Sky Chief's music soars high

[Comment Below]

By Kristina Stafford

The self-taught musicians of Sky Chief have only been playing together since last year, but the musical chemistry between them flows on stage, and off set. With seven members, and seven different ideas, it can be hard to find compromise. Sky Chief, however, uses this diversity to its advantage, mixing a variety of different instruments, electronic sounds, and beats to make their music sound unconventional and edgy.

"Two or three people will start out a song and then the song will evolve as it is introduced to the other band members. This sometimes can take awhile, but it is the only way that everyone can participate." Marc Badon, the bass player, said of the song writing process. "We usually name the songs by using random objects in the room."

It is easy to hear the synthesis of ideas when listening to Sky Chief's music. The tones and beats are very diverse from song to song, almost sounding like a different band entirely when they end a song and begin the next. The raw talent of the untrained artists also brings a simplistic sound that is sure to impress.

Most of the songs are original, with the exception of one Modest Mouse cover song, but the members of Sky Chief still attribute some of their success to other musical influences. A self-described jam band, Sky Chief's style is a tribute to many of their musical icons.

"We were influenced by Radiohead, The Beatles, Modest Mouse, Tool, Soundtrap, STS9 and others. If these bands banged, we'd be their uncontrollable child," said John Stephens, one of the band's three guitar players.

The song names are not the only thing random about this band, either. Even the band name, Sky Chief, was drawn from something that one of the band members came across when walking around after Hurricane Gustav.

"We got the name Sky Chief from an old dilapidated gas station sign we ran across. When we saw the hanging sign, we really liked the sound of the name, so John and I went and looked it up on Google and found that it was one of the first premium gasoline's produced by Texaco." said Corey Hargrove. "Our first three songs were actually written during that hurricane [Gustav]. That's how we started, and it just took off from there."

Sky Chief's next show is going to be August 29 at 10 p.m. at Northgate Tavern. For more information on Sky Chief's upcoming shows, visit them at www.myspace.com/skychiefband.

Originally Published: Issue 813 - August 26, 2009

Share on Facebook

Back to the top