Surrounding the February new moon, our days are full of contrast. Warm days and cold nights transition us through time, with spring desert blooms to look forward to. This season, our New Moon playlist features our close friend and incredibly talented musician Chase McBride. Chase curates our New Moon playlist and is typically the one to interview other artists for this series, but this time around we’ve decided to turn the tables and interview him after the release of his newest album ‘Pink Lemonade’. This album has been on repeat in our home, serving as a calm soundtrack to these transitional days. Check out Chase’s website to order vinyl for your home, and head here to learn more about his music.
Featured Artist: Chase McBride
Q: We’re always amazed at the frequency you release new albums. What kind of cycles do you work in? Is the timing of each release based on periods of creativity, or schedules and creative pushes you’ve set for yourself?
I’m lucky to have a network of voracious musical creatives to collaborate with. Within that group, there’s a contagious energy that inspires and motivates me to make something out of nothing, as much as possible. In the past I’ve had waning periods where life gets in the way of musical creation, but at the moment there’s little excuse not to pop into a friend’s home studio for a few hours or take a weekend in LA to record new music. The music is released as soon as possible, though it takes a little planning and work to get all the necessary components together for a proper album.
Q: We have yet to see you drink pink lemonade. You seem like more of a mezcal kind of guy. What’s the meaning behind this album’s title?
Haha, you are correct that I enjoy mezcal, specifically raicilla from Yelapa, Mexico. Regarding the album’s title, when I was younger, I was a bit of a loner and spent a lot of time holed up in my parent’s basement listening to music and watching MTV. My mom always had cans of pink lemonade in the fridge, which I would drink often. It was a creature comfort. During the recording of this album, I was reflecting on the immensity of Los Angeles, which in a way feels very isolating and lonely. I kept envisioning these imaginary characters that lived in the city and carved out little places for themselves to exist, mostly in solitude. For me, there’s a certain comfort in the idea of creating a home in the middle of a sprawling metropolis with small creature comforts like a pink lemonade habit. That song is about a young woman, living in East LA, who only leaves her house to visit the corner store near her house to restock her fridge with pink lemonade, which she loves.
Q: We love listening to the lyrics in each of your albums and imagining being transported to various moments of your life. We love that about your music—it’s experiential. Are your songs often rooted in reality (based on past experiences), or do they lean more towards fiction? If they’re rooted in personal memory, is this album based on a particular period of time?
The perspective from which I write has changed a lot throughout my career. Most recently, I’m drawn to socially insignificant characters that I piece together based on people I’ve met. There’s a disturbing trend in my generation, where people mostly pay attention to the squeakiest wheels, the people who project themselves as being important or most worthy of attention. My attention is increasingly cast towards the less-visited corners of our culture, the people and places that get overlooked. That’s where the most interesting things are happening. I write and think a lot about those things.
Q: There’s a clear progression of new sounds that still feel very ‘Chase McBride’ in this album. How have you noticed the sonic textures of your music evolving over time?
I’m glad you picked up on that continuing thread through my old material until now. I’ve always been drawn to textural sounds. Most of my songs have very subtle background textures, whether it’s a droning hum, or understated piano chords, that help give atmosphere to the recordings. I think the sound in my mind’s eye has always been there, but the people I’ve worked with have gotten better, to the point where we’re more closely able to match the sound I have in my head. That feels good.
Q: We know that this was a collaborative album for you. Can you tell us more about what that process was like?
In late 2017, I started making regular trips to Los Angeles from San Francisco to co-write songs with a variety of producers. One of those producers was Andrew Heringer. I met Andrew many years back when he was working as a solo act, but he went on to form the band Milo Greene, which signed to Atlantic Records and had a very successful run of tours and albums. Andrew has become a prolific producer, building out a beautiful home studio at his cottage in Beachwood Canyon. From the first time we worked together, I felt immediately comfortable and able to express myself completely, without feeling hindered by pressure or insecurity. The creative energy we share is exciting, and resulted in this entire album’s worth of material. I’m fortunate to have met someone who so accurately understands the vision I have for the material. We’ll certainly be working on more material in the future.
Q: We find that the new moon is a time for new beginnings—a time to reset in the silence and to take in the starry night sky. Do you find yourself craving a change of scenery to creatively reset?
Absolutely. When I release an album, it feels like I’m shedding a skin and getting ready for a new experience in my life. That can be as simple as playing a new instrument, listening to new kinds of music, or a shift in musical collaborators. I look at it as if there’s an infinite field of creative possibilities for me to experience, and I’ve only scratched the surface. I’m hungry to work with as many talented people as possible, in as many different musical genres as possible.
Q: We know you have some pretty great morning and evening rituals—care to share?
I have a very strange evening ritual, which my partner Heather reminds me of constantly. Before going to bed, I’ll take off my clothes and lay them out on the ground just as I wore them. It ends up looking like someone evaporated into the air, with only their clothes left behind. I don’t know why I do it, but it feels right.
Q: Are there any other rituals you practice in relation to creating music?
I don’t think I have any specific rituals but I treat the process of writing and recording music very seriously. Anybody who has worked with me can attest to that fact. When it’s time to get down to business, everyone has to be present and focused. Meditation can help that. Conversation can help that. A simple walk down the street can help that. Making music is serious business, but it should be as enjoyable as possible.
About the New Moon Playlist
On the New Moon, the earth, moon, and sun align making us unaware of the moon’s presence in the sky. Without the visual presence and glow of the moon, other celestial bodies typically hidden now shine brighter. Our chances of seeing the sky clearly are heightened on this day, making it a day of clarity and new beginnings. Creatively it’s the perfect time to set intentions for a new cycle of dreams and goals, and ways of manifesting them.
To honor this monthly opportunity for fresh starts and creative beginnings, we’ve asked our friend and musician we admire, Chase McBride, to curate a monthly New Moon Spotify playlist.
Follow The Joshua Tree House on Spotify and be the first to hear new playlists. Last season’s New Moon Spotify Playlist featured artist Sean Hayes.
