Chavez Cartel are UK bound
Photo credit: Justin Ma photography
Gold Coast rockers Chavez Cartel have released their brand new single ’Dead Weekend’ which serves as a teaser for their soon to be unleashed EP. The new EP is due out before the band embark on their first overseas tour where Chavez Cartel will be playing venues in the UK, but before the drop or the jet setting we caught up with Chavez Cartel’s Tom to ask him about ‘Dead Weekend’, its accompanying video and the history of the band including their very first show.
For those that haven’t heard your music before, what genre label do you give Chavez Cartel?
Every time someone asks us this question, we find it hard to find a final answer haha. We all get our inspiration from completely different artists and bands so when it all combines together it sort of creates this sexy mix of all our creativity. It ranges from punk to stoner rock, Brit rock and Alt rock in my opinion. So bottom line, rock haha.
“The song is about being kicked around by life and getting back up to conquer it”
You have just released your first track for 2023, titled ‘Dead Weekend’, tell us about your new song. Where did the inspiration come from?
The song is about being kicked around by life and getting back up to conquer it. The story is based around a few life experiences and the musical arrangement was inspired by two songs - Colossus by IDLES and In Every Dream Home A Heartache by Roxy Music. Both long drawn out slow burners with alternative noises and percussion. I feel like we merged them two songs and our lives and Dead Weekend is what we ended up with.
Did the song turn out how you expected when you originally sat down to write it or did it grow and change during the creative process?
Dead Weekend definitely grew in the writing process. it’s actually a combination of two completely unrelated songs that we decided to combine. One was a slower, stoner rock style and the other more grungy and fast paced. Hence the song’s huge build up and explosion of sound at the end.
“Our goal was to give off like a therapy session vibe where the singer is the patient, and the viewer is the shrink”
‘Dead Weekend’ has an accompanying video that has been described as dark and hypnotic, who came up with the concept for the video?
The video was actually last minute and low budget so we brainstormed how we could quickly get some kind of consistency with the song. The idea to keep a close up ended up working well as it kept it dark and intense, but it was decided because the band was too busy to do a video so just one of us went and sat down in a garage for 3 hours with a videographer and did the best they could. The lyrics were added to read more like subtitles, so the viewer hopefully felt as though they were being spoken to directly. Our goal was to give off like a therapy session vibe where the singer is the patient, and the viewer is the shrink. That was the idea anyway.
Were there any memorable moments during the making of the video?
All I remember is how sweaty it was in that garage! Queensland summer in a boiling hot garage with no aircon for 3 hours. Felt like a boxer trying to make a weight cut.
Other than Ben getting to look at himself for a solid 6 minutes on camera ….? Haha but in all seriousness, Frosty (director/film) came up with this idea after hearing the song and it just matches it perfectly. It’s druggy, edgy and Ben had a great time being the centre of attention.
“Our new 6 track EP is out early May to coincide with our first ever UK tour!”
Can we expect an album or Ep out soon?
Absolutely! Our new 6 track EP is out early May to coincide with our first ever UK tour!
Do you play a part in the production side of your music, or do you prefer to bring a fresh set of ears in?
Over recent years we’ve been taking our pre-production a lot more seriously but when we’re recording we work with Govinda Doyle. He’s an ARIA award winning producer (Angus and Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane) and he gives us the guidance and the freedom we need. His experience really settles the project no matter what stage it’s at. It’s good to have that experience in the room as much as we can get it.
“We all have a good feeling about this one”
Chavez Cartel are heading to the UK in May for a bunch of shows, are you excited to be taking your music to a whole new country full of potential fans?
Absolutely ! We can’t wait to take our music to another country and who knows what will be! We all have a good feeling about this one.
What’s on the band’s sightseeing or to do list while your overseas?
I don’t think we’re going to get much time to sightsee unfortunately, but exploring will come with the gigs and nightlife of the cities we’ll be in. It’ll be an experience in itself I imagine and any free time we’ll have will be used to find a studio and jam some more. Maybe we’ll get one or two touristy days in.
Tell us the Chavez Cartel story, how did the band form?
It’s not a very interesting story haha, Ben originally had some songs demo’d and he sent them to me (Tom) via Facebook and asked me if I was keen to jam. We met up about a week later and we got along pretty well. I loved the songs and we pretty much became a band that day. We met Jack and Josh a bit later after our previous guitarist and bassist left. We’ve been down the road of line up changes, but it all led to all of us meeting and this is now who Chavez Cartel is.
“Our first gig…was a night to forget haha”
Where was your first gig? Was it a success or flop?
Our first gig…was a night to forget haha. We had a different line up then but everything that could’ve gone wrong, did. But we always say, the only possible direction after that gig was up.
Australia has an ever-growing festival Circuit, are festivals something you would like to start adding to your schedule?
Oh, absolutely and we are doing! We’ve been booked to play a few but we can’t announce until the promoters do so that’s shadily all I can share right now lol (sorry)
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is they do that keeps your world turning?
Ben definitely deserves a shout out. He does so much shit behind the scenes for the band and takes on more and more without complaints.
What's next for you? What can fans look forward to from Chavez Cartel in the near future?
UK tour, festivals in Australia, a second international tour in October and then we’ll be recording our debut LP! Busy year cannot wait!
CHAVEZ CARTEL – UPCOMING AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES:
SAT 29th APRIL - JIMNA ROCKS, JIMNA QLD|
Tickets available from www.eventbrite.com.au | All Eventbrite Outlets
SAT 3rd JUNE - MOONDOLL FESTIVAL, BRISBANE QLD
Tickets available soon
Interview by Michelle Symes
April 2023