Hooray! This CHAPPO interview is our second “Artist of the Week” post and we have several more lined up for you! (Our first “Artist of the Week” post was a Sound Remedy interview.) Each week we ask a different musical artist or group the same five questions.
This week we are excited to focus on the fun, rocking musical group CHAPPO. We previously wrote about their Sears commercial song. Check out their website and Facebook page. Find their music on iTunes. Band members include David Feddock, Zac Colwell, Chris Olson, and Alex Chappo. Alex is the one who answered the interview questions.
1. Many of our readers are curious about what goes on behind the scenes. How did your song come to be in this commercial?
For this commercial we were already working with a licensing company. A year ago, when it was used in an ipod commercial, we weren’t. We were literally our own promoters sending our songs to music blogs and hoping people would be into it. Eventually it got into the hands of an A and R guy [Ed.'s note: A &R stands for Artists and Repertoire] and into the hands of Apple. Somehow through the underbelly of the internet, they contacted us. It was weird!
2. Most musicians were exposed to music early on. Was music a big part of your lives as children? If so, can you see ways what you listened to then influences what you create now?
It seems like everything we listen to influences us. We get excited about every little thing. Maybe a bass part in a Parliament song or a vibe from an Ariel Pink song or the sassiness from an old stones song or a lyric or a chord movement from a Sébastien Tellier or a tribal vibe from an African song. Music has always been a fascinating art form that unlocks all sorts of strange crevices in our brains and souls. And yes! It’s been doing that since we were very young.
3. If your music could be in any commercial at all, what would you want it to be in? What type of company would be the “perfect fit” with your sound?
It’s hard to think that way. We make the music first, if someone wants to use it and we feel it works, then we get excited for that opportunity. But we don’t seek it out or try to write a song to be in a commercial. That’s weird. But I could go out on a limb and say if there was some company that became the pioneer for paradigm shifts in human consciousness based around leaping through parallel universes…that would be the perfect company.
4. What is your favorite food? Do you have a favorite song about food? Are any of your own songs about food? Can you tell we love food around here? (Don’t answer that last one.)
LOVE FOOD!!! Don’t have any songs about food yet, but awesome idea, next I’ll try to journey through my artistic taste buds! I’m a lover of veggie food, cause it’s manly. Quinoa and kale salads, strawberries, cantaloupes, Greek and Lebanese food, Tibetan food…jeez there’s too much food to talk about.
Easy salad recipe I just had that was an awesome meal: butter lettuce, onions, cucumbers, avocado, tomatoes, lemon, thinly chopped brocolli, salt/pepper, dash of Tony Chachere’s seasoning, and a tiny spoonful of pesto that you thin out with water and a little garlic for your dressing. Add any other veggies you like to rouse it up.
5. What’s next? Do you have any albums or tours people should be on the look out for?
We’re in the process of finishing booking a DIY/art vibe/party house/backyard BBQ type tour in October. We’re excited about touring the Northeast in the not-so-typical rock venue. We’ll keep you posted, and can we crash on your couch? [Ed's Note: If you come to Chicago, we'll hook you up!]
