The genesis of Chagall Guevara took place in Los Angeles--peculiarly enough, in the Christian rock market. Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols (guitar, vocals) had come together to realize a solo effort for lead singer Steve Taylor, called I Predict 1990. Over the course of the project, the three realized that they would never find satisfaction working within the strictures of that marketplace.
"We felt there had to be a way to use this mechanism to break through to the other side, to the real world," explains Perkins. "I think we all found a great amount of frustration. There were very definite boundaries that, for one reason or another, were reluctant to be pushed."
They began to work together in earnest, and to cut living expenses they transplated themselves to Nashville. "We wanted to start from ground zero and avoid building on the past, so we looked for a city we could afford to live in, and not have to make artistic decisions based on having to meet exorbitant rent," recalls Perkins. "We also needed a scene that we could grow naturally out of. We really acted the underdog, playing cheesy bars in Nashville and around the south."
"Around the second gig we got a record label offer," continues guitarist Nichols, "which kind of took us by surprise, because we were just woodshedding these songs in front of people. That sort of accelerated things, and a buzz started to go around."
Matt Wallace (The Replacements, Faith No More) was chosen to co-produce with the band, and in the spirit of creating something "wonderfully peculiar," the album was done without any of the digital reverbs or samples used on most contemporary albums. Only natural room sounds were used.
"We had worked meticulously on putting the songs together, and we wanted to find a different path in to the recording process," adds Perkins. "We didn't necessarily have the colors painted in, but we knew the record would never be generic-sounding."
Chagall Guevara plays guitar-heavy rock with a predisposition toward dissonance, which makes it a perfect complement to the venom and dark humor of Taylor's provocative railings, which focus on locating shreds of hope in the face of human madness.
"There are bands that can be a little bit too polemic for their own good," Taylor says. "You can easily cross the line from creating art into dispensing propaganda. One of the ways to diffuse that is to keep a little bit of humor in the music."
Of the songs on Chagall Guevara, perhaps the strongest are "The Rub Of Love," a boy's story about a self-centred dad who dumps the family, remarries and has another boy, and "Violent Blue," in which the protagonist laments how cynicism and self-interest have sapped an old friend of ideals, causing him to trade "his peace sign for a finger."
"Even in our dark songs, we set out to keep an optimistic slant on it all," concludes Perkins, "and I think that hope is evident in our presentation."
"We wanted," says Nichols, "to do things and create stuff that didn't fit into the Christian music box." Continues Taylor, "It just wasn't fun anymore trying to work under some pretty stringent unspoken rules and codes. We hit the ceiling of what was acceptable and it was just getting ridiculous in the ways we were being asked to justify our methods and purposes." Okay, so let's cut to the chase. The time was right to move on, MCA Records seemed to agree and Chagall Guevara was born.
Perkins recalls, "When we were out in California working on the album, the group name kind of surfaced as a joke. It was a toss-off. But as we lived with it there was some magic in it, something that rang true. When you juxtapose the two sensibilities--Chagall and Guevara--and the perception of who those two people were, you get something that's akin to what we are.
"We come together each being used to being our own boss, having our own likes and dislikes. A lot of things did not necessarily lay over easily and I sense that it was because the diversity was trying to express itself in the membership of the band. The philosophies--musically, artistically--are different and very much the same.
"We all are spiritual, that did not stop with a formation of a band, but are we going to 'sell' religion to the masses? We'd have to say 'No.' There's no preconceived agenda for that, and it's not a goal of the band."
Lines delineating band statements and personal beliefs tend to become hazy as these gentlemen talk about accountability to church, family, and friends, and of a responsibility to make intelligent music that sounds as good as the messages it implies. But stil there's a politeness evident that these guys do not want to assume or imply opinions for the band as a whole.
Says Taylor, "Speaking for myself, I'm hoping that the people who were into what I was doing would be ready for this album. It's hopefully a natural progression... what they would sort of expect on a new level."
This new level attributes much of its character from a record that's eclectic and from songs written in a stream of consciousness mode. The sound of Chagall Guevara is found somewhere in the free fall style of the late 60s and 70s, bearing no small effect from the post-punk era.
Says Taylor, "Early 60s, early 70s bands were more free to create their own identity. There wasn't a hard idea of what bands were supposed to be in order to sell. Then along came this concept of marketing and selling to a niche. I guess it was inevitable but a lot of freedom was lost in that. Then along came the concept of alternative music. I'm not sure that there's really such a thing anymore. It used to be that when you were titled 'alternative' they couldn't categorize you and there were no rules, you played whatever sounded good or worked well. Today there's a definite sound to many 'alternative' bands."
Continues Perkins, "Having experienced the music industry in various times and forms between the three of us, I think that the thing we came to realize is that in some quarters the industry tends to lead the art. It used to be that the art led completely. It had an easier time of getting itself on the right track, centering itself.
"What we tried to do was defy that sensibility and not 'put' together the band and write music from a marketing standpoint. I'm sure we carry some of those sensibilities around in the back of our minds and they sometimes find their way out but we definitely wanted the exhilaration and whim of artistry. Just go wherever we wanted instead of putting the band together for some blueprint for success."
Adds Nichols, "I think we've all done enough of this thing to know what the task is--from a business and musical standpoint--so I think we're realistic about it and definitely up for it."
Up for it and taking it on the road: performance is a cornerstone for this band. Close proximity to many locations and a burgeoning new-band scene makes Nashville an ideal place to call home. "In this age of computerized music," notes Nichols, "We definitely wanted to be a live band, a straight-forward type of group. In the 60s fans got to see a lot of groups who were together because they loved the music and energy of the band. It captures what we are like live."
It was during these live gigs that the crowds began to notice the band that was awarded the dubious honor of "Best Cartwheel" (thanks to Mr. Taylor) during the Nashville Artist Extravaganza--an annual showcase to highlight new and local talent. Taylor, whose stage presence has been described as "looking suspiciously like exercising (Nashville Scene)," jumps, jogs, twirls and of course, cartwheels with the greatest of ease.
Stage presence, a sense of humor, and killer songs that run the gauntlet lyrically of idealism, love, hope, and observations on life from afar. And there's not a runt in the litter. Jokingly claiming each other as musical influences, there is a sense of history in this project and the same directness and sarcasm found on many early Taylor tunes.
First single and video "Violent Blue" showcases some hit potential: "Hey, don't I know you from some other life? / You were wide-eyed and green and a little bit taller / and you didn't look away when spoken to ... / I can't help but notice how hard you appear / when I look into your eyes / A violent blue ... / I could say more / We were headed for somewhere / But that was before you traded in your peace sign for a finger."
Perkins is quick to comment, "I hope that these songs are not so much observing or judging people as much as kind of taking or own temperature and asking ourselves those necessary hard questions every now and again." Whether the band is to take off to MTV stardom is yet to be seen, but it's comforting to know some old friends are doing okay not far from home.
Making a good case for selling good music instead of selling out on the credibility factor, the phrase echoed by Perkins has now become the Chagall Guevara credo: "We want to play intelligent music like mindless fools." Perhaps smelling some subconscious marketing ploy, Nichols notes with a smirk in Perkins' direction, "Well, at least we got the 'mindless' fools part down real good."
Hey thanks for the add! Love the tunes... I think I have 3 or 4 copies of the CD that I have bought through the years just in case I lose it or one gets scratched... you can never have too many copies.
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Online!
