The Chariot Interview

The Chariot, last year, released one of the greatest heavy records of 2010 with Long Live. In 2011 they intend to keep that ball rolling as they tear up the UK with MyChildren MyBride, with a live show that promises to be one of the most energetic sets you will see all year round. We had a chat with vocalist Josh Scogin about the bands latest album, their upcoming tour and many other things. Check it out.

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DD: Hi! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. First of all, who are you, what do you do in the band and tell us something about yourself nobody knows. Think of it as an icebreaker!

JS: My name is Josh Scogin with The Chariot. I was going to be an animator and create my own cartoons (in theory) before I got a hold of Rock and Roll. Or should I say Rock and Roll got a hold of me…

DD: Before we talk about your tour I’d like to touch upon your latest album “Long Live”. Personally, I feel like you guys have just grown enormously on this record. When you look back at the albums you have recorded, in comparison, how does “Long Live” make you feel?

JS: I love this record. It was so impulsive and spontaneous at times, I really feel like we went with our gut instincts on this one and it really seems to have paid off. There wasn’t a lot of sitting around and over-thinking stuff, we just rolled with it.

DD: Their seems to be some sort of connection between the songs lyrics. Was this intentional (as a concept of some sort) or have certain parts of your personal life dominated the writing process?

JS: Well it is probably because I wrote all the lyrics in about a weeks time rather than the normal months of writing and changing and rearranging. So there is a tight thread that goes through the whole album but it is not necessarily a concept record, as in a Point A to Point B journey or anything.

DD: I remember the first time I watched the video for “David de la Hoz” and thinking how difficult it must have been to record. How much time went into preparing the video and more importantly, how much takes did it take?!

JS: Well then, you are going to be shocked when I tell you that it is only the second take and it was very, very impulsive! There was no director, no budget, no months of planning or anything like that. It was totally us sitting around Waffle House about 2 weeks before we ended up shooting it and we came up with the idea of filming us recording a song live (originally for the record). Once that idea was spawned we figured we would get bored just watching 5 dudes playing through a song so we decided to throw some drums in the kitchen and one idea lead to another, and so on. After it was all said and done, we loved it so much we decided to keep it as an entity all on its own and we tracked the song for the album like you would normally.

DD: You drafted in Dan Smith (Listener) for the song. Was the part already written for him or was his unique performance incorporated into the song when recording?

JS: We sort of wrote a part that would be more in the style of the world Dan lives in. It gives your ear a healthy break from just 10 tracks of The Chariot.

DD: Long Live is the umpteenth album you’ve recorded with the help of Matt Goldman. What makes you keep going back and has their ever been a moment when you have thought maybe it’s time to try someone new in the production department?

JS: I think we will always go with Goldman. He thinks like we think and he is down with doing any and all of our crazy (and sometimes pointless) ideas. Even that video we were just talking about, he totally jumped on board and was basically, like, “We will MAKE this happen, whatever has to be done we will do it”. He rules.

DD: This is also the first album you’ve released with Good Fight Music. How important is it to a band like yourselves knowing you have a very much respected team behind you, allowing you to get your music out to as much people as possible?

JS: It is very important to us. We always need to know that our team is behind us and on the same page with us.

DD: You hit Europe in March with MyChildren MyBride. This isn’t the first time you’ve toured Europe, are their any new cities you are visiting though? What date are you looking forward to the most?

JS: We love all of the Europe trips we have been able to take. We aren’t visiting any new cities this time around, this is actually one of the shortest EU tours we have ever done, but we are stoked none the less.

DD: You guys are pretty well known for having shows with a really high energy. How on earth do you manage to tour continuously, jumping from State to State, Country to Country, without burning out?

JS: It’s simply what we love doing. I don’t want to be doing anything else with my life.

DD: In one sentence, why should people come out to your shows in Europe?

JS: People should come out for the fun times that we will have with hanging out and the show alike.

DD: We’re getting to that time of year when festivals start being announced all over the world. Are their any festivals you are confirmed to play in Europe? Are their any you are hopeful of playing?

JS: We would love to play most of them but unfortunately we don’t seem to get that sort of stuff as of now. Hopefully the future will change that stuff.

DD: Well, that’s a wrap from us! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to Daily Dischord. Any last words to our readers?

JS: See you soon!