Chief’s music is excellent for those bleak city days in your cramped apartment when you just want to block the world out, uncork a few bottles of heavily-bodied red wine (not the cheap kind) with your significant other and just go wherever the vibes take you. In the above scenario, if you could trade the cramped apartment for a rustic cabin and a crackling fire place, you’ll be doing real good, my friend. Their sound has a classic, southern rock feel which is naturally soothing on one hand, but there is a definite visceral and lustful underpinning to their chords, melodies and textured vocals that can’t be denied. This makes the band even harder to decipher being that the foursome’s backgrounds are rooted in the bustling locales of NYC & LA.
“Although both LA and NYC can be hectic,” Chief’s Michael Fujikawa states, “if you allow yourself to get lost amidst the chaos or are able to steer clear of the bull roar, then there are quite peaceful places and moments in both cities that can inspire such sounds as ours. “
The bands four members, Evan Koga, Mike Moonves and brothers Danny and Michael Fujikawa were all born and raised in Los Angeles. But as fate would choreograph it, it was while studying at New York University that they connected musically and decided to form a band. By the beginning of 2009, the group (currently signed to Domino Records) decided to make the exodus back to LA for good and the fruitful results of this migration are what fans can enjoy on rousing songs from their current EP like “Night & Day” and “Your Direction.”
Their creative process is fully democratic as well, and this certainly plays a hand in the seamless quality of their sound. “Danny and Evan generally pen the songs,” Fujikawa explains. “Individually they may write a song with a couple of guitar and vocal parts in mind. Sometimes the ideas are more developed and sometimes they are just a group of chords. The song “Your Direction” was collaboration between Evan and Danny, with Danny writing music and Evan writing lyrics, whereas the song “Night & Day” was co-written between Moon and Evan. We all work on each other’s parts together.”
As far as their live shows go, fans can expect “beauty and thunderous sex rock,” but no laser light shows and special crazy effects quite yet. As a choice, they’ve decided to veer from the funny stuff and stick with the “meat & potatoes, sex and thunder.”
So, be sure to stay on the lookout for their upcoming and aptly titled LP, Modern Rituals – and with regards to their ultimate plan for their chosen musical careers, Fujikawa lays out his intentions like this:
“We all want to be able to live and do what we want, both creatively and recreationally. I personally love women; I wish there were women around me all the time. I can’t speak for the rest of the ‘fellas, but I know they enjoy a woman’s company as well. As for fancy things – I’m a man who appreciates simple pleasures – good food, sex, drunkenness, etc. even gardening, for example. However, if we suddenly became wealthy “Bono’s”, it would be hard not to want for more stuff like i-Pads, and wave runners, and more elaborate kitchens and shit. We want to be happy and I don’t think were completely happy yet. Someday you’ll see us at our happiest.”
Elaborate kitchens, sex, gardening and i-Pads – priceless.
Words by Geo Hagan with photos by Andrew Tonkery
Mp3 download link for “Night and Day”: http://www.mediafire.com/?myfdnlyo0on
