was torn between running away from it (and not seeing him through the depletion of his life) or confronting it firsthand. I decided to try and embrace what was left to him, and we spent a lot of time together last year, with me taking many trips from Boston to Buffalo. It put a lot of my life in perspective, as I'd just had a stressful year business-wise, and was seeing exclusively through tunnel vision. I came away from it taking a long drive through my home town, past the house I grew up in, past my high school, and all the places I'd once walked through with him at my side. I played old mix tapes of songs that were literally the soundtrack of our friendship, and they transported me back. To tell you what his friendship represented to me would take a week, so I'll save that for the paperback! So thanks for using my song if you did. I believe music has a lot of healing power. As far as satellite radio, I think XM Radio still plays Push Stars stuff, as well as my new solo CD. The station is called the Loft (XM channel 50). As far as Sirius goes, although I do have the service, I have yet to try to get airplay from them. I really love both XM and Sirius for what they represent: an opening of the very confined format-style radio into creativity-based programming. In other words, when I was on tour in east Bum Stuff, Wisconsin, I could literally predict what every station would play next, because the formats had gotten so streamlined everywhere in the country. Satellite radio has entire stations devoted to Bluegrass music. How cool is that?- CT Chris, You often mention The Replacements as a major influence. I was turned on to the Replacements around the same time as I was introduced to The Push Stars about 7 years ago. So I thought I'd ask a few questions about the Replacements and their influence on you as a musician. * When did you begin listening to the Replacements and in what ways have they influenced you as a musician? * What are your three favorite songs by the Replacements? (Mine are Achin' To Be, Left of the Dial, and Sadly Beautiful.) * Would you ever cover any Replacements songs in concert, if so, what song would you like to perform? (My vote goes to Achin' to Be or Sadly Beautiful * Do you ever think that the song Skyway is written about the monstrosity that blesses the downtown skyline of our hometown of Buffalo, NY? Thanks - Brian in Cleveland, Ohio (by way of Buffalo, NY) Brian, I started listening to the Replacements in 1994. Although I had heard them before, I had never really listened. My first CD of theirs was "Don't Tell a Soul." I think the song "Talent Show" originally kicked off my obsession with them. I was beginning to play some gigs in Boston, albeit $50 gigs (on a good night), and this song connected to me in my initial understanding of what my career might become. I thought the style of Paul Westerberg's songwriting, as well as the band's demeanor, combined charm and recklessness in a unique way. And there is also something in those records which reminds me that no matter how expensive a studio, producer or budget might be, you can never wash the 'dingy rock club' off a band that has evolved in dingy rock clubs. I guess there were a few influence factors. One, the songs seemed totally real to me, not trying to be something. You can almost hear inspiration in the writing. Two, I love Paul's voice. In fact, he said in an interview once that you can hear within 10 seconds of the vocal whether the singer 'means it' or not, and that doesn't apply to anyone better than him. You can almost hear blood, booze, smoke and laughter coming out of his voice all at once. Three, I don't think I would have formed a band ever if it hadn't been that The Replacements made it seem cool to be in a band, and the songs document their story better than a photograph or a review. Favorite songs... I have several: "Here Comes a Regular," "Answering Machine," "Aching to Be," "Skyway," "Alex Chilton" (whom The Push Stars opened for), "I will Dare," "Swinging Party," and "Can't Hardly Wait" (which we cover, especially in Minneapolis.) I could go on... One night I even camped out in the backyard of the house that is on the"Let it Be" album cover (in Minneapolis), with a walkman, and played their records in the backyard. I had the privilege of meeting Paul Westerberg once, and I was a total freak around him. I had planned a whole speech, and was only able to muster up the words "nice show." - CT Dear Chris, Being a musician in a former life, I would like to know how you handle all the traveling you do. How do you hold your personal day to day life together while being in a different state every night for those periods of time? What do you do in the down time of traveling? Do you write, think, sleep, or all of the above? Thanks - Dave in Plymouth, MA Dave, Actually, I love most aspects of the touring lifestyle. The funny thing is, the house that I grew up in was situated about a hundred yards off the I-90 expressway. As a little kid, I used to sit in what became the spare bedroom (when my brothers and sisters had all moved out) and stare at the highway for no apparent reason. I was mesmorized by the trucks in particular, and wondered about the drivers and their lives. I think the driver's lifestyle is not much different from that of the touring musician. Maybe the musician gets more attention, but the basics are the same.You're away from home, and you can either make the best of it, or wallow in the loneliness. I love hotels (unless they're flea bags) and I love the open road. My routine is typically: wake up, find good coffee (which in some parts of the country can be difficult), do some form of excercise, shower, check out of the hotel. Then feel the weather of the day, drive, sound check, play the show, leave the club, check into the next hotel, stay up too late, wake up and do it all again (that last line sounds like something out of the Penthouse Forum--not that I've ever read it). As you can see, the routine is fairly mundane, which is what I think causes a lot of musicians to seek drugs, drinks and dames. The only magic of the process is in the people who are listening, connecting and feeling the music. There is also the occassional flash of a cool town that brushes up against you. For instance, I'm writing from Charleston, SC, where I took a day off today. I love it here, and I might not have ever come here if it weren't for following my stupid muse. Some friends took me on a tour of the city tonight. That's another cool thing: I get to see and meet good people and I never take that for granted. I also get to see old friends who come to shows that I might not have the opportunity to see if I wasn't touring. It is important for me to get into a routine amidst the vastness of each day.Talk radio, good tunes, excercise, try not to eat junk food, try to "just say no" to drugs. I sometimes feel like I literally live in the Bob Seger song "Turn the Page," which is actually right on the mark describing what it feels like on the road. For me, the key to it all is getting lost in the music, and feeling like I have some message I'm trying to get out to whoever cares to hear it, even though though I'm never quite sure what the message is, or why I need to say it.- CT Hey Chris, I have a two part question: 1) What do you like about the music and musicians that you like, and how would you define their success, and 2) What do you like about your music and how do you define your success?-John John, Your question is hard to answer, because of it's vastness, but I'll try my best. Why I like certain music, or why anyone does, I don't think can be rationalized. I believe it's usually about where someone is at emotionally which causes them to gravitate toward certain music. Success is a whole different issue altogether. One of my favorite artists of all time is a blues singer named Charles Brown. He was a star in the 1930's and 40's, had small resurgences in the 1950's and 70's. In the 90's, Bonnie Raitt plucked him out of his job as a janitor to open up a tour for her. He signed a new record deal with Rounder Records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 1999. He died the same year a respected man. To me, I've never worried about whether he was popular or not. It was more about the way his music moved me and transported me to the time and place where it was recorded. In our culture, we are told, through the media and advertisers, to like certain things, and why we should. It is so prevalent in the music business that record labels totally respond to it in an almost unanimous way. But I have rarely fallen into that. Since I was a kid, I always swam against the stream as far as taste in music, clothes, people, politics, etc... As far as liking my own music, I see myself as lucky to be able to borrow music from the artists I love, and to play with musicians who are tuned into their higher power. I define my own success almost completely by the respect from people I respect, and by my own stubborness or unwillingness to compromise in a business that is based on compromise. - CT Dear Chris, I found the attached picture in a magazine a few years back, and was blown away by how much these three guys resemble the PushStars (granted they're not as attractive as the three of you...tee-hee) It was so strange to see it, that it made me feel like it was some little joke that the universe was sharing with me. My question to you is this... are there any pieces of yours that had the quality of being gifted to you by a "higher energy" as you were writing it? Or perhaps, are there any pieces that seem to have come along to you in a manner different than your usual songwriting process? - Much Love, Carol Dear Carol, This is, to the best of my knowledge, the only exclusive "Push Stars" cover band in existence. Apparently, they played one gig, decided the money wasn't good enough, and started a David Hasselhoff cover band instead. Actually, when you say "pieces" and "higher energy," I get immediately uncomfortable in the face of sounding pretentious. But to answer your question honestly, yes. In fact, a lot of times, I'll be driven to write a song in a very immediate sense, and I'll have to completely abandon whatever I was doing prior to being hit with the inspiration. It's not always convenient, or social, or whatever, but I think it's necessary to strike while the iron's hot creatively sometimes. For instance, when I wrote the song Cadillac (Push Stars "After the Party") I was visiting a friend in San Francisco. Something relatively small and simple happened between us, but I had to leave her company, go to the guest bedroom and write. Literally 5 minutes later I had the song almost exactly how it ended up on the record. I do think part of the equation is being comfortable enough in your surroundings to be creative. Around that time, I was living in Brighton, MA in a house that became known as The Academy. It got its nickname through association with some of the bands that lived there at the time, including The Push Stars, G-Love and Special Sauce, and Thirteen Even. The house was thriving with creative people, and my friends were mostly up and coming artists reaching for the same goals. It's usually true that songs written quickly are the best, because the writer has spent the least time self-editing, but there are exceptions. The song "Can't Shake It" from The Push Stars "Meet Me at the Fair" was actually written at two seperate times. The first time was maybe 1989, when I thought it was crap, but decided to keep the idea around, and then 1995, when I found the scribbled lyric on a piece of paper, totally related to it, and finished it in one afternoon. It is pretty typical for me to write a song, rehearse it over and over, with no idea what it's about. The strangest thing is when you figure out what the song's about years later, in a very specific way, regarding a very specific situation, that you were totally unaware of on a conscious level, when you wrote it. - CT Hey Chris, Do you play any of the Push Stars' songs on your solo tour since you wrote them, or do you only play your solo stuff since it's a solo tour? - Addie from Crawford, MS Addie, Thanks for the question. I actually play all the songs I've written on a solo tour, including some Push Stars stuff, some solo stuff and songs I've written for other bands. The nice thing about a solo tour is that throwing a rehearsal together is easy, it doesn't even require one phone call, so the range of what I can play is wider. All of my songs have started out the same way, with me accompanying myself on acoustic guitar, so to see me perform solo is a good way of seeing how the songs were originally written. Happy New Year! May it bring along all your dreams. - CT Dear Chris, First I must thank you for your great music and contributions to the world of music. Your songs have brought me great joy. Who is Sofkuri? Is it a girl and where does she come from? What is the song about? Also, where did the idea of the song "Wild Irish Rose" come from? Those songs I find amazing and puzzling at the same time... if you could shed some light on that I would greatly appreciate it.... best of luck to you in your travels and thanks for the great music. Very respectfully, Ryan"Airborne Ranger" Dear Airborne Ranger, Although I don't want to give my exact story about the songs, for risk of subtracting potential meaning from them, I'll say that Sofkuri's Room was literally a Valentines day song I wrote for someone when I was too poor to buy a gift worthy of what they meant to me. I was in a new relationship and I didn't want to screw it up, so there was a lot of pressure for the song to be above average. Sofkuri is merely the word "soft" mixed in with their name, jumbled altogether...
Wild Irish Rose was one of those songs that a few things led me to. One was a dear friendship I had with a neighbor of mine, in which our weekly coffee conversations always peeled back so many layers of emotional skin and quickly, that I'd sometimes wished I could have reached across the table to protect her from the world outside. At around the same time, the old standby strip club in Boston was being closed down under pressure from the local government. It was the first strip club I'd ever gone to and I felt the city was hypocritical to close it. Going there had at once filled me with guilt and amazement. So I was fascinated with life's gray areas and I wondered what my grandfathers might have felt at my age... -CT
Hey Chris, Why don't you play New York City more...and no, Pawling NY is not New York City (sorry Pawling). Is it harder to get gigs here? Should we take it personally? - Mary Actually, New York is just not a big enough market to make playing there worthwhile! I figure if I start with Pawling, NY, some of the fans from there will spill over into the NYC area. In case you hadn't guessed, I was not a business major in college, so the word "market" is brand new to me, but I love playing in New York. I'll be playing there hopefully a few times this year. The traditional route for any traveling band/songwriter/performer is to try and limit your "plays" in a city to two per year, unless you are the "support act" in which case, you can support another two times a year. The goal is to not burn out whatever fan base you have, and make every show an event, versus being standard fare. The entire experience of playing NY is unlike that of any other place in the country. The traffic is intense, the food is amazing (tried a great restaurant called "Rib" last time on the West Side Hwy... unbelievable!) The parking can be a little pricey, but the energy is infectious, so you can't help but feel that your performance is just a small part of a greater, spectacular environment, so you (the performer) try to raise the bar a little bit. - CT Hey Chris!!! You have played with a lot of bands/ artists over the many years of being out on the road touring, and I could think of one or two bands off the top of my head who I have enjoyed watching you tour with...my question is what band has been your favorite? Oh and by the way...great pictures on the photo page!!!- Emily, (now back in) Columbus, Ohio Emily, I like touring with different artists for different reasons: Martin Sexton...Is like going to school. He is such a skilled solo performer that I learn something new every show. I've been friends with him since I first started playing the open mics in Boston, so we will take pre-show walks, and just chit chat. Great Big Sea... As you know are charming guys. They always used to give us their extra Scotch, which was better than the crap we were used to. I think it was Oban. and that was before we were even close friends. Alan is also a master performer, so it's fun to watch him turn a crowd (showbiz for "get the crowd going"). Now it's fun cause we're brethren. Matchbox Twenty...Of course the scope of this tour was magnificent. And it was nice to learn that Rob (Thomas) could still connect and relate to people on a human level, even though his life is somewhat of a circus.- CT Hello Chris, What are some of your favorite cities/towns/venues to play at? Do you have any wacky experiences that stick out in your head as a place you will never forget? Also, you and the guys have done countless radio interviews, any radio gigs get really bizzare with the questions they asked or interviews that go bad? Lastly, but not least, some of us would like to know where your first old Harmony Guitar is now? Sincerely, Greg Greg, Thanks so much for your question. My favorite town to play in is probably Minneapolis, if only because it's the home of the Replacements, which is the band that inspired me to get off my ass and try to play music for a living. One of The Push Stars' first gigs there was at a place called 7th Street Entry. It's kind of the legendary dive bar there, where all the great Minneapolis bands got their start. It was on one of our particularly ridiculous tours, where our set time was 12:30AM on a Sunday night (we couldn't understand why there weren't many people there) and we had just finished performing for the bartender and about 10 fans. Rather than sulk about our bad night, we decided to celebrate by taking a ceremonious leak on the dressing room floor, in unison. Although this was not an intellectual high point, there was the immediate satisfaction in knowing that we had peed in the exact same spot that the Replacements probably did years before us. My favorite radio interviews to do are the ones where the DJ's and staff know nothing about me going into the interview, so they improvise with questions as creative as "so, what does your music sound like?" or "do you like playing music?" The absolute creme de la creme of interviews is at WUMB in Boston, where the on-air personalities know more about my songwriting than I do, or at least pretend to in a very effective way. They'll ask me about the protagonist in the song versus the Christ figure, and I look at them like they're trying to teach algebra to a gorilla... My Harmony Rocket guitar came out of retirement on my new CD. I retired it briefly on the Matchbox Twenty tour because it was hard to fill an arena with a $100 guitar. But, the tone quality proved to be right on the money for the Gone Again CD, as it's a 50's guitar with a really warm, jangly sound. See you in Reno when the sun comes up! - CT So Chris, When you're on stage singing a song, and you look out and see
people in the audience singing along with you, (hopefully you can't
actually hear us)... does that bug you (like: "let me do the singing,
here, people!") or does it make you happy (like: "yay, they know the
words to my songs, cool!")? Or, have you not noticed that? Curious and just trying to do the right thing by you. - Jane in Phoenix Dear Chris, What is your process for writing songs? I realize that it may be different for each song, but is there an overriding common process that occurs for most songs? -John in Bellingham, MA John... I've been asked about the process of songwriting a lot, and it's always hard, because the process is still somewhat of a mystery to me. I am still surprised when I finish a song and it makes sense, musically and lyrically. I think that is why I find joy doing it, because I haven't mastered it to the point of a predictable outcome yet. That being said, I carry a little beat-up micro cassette player with me at all times, almost wherever I go. And as melody ideas pop into my head, I will quickly hum them into my tape recorder. (People think It's weird when I disappear at a party to hum into my recorder.) At the end of every 3 months or so, I'll play the tape back and see what melodies stick out to me. There's usually one or two out of 50 - 60 melodies that I'll remember after the tape is done playing. At that point, I'll usually pick up my guitar and try and build chords around whichever melody I like the most. If something works, then I'll seek out the most difficult piece of the equation... lyrical inspiration. This is the one part that is so hard to explain, because it is delicate, and the part of songwriting I fear losing the most. It is almost like trying to bottle lightning. Not meaning to compare songwriting to the majesty of nature, but I love the fact that it really does at some point come down to "Will I allow myself to go where the song wants to go, mentally or spiritually?" For instance, there are quite a few songs I've written that are intimately dealing with my life, where the people I'm closest to are outed, or dealt with, (including ME) and I always cringe a little bit, because I don't always want to go there. But there is something greater at work than the guy who pays the bills and cuts the lawn. It's almost like trying to be an honest journalist vs. just trying to grab headlines or ratings. I guess I've always used songwriting as a tool to deal with stuff, but now it can get confusing because It is also my career. I can remember in high school, after having a particularly difficult time deflecting insults one day, I hopped off the school bus, locked myself in my room with a guitar, and a half hour later, I had a song. But the part of it that has kept me coming back for more is that it actually made me feel better, and somehow more complete. So I fill the lyric puzzle in, play the song a thousand times, and then put it away. The breaking point is when I revisit the song after a one or two day rest. If it's still sounding good, I'll keep it. If it sounds like "uh oh, what kind of drugs was I on when I wrote this?" then I'll throw it into a bad idea folder. Once every couple years, I'll revisit these songs, and some will make sense to me, and they become real songs, ie, "Can't Shake it Off," or The Push Stars' "Meet Me at the Fair"... I'm guessing you may be a songwriter, so suffice it to say, I think the key to the songwriting process is being open and available to the inspiration to write. Be ready to disappear into your own head for a while. And I guess it's also about paying attention to people, what they do and say, what they've hoped for, and what they've lost.- CT Dear Chris, What music are you listening to these days? - Sean in Philadelphia, PA I've been listening to mostly Cuban music lately. I go through periods of musical obsessions, and this is my newest. I am always looking for new melodic ideas so I don't repeat melodies from album to album, and the Cuban music circa 1940-1960 is some of the richest I've ever heard. A couple artists names are Bola de Nieve, Los Zaphiros and La Lupe. On the American side, I've been listening to my friend and fellow songwriter, Jim Infantino's newest album. His band is called Jim's Big Ego, and the CD's called "They're Everywhere." Jim has been a major influence on me, and he also gave me my first "legitimate" gig, opening for him in Boston. Songwriters have an inert fear of drying out, and Jim just seems to keep getting better with age, defying the rules, still increasingly creative. I am amazed by him. Also, I like a band called Carbon Leaf...really strong songwriting, lyrics especially. Pete Yorn, Red Letter (from Boston). Charles Brown is my all time favorite so I always return to him - CT Dear Chris, How do you know when you've "arrived"? - Amy in Los Angeles, CA I think there were a few moments where I felt a sense of arriving in some small way. One was when, in or around 1998, I started getting phone calls from girls who had turned me down only a couple years earlier, asking ME to get together to talk, have coffee, get a couple drinks, etc. I never returned the calls, as I was no longer thirsty... Another was after taping the Craig Kilborn show. When the show aired later that night, I was sitting in a hotel room in L.A., and I realized I had always imagined another band in this position as having cocaine on every horizontal surface in their hotel room, with girls hanging on them like jewelry and booze flowing by the bathtub full. And here I was watching it with my brother John, Greg Collins, and three other guy friends, arguing over who had the better sideburns and what exactly constituted a "hairy" back. The most recent was on the MatchboxTwenty tour, when Rob Thomas, their lead singer joined us on stage. He was singing harmonies with me, and I looked out and saw 15,000 people singing with us, and I thought: I wish I was me right now, and then I realized I was me, or I am me or whatever. Later that night I went to call a friend to tell them about the show, and my cell phone was shut off due to a delinquent account. At that point, I was back to wishing I wasn't me.- CT Dear Chris, I was intrigued reading about what The Push Stars do to try and promote their work nationwide and was curious about why you feel as though the band hasn't become as big as it deserves. I'm sure as artists with such a loyal following, you realize how much your work has impacted your listeners and there's a logical pride which follows to reassure you that you're doing the right thing and sticking to the kind of music that you're driven to produce. When you listen to the contemporary bands of your genre that have achieved the highest tier of success in America these days, do you think 'we do what they do, but even better than them,' and wonder what is keeping you from achieving that kind of success? Or do you think more along the lines of, 'we're trying to do something different, something less accessible to the masses,' which then makes it more understandable why the band isn't bigger. Let's face it, quality doesn't always breed success. Where do The Push Stars, as well as your own solo material, fit in to the national music seen as far as you can figure? With admiration and appreciation - Matthew, Amesbury, Massachusetts Matthew, Where the hell is Amesbury anyway? And are all the people there smart and verbose like you? Your question is probably something a lot of people wonder about, especially because music can be very ego-driven and marketing is such a factor in how much exposure an artist gets. In truth, I don't really think about fitting in as much as I probably should, or have sometimes been encouraged to. Of course, with some of The Push Stars stuff, we've tried to produce the occassional track in a radio-friendly way. But we have always settled on what treatment is right for a song, before what will help us get ahead. As far as my solo CD's are concerned, they are completely off the commercial radar at this point, and intentionally so. After a few years in the music world, success starts to mean something very different. You see a lot of bands/artists, many of them friends, go from being major label stars-to-be, into folks struggling with a normal jobs, families, problems, etc...(and believe me, I've seen it again and again ). Success is more what you feel towards what you are giving out to the world. Are you adding some beauty to it, or clogging it with more fast food? Are you singing what you believe, or are you making believe you're a star? People have given me some compliments that all the money in the world couldn't buy. Imagine the feeling of writing the song a couple fell in love to. Or the song a family eulogized their father to. Words can't describe it, and nothing could compare to it. These days, I rarely compare myself or the band to other artists and where they are on the ladder. In fact, with my new cd, I was so excited to do it creatively, that I totally forgot that it might not be an easy sell (to have a rock singer front a New Orleans style jazz band). It didn't matter, because by the time the business side had occured to me, I'd already booked the studio time. I guess that in itself is a blessing and a curse. Would life be easier if I wrote the next "Don't Worry, Be Happy" ? Probably. Would it be better. I don't know. But I know I feel blessed every day to be able to make music my livelihood. - CT HEY CHRIS, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE PUSH STARS? HAS THE BAND BROKEN UP? - Mary in Reston, VA Thanks for your question. That's an interesting question, and it's important that we talk about that (political stalling tactic...) In short, The Push Stars are not breaking up. 2005 represents our 10th year as a band. in fact, I was shocked to rediscover a cassette of our first record , Meet Me at the Fair (released in 1996), in my cassette collection. It has been a crazy, amazing ride, and together with Dan and Ryan, we have literally seen a dream come true. That being said, we fall into a strange music business category of an act/artist that is not as big, say, as The Rolling Stones, where we could still be playing in our walkers and canes for a great big audience, and not small enough to just walk away totally unnoticed. Truth be told, the business side has really always been secondary to us, and we are still the best of friends, and we enjoy playing music together, so in that respect, we will probably always be a band (probably long after people want us to). What we will be doing less of now is actively trying to sell the band name. Now this is where it gets more complicated. When you are an ACT in the music business, there is a lot of free work the ACT does to try and get their name "out there" including radio station visits, awkward board room performances, in store concerts, etc... And, for the most part, we feel we've done that to the extent that it will benefit us. So from this point forward, when The Push Stars play, it will be because it means something to either the audience, or the band, or hopefully, both. As for me as a solo artist, since I have no other skills, I will always have to promote my songs, CDs and shows. So I have to do the grunt (I mean fun) work that goes into it. Dan is a brilliant record producer and engineer, and will be working on a lot of projects in that direction. And when Ryan gets out of jail, the sky's the limit! (Just kidding.) This past year was a strange and incredible year for us: we signed an unprecedented fourth recording contract; we toured the country for 8 months to mostly sold-out rooms; we dealt with and settled a lawsuit, and released a CD we still actually like (Paint the Town). So with that, I would never predict the future, cause I'd always be wrong. - CT |