DRU: Who are your biggest influences?
Oh, man. Well, considering I would call my music desert rock, I’d have to start with Queens of the Stone Age. Josh Homme is my biggest inspiration. After that, you’ve got Black Label Society, Pantera, Nirvana, Iggy Pop…the weirdos that can write a catchy tune. I love a catchy tune.
DRU: Any specific guitar player, bass player, or drummer influences?
For guitar, I’ve got to go Josh Homme–I’d be lucky to write riffs half as catchy as he does. Marc Ribot for sure, and my bassist, Michael, loves the hell out of that guy from Hum. He also loves Chi Cheng from Deftones; he listens to a lot of their music. Drummer boy Brad owes his talents to Phil Collins, Dave Grohl, Phil Selway, and Jaki Liebezeit.
DRU: How would you describe your sound?
Little noisy, little melodic, little stoner. I’ve got ADHD so I have a hard time sticking to just one vibe, haha. It’s for sure all over the place, but then, so am I, so it works!
DRU: How did the band form and come together?
My bassist Michael is my younger brother, so he signed the contract when he was born. It would be really cool if our other brother played drums, but by serendipity our drummer Brad is actually a lot cooler. I’ve been working with him on random local projects here and there for years, and he just works so well. He mixes and masters all our stuff too, actually, which for me is super awesome because it gives us a tighter grip on the “vision”.
DRU: What’s your songwriting process?
Most of the time, I stick a random drum track from YouTube on in the background, sometimes from a song that’s stuck in my head or a drummer I particularly dig. I riff off of that until it sounds at least something like a song, and from there, I bring it to practice and evolve it. I think songs come out best when a few different people have put their paws in the pot because it pulls together sounds you never would have thought of on your own.
DRU: Best format? Vinyl records, cassettes, CDs or downloads? (Regardless of current popularity)
Vinyl definitely has in irrevocable swagger too it, especially because I’ll never be able to wrap my mind around the tech for it. That being said, I do have to pay my thanks to the convenience of downloads, I’d be nowhere as a guitarist or songwriter without my iPod Nano back in the day.
DRU: One or two artists/bands you would like to collaborate with?
Locally, there’s another band out of New Jersey called Swansun that I’d kill to take the stage with. Not exactly the same sound, but I think it would just be a really fun lineup overall. In the realm of “never going to happen”, though, I think you can guess that I’m going to say I would sell my limbs to open for Josh Homme. Just, like, a five-minute set, that’s all I need!
DRU: Any plans for an upcoming tour?
No tour plans at the moment, but I might be open to it in the future. I love the NJ/Philadelphia scene too much to stray too far from it just yet…I’ve got a lot more on my list I’d like to accomplish here first before I take my music on the road.
DRU: Describe the recording process, is it completed by sending files to each other or is everyone in the studio?
My brother and I actually record guitar and bass on an $80 iRig running into Garageband on the iPhone. No joke, that’s all it is. Maybe a pedal or two in front…it’s a whole big, wired mess in our living room but I swear to God it works magic. After that, we send it over to our drummer Brad and he records drums over top using a drum pad, and from there we take it to a studio for the vocals so we can really get into the nitty and gritty of the mix. Then Brad casts some spells and mixes and masters it all to perfection.
DRU: Describe the New Jersey music scene, do the local artists influence it?
Oh, absolutely and without a doubt. There’s so much local love here, it’s a really lucky place to be a musician starting out. You’d be hard-pressed to not find a show to go to, and fortunately, one to play as well. There are lots of independent venues, bookers, promoters, it’s really cool. Not only bars, but houses, too. Like in people’s basements. It’s honestly such a blast and I’m really grateful to be from here!
DRU: Any social channels or band sites fans should check out for release, merchandise or tour information?
Our Instagram handle is @christopherthomas.nj , our updates all go straight through there with some bonus content of course. We’re actually working on getting a site up and running and by the time you’re reading this it will definitely be somewhat functional (we’re musicians, and unfortunately not very great IT guys). That domain’s https.//christopherthomasnj.wixsite.com/info. That has pretty much everything, music, pictures, videos, lore…I’m hoping to get a newsletter up and running too, just because, why not make ‘em read, too? Our music is accessible on streaming everywhere. Our second EP, In My Eyes is out July 17th, and we’re really excited for you all to hear it.
