Colony House, a Nashville indie-rock trio, has been getting a lot of praise from publications such as Paste and People Magazine. Some say they have perfected alt rock. Others call them the magical blend between Phoenix and The Killers. The band is currently on tour with their debut album When I Was Younger and will be performing at the Knoxville Coliseum with NEEDTOBREATHE on May 7, 2015.
Here’s a recent conversation I got to have with Caleb Chapman, front man and lead singer of Colony House:
BLANK: What was it like being on Late Night with Seth Myers? Do you have any funny stories you can share?
CC: It was our first time doing something like that. So it was awesome and nerve-wrecking at the same time. This was our big TV debut and we wanted to look sharp and everything. We’ve always loved the movie That Thing You Do! since we were lads. So the idea of matching suits seemed like a good idea for us. We sound checked in the morning at the studio and then we walked to an H&M down the street. My dad was with us and said: “Alright guys, here’s the deal: If you want, I will buy the suits, if you guys wear matching suits.” We thought that was amazing, so we picked out matching suits and they were really sharp looking and by some miracle they all fit us. So we brought them back, we were all stoked about it and we put them on and we walked out to show our manager and press person and everyone on our team and they were like: “Well you look good, but I just don’t think it’s right for your first time on TV.” So pretty much, the funny story is, we thought it was a good idea to buy these suits within the few hours we had between sound check and performing and it was madness trying to find it all in time, and then we went back and got denied. So we didn’t wear suits, we just wore normal clothes that we would wear any other day. Next time we’ll wear suits!
BLANK: Your debut album, When I Was Younger, was released last year. Tell us a little bit about the musical influences and your inspiration for this record.
CC: The musical influences reach back as far as high school and middle school influences. It’s a collection of all our best songs up until the point the record was released. Some of the songs I started writing in high school.
My father has always been a huge influence in the way we write songs and structure our songs. That’s because he was and is in the business and has been writing songs longer than a lot of people have been able to write songs professionally. So even though I don’t think you would pick up on that, I think a lot of how we think about songs has come from my dad.
And I think on this record a big influence were Brandon Flowers and The Killers. And then at the time Lord Huron had come out with their first record. So that was a big influence for the more landscapey-sounding songs at the back-end of our record. And then we’ve always been fans of real cinematic music and bands like Sigur Rós and The National and Kings of Leon – these big cinematic-sounding bands.
BLANK: You have an extensive tour ahead of you, with Knoxville just being one of several stops. What city or venue are you most excited to play?
CC: Red Rocks – which is like: huge bucket list. There are a lot of people that don’t even get to see a show there. And I’ve never been to this place, but I’ve heard tales of how epic it is. So Red Rocks is going to be awesome. And then we’re also playing at The Greek Theatre in LA, which will be really cool as well.
BLANK: I noticed that you were listed on the Hangout Music Fest’s line-up. Will that be the first festival of that size that you ever played? And are you more excited or nervous?
CC: We played Austin City Limits, too. So it will probably be similar to that. But we’re really excited about that. We’re definitely more excited than nervous – I think at this point we played these songs so many times, that it’s more fun to just go for it and enjoy it at the place we’re at. And if people respond, they respond, and if they don’t, they don’t. We’re just kind of in this special place where we get to play at really amazing places and for crowds that we don’t know if we’ll get to play for again. So we try to be more excited than anything and just soak it up while we can.
BLANK: What would be your dream stage or event/festival to play in your career?
CC: Probably Glastonbury or some big British Festival. I’ve never been, but I’ve watched a bunch of our favorite bands play there.
BLANK: When you’re in your hometown Franklin/Nashville, TN, where can you be found on a sunny afternoon? What do you like to do when you’re not on the road?
CC: I like being out at my parents’ house. It’s kind of like a getaway. It’s the place, where I grew up, and they live on a bunch of land. So I like coming out here a lot and walking around and riding my bike around town. Or just going to downtown Franklin. I’m different, because I actually live in Franklin. The other guys live in Nashville now.
When we’re home, we just like hanging out. We don’t keep super busy. But right now, that I’m home I like getting up and going for a run or a bike ride and then coming out to my parents’ house and writing. So when we’re home, we try to take it easy, but also look to the future and stay ahead of the game a little bit.
BLANK: Are any of you three guys single?
CC: Actually no. We’re a locked down band. I’ve been married for six years, and am about to have a baby at any time now. So if my wife calls me right now, I’ll probably have to be like: “Just hold on, I gotta check this,” because literally any call I get from her could be the call. I’m really excited. This will be our first band baby.
Be sure to check Colony House out at the Knoxville Coliseum on May 7. Or for a full list of their tour schedule you can click here: https://www.colonyhousemusic.com/tour/
