Chase Long Beach is a band that has been in progress since 2002. They have toured all over North America, over 200 dates a year. They bring a funky sound that channels Bob Marley and Sublime. The result is an exciting brand of music, fitting with their Southern California roots.
I recently spoke with the band. Here is how it went:
Q: Who is Chase Long Beach and how did you come to be here? How did the seven members come together?
A: CLB is 7 Friends, from the Long Beach, CA Area. We all met either through school, shows or the scene.
Karen and I (Pattie Fitz) met at a local youth center, where bands would play gigs. We decided to start a band. 40 EX members + 7 years later = The CLB you know and love today : ) Along the way not all the members quit, died, or sucked enough to fall off the CLB wagon. Currently CLB is: Joe on Guitar for the last 2.5 years, Meagan on Trumpet for the last 3.7 years, Tristan also on Trumpet for the last 4.2 years, Drew on Trombone for the last 3 years and Jose on drums for the last 2 years.
I think Chase Long Beach is still going today because there is this drive in my heart not to have some lame ass life like a: fast food employee, construction worker, or a college graduate. And everyone else in CLB hasn't figured out how to get the fuck away from me.
Q: Is the term, “ska- punk” appropriate for this band?
A: No. I would like to believe that CLB is trying to break the Ska-Punk habits of our fore-Skafathers and mothers.
Q: Listening to the music, I hear elements of bands like, “Subime,” “No Doubt,” “Mighty Mighty Bosstones,” and many more. Who were some of the band's inspirations?
A: CLB is inspired not only by music, but by life in general. Some of the bands musical inspirations are: Radiohead, Sublime, Akaline Trio, Miles Davis, Steely Dan and Bob Marley.
Q: The new album is, “Gravity is what you make it.” How did this album come about?
A: Gravity... is 2 years of touring, writing, and meeting people, all squeezed on to 43 mins of a disc. For all of us this was the first time we really got the opportunity to write an album that was to be taken seriously.
Q: How would you say your style, voice, and attitudes have changed over the course of your seven years together?
A: We are better musicians, better at life, or maybe even better at faking it. With that aside I think we know what we are doing, for the first time.
Q: What do you think could be done to create and inspire more of this type of music? What advice would you give to similar young bands?
A: Better Music Programs At Schools!! Some advice i could give would be to tour as much as possible and watch your money.
Q: With the security you now have, what can we expect from you over the next few years and four albums?
A: I wouldn't say we have security yet..... Over the next few years you can expect lots of touring and experimenting with our music. I honestly can't wait to see what the future wholes for CLB and myself.
Q: What is the current project? Touring?
A: We will be touring North American, Europe, Asia, and Australia nonstop for the next 2 years as we write album number 2.
This is an exciting band with a long past and an exciting future ahead. We will be following them moving forward as always, here in the continuum.
Chase Long Beach can be found at:
www.myspace.com/chaselongbeach
www.victoryrecords.com
