ROCKWIRED
INTERVIEWS CHRIS PIERCE
RAMBLING
MAN CHRIS
PIERCE TALKS TO ROCKWIRED
ABOUT TOURING WITH SEAL
GETTING
HIS NAME OUT THERE
AND
HIS NEW CD STATIC TRAMPOLINE
WRITTEN
BY BRIAN LUSH
CHRIS
PIERCE had just ended his tour of the West Coast a few hours before
doing this interview and it seemed as if the long hours on the road
had not worn him out in the least. It's not the usual gripe that one
reads or hears from people who are locked into a life on the road
with four or five other people in a band. Maybe it has something to
do with the fact that the music getting promoted on the road and
through his official website, is his own.
His
debut CD STATIC TRAMPOLINE was released in September 2005 to glowing
reviews and enthusiastic audiences. It's first single ARE YOU
BEAUTIFUL? is a smooth track that has found its way onto the
soundtrack for the movie CRASH (The film starring DON CHEADLE and
SANDRA BULLOCK) The song has been used by BANANA REPUBLIC in recent
ad campaign. The rest of the CD is a testament to the emotional
highs and lows of life set to smooth vocals and a light reggae
groove. There
is also another reason for why his enthusiasm for going on the road
cannot be contained; He's been doing this thing all of his life. From
a tender age he has been performing in Los Angeles nightclubs to
receptive audiences and to the stunned amazement of one of CHRIS'
idols, GRAMMY winning rock guitarist, JON BUTCHER.
Years
later, CHRIS would meet another idol of his. At an industry party, he
was invited to bring his guitar and sing when a man by the name of SEAL HENRY
OLUSEGUN OLUMIDE ADELO SAMUEL (SEAL to all of you) walked
in
and witnessed the performance. Let's just say that thing's have taken
off from there. His music has taken him all over the world and he's
still thirsty for more. ROCKWIRED
had a phone conversation with CHRIS PIERCE at the tail end of his west
coast tour. Here is how it went. You
were the opening act for SEAL. What was that like?
The
best way to describe it would be dreaming while you're wide awake. I
was playing at a house party, which I've done hundreds of time. I'm
always getting asked by people “instead of bringing beer, why
don't
you bring your guitar.” This time I did and as I was playing,
SEAL
walks in. It was a trip playing for him in such a small setting. I've
listened to him over and over again for years and I've really been
inspired by his music. The next day following the party, I was
offered to tour with him and the week after the party, I was in
Europe in front of 10,000 people doing a solo acoustic set. Opening
for SEAL was the most liberating experience. It was really
incredible. What
kind of party was this? An industry party?
Yeah.
It was for a woman who works in the television industry. I actually
got invited through a friend that I knew from all the way back in
high school believe tit or not. She called me up and said
“Hey,
you
oughtta come up to this party. There are gonna be some people there
and it might be good for them to hear you. Bring your
guitar.”
There were about 20 or 30 people there. I was jamming along and SEAL
walks in wearing shorts and a t-shirt and I didn't recognize him. I
was like “Wait a minute, that's SEAL!” The party
was
basically a
mix of industry people and folks from the neighborhood.
How
long ago was this? Was this his most recent tour?
I
did about four runs with him. It started in April of 2005 in Europe
and there, I was solo acoustic. I opened for him again on the west
coast with my trio and this was in May 2005. In June, I toured with
him on the east coast with my trio and for June and July, I opened
for him acoustically once again. We're
coming up on a new year. What are you looking forward to in the next
year?
It
seems like a lot of the groundwork has been laid for people to be
able to discover my music. There are a lot of different outlets out
there now and I'm looking forward to the music reaching a lot more
people. Hopefully I can look forward to showing up to more of these
towns and seeing more people who have heard my music come out to the
shows and see what I have to offer as far as a live show goes. STATIC
TRAMPOLINE is a record about ups and downs and I'm hoping that after
the 100 odd dates I've played this year, that more people will start
coming out to the shows and that we can keep building on it and
become a real touring machine. What
is it like having this CD out for the world to hear?
I
haven't had much time to sit down and think about it. It's been a
trip because all that it really is is my perspective on things that
have happened to me. My way of communicating and my way place of
refuge has always been through music since I was a kid. It's the
safest place for me. The fact that I'm able to translate that to
people is incredible. To be on this planet and be able to share my
inner most feelings with people is incredible.
Where
in Southern California did you grow up?
I
was born in Pasadena . I moved to Claremont with my mom when I was
about eight or nine. It's college town. A very multi-cultural town
and I lived there until I was about 18 and that was when I went to
college. How
did it all begin for you. Music I mean.
It
came from experiencing my parents love for music. When I was little
they had this room in our house which was basically this library of
records. They were into all kinds of different music. As a child
experiencing their love for music day after day kind of rubbed off on
me. I grew to realize that this is something that really moves
people. It's always been a safe place for me. I can pick up a guitar
or sit behind the piano or sit down and sing or write something and
it feels like a safe place. There is something about music that takes
you back to a warm place and for me it's the feeling of being in a
house; of being in a happy home with my parents. It all started like
that for me and then it went on to me getting into the church choir
when I was really little and basically, it took off from there.
Your
biography states that you wrote songs when you were five.
Yeah. Really?
Any titles that stand out from that moment in time?
My
first song was called CRAZY. My parents tell me that I ripped it off
from THE ROLLING STONES and their album BEGGARS BANQUET. I'd sing this
song over and over again and my parents never wanted to break it to
me that I had ripped off THE STONES.
You
gigged around at various clubs in Los Angeles before you could even
drive. What's that like for a kid and how did the audiences receive
you? It
was great! I actually started really young doing Mother's Days and
Father's Days at comedy clubs. They'd have live comedy and then
special acts. I'd come out for a Mother's Day show and sing ISN'T SHE
LOVELY to all of the ladies. It was great. It was building chops.
Learning to play and sing in front of people at 15. Mom would give me
rides out to these clubs and I got a chance to meet JON BUTCHER and
his band BAREFOOT SERVANTS. He became like a big brother to me and I
got to do some touring with them. I even recorded with them as well.
It's always been chop building. Just learning, learning and learning.
Getting out there and playing live is the best school that I can recommend.
And
you did this all through high school?
Yeah. I'll
bet dating wasn't a problem.
(Laughs)
I've done okay. I'm still single and uh, I'm still having a good
time. Was
touring with SONIA DADA at 19 your first touring experience?
Actually
it was my second. I did some work with JON BUTCHER singing background
and playing harmonica and percussion. I was about 17 or 18 when SONIA
DADA saw me at SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST at this club called the STEAMBOAT.
SONIA DADA was looking for a fill in for one of their guys. They
tracked me down at my girlfriends mom's house to see if I could do
the tour. It was when I was supposed to do my first semester of
college, so I went to my folks and said “Hey, this is what's
happening...” and they said, “Hey, take the first
semester
off
and go learn on the road.” and thats what I did. I got on the
bus
and toured around the United States. It was an amazing experience.
They had a pretty big song at the time called YOU DON'T TREAT ME NO
GOOD and we played some really big venues. You
were also in Moscow. What was that for?
That
was actually with JON BUTCHER. He got invited to do a tribute show
for a Russian protest writer named BULAT OKUDJAVA. What
was that experience like?
Amazing!
JON invited me out and he got to play two songs with this Russian
orchestra. I got to get on stage with him and play one of them. It
was just he and I on stage with our acoustic guitars and a 50 piece
Russian orchestra behind us. It was televised, so when it was over I
went out onto the streets of Moscow and all of these people were
mobbing and congratulating me. It was the only thing to watch on TV
that night. It gave me evidence , first hand of the power that music
has and how it can affect people emotionally. It was a very, very,
very important trip for me both spiritually and emotionally. You've
shared stages with the likes of CHRIS ISAAC, BARRY WHITE, MACY GRAY
and GEORGE CLINTON. Is there anyone that you haven't shared a stage
with but would like to?
Yeah.
I'd really like to open up for STING. I'd like to share a stage with
him. It would also be great to play with SADE. I'm not sure what
she's doing these days. She's someone I've always admired. I'd love
to open for AL GREEN. It would be great to do some dates with NORAH
JONES as well. Listening
to STATIC TRAMPOLINE, it's hard not to hear a strong JIMMY CLIFF/BILL
WITHERS influence. What artists really got to you and laid the
foundation for the music that you're making now?
BILL
WITHERS is definitely an influence. He was the first album I owned
that my parents got for me. It was THE BEST OF BILL WITHERS and I
listened to it over and over again. From there I moved on to
listening to artists that I felt that I could relate to. I listened
to a lot of PRINCE, old jazz like BILLIE HOLIDAY and ELLA FITZGERALD.
My parents had a lot of BEATLES around the house and also the solo
albums by JOHN LENNON and PAUL MCCARTNEY. OTIS REDDING'S voice always
does something to me every time I hear it. When I hear him sing it
makes me want to sing. It inspires me. As far as songwriting goes,
CAROL KING has always been a big one. Who hasn't listened to Carol
King. A lot of people have listened to her music and don't even know
it. You
came back to Southern California to pursue your degree in Jazz
Studies at USC. Is that something you're still working on or have you
finished everything?
I've
completed everything except my senior recital. I need to go back for
a semester and complete it. I started a band the year I was supposed
to graduate and the band all o fa sudden got a lot of opportunities
to do a lot of things so I've put school off. But I am using what
I've learned , in the community. I'm working with kids and teaching
some music classes with some community organizations. Non-profit
organizations like after school programs. I feel like I've learned
just about everything that I can from my BA but I just don't have the
degree. The
song ARE YOU BEAUTIFUL? is kind of the stand out track from STATIC
TRAMPOLINE. What inspired it?
It
was my first writing session with a friend of mine named MARVIN
ETZIONI. We had just met so we sat down and started talking about
living in Los Angeles and how people in general tend to dwell on the
disposable aspects of people like cars, and how much money they have
and who they know. We wanted to write a song that dealt with love
that could reach an international audience 'cause it was something we
had both gone through with people over and over again out here and we
felt that it was a very important message to get out there and to ask
that question. Are you beautiful on the outside. So after about 20
minutes, we wrote the song Did
you think that the song would ever find its way onto a motion picture
soundtrack or an ad campaign?
I
didn't but a lot of people who have heard the song have always said
that it would be great in a movie because the song just paints a
picture. When the CRASH thing happened I wasn't completely surprised.
But when it was used for a BANANA REPUBLIC commercial I was like
“Okay, we're doing a song about inner beauty and here is a
clothing
company that wants to use this song.” I really had to think
about
that one and so did MARVIN but we went for it and it turned out to be
a really beautiful commercial. I think the song was able to reach a
lot of people internally because there was no dialogue. It was just
my song and two people in love. The
songs on the CD are so damn personal. You produced the CD and you
wrote all the songs on it. Is it hard to put everything on the table
like this for everyone to see and hear or do you have this
songwriting thing done so cold that it's not even funny?
I
think I'm still learning. I still think that I have long way to go in
terms of getting to the core of my personality and my experiences. I
think that STATIC TRAMPOLINE is a good start and I love the music and i
love process of writing songs nd getting the stuff out. I can't
imagine life without it really. What
all goes into writing a song. Is it inspiration, do you keep a
journal or is it something that you're always working at?
It's
something that I'm always working at. I've got boxes and boxes and
napkins that have been written and stacks and stacks of journals and
once in a while I'll get inspired. I'll take ideas from my own mind
and put them together. Sometimes it just comes out but I'm always
working at it and constantly writing. I don't think I'll ever have a
kept house just because I've got too much writing around. But it's
comfortable for me. I like having inspiration around. Are
there any other songs from this CD that stand out for you in
particular?
They
all do. They're all so personal. I look at them like like kids.
They're all different but at the same time, they're all the same.
They all have that certain special spark about them. Any
plans for a video?
Yeah.
We're actually talking to PRANA ENTERTAINMENT and we'd like to do one
early in the year. I'm not sure what song yet but whatever it is I'm
sure it'll be an interesting process. I've never done anything like
this before. Your
touring of the west coast just ended yesterday in San Diego.
I
got home at 5:30 this morning. We rocked it down there and drove back
and unloaded the van. We had a great time. We toured with CHARLOTTE
MARTIN and we all shared the van together which was a lot of fun. I
got the tour sponsored by, no just my label but this great clothing
company called HORNY TOAD who hooked me up with a bunch of their
clothes and a banner and made it a really cool tour. I was able to
give some stuff away to some people and sell a few CD's. We did San
Diego all the way up to Seattle and back. It was a lot of driving and
a lot of fun. I can't wait until the next one. When
is the next one?
I'm
hoping by the end of January, I'll be on another leg. I know my agent
is working around the clock to find a good slot that I can open for.
How
has the response been to these shows?
The
shows are all fun to me and different from one another. The responses
have been great and I've been playing for a variety of different
people. There are those who saw me when I opened for SEAL,and the ones
who know the song from the BANANA REPUBLIC Advertisement and
there are people who know me from myspace.com who go to my space
there and read the blogs. So, the word gets out there. That's my
thing. I love playing live. What
do you want the listener to walk away with after hearing your CD or
seeing you live?
I
want the listener to walk away with my honest perspective on my
experiences in life. And I want them to walk away with my love for
music. Through my love for music hopefully they'll open their hearts
to feeling something as well or getting something from my
perspective.
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