Henry Chadwick is an amazing musical force that has our hearts beating a little bit faster. The Santa Cruz based artist is currently sharing his infectious new record "Marlin Fisher," that is filled with catchy hooks and charming melodies; what Chadwick is known for the best. We caught up with Henry recently to dive a little bit deeper into his story.
1. Congratulations on the release of Marlin Fisher! What was the inspiration behind the release? Let's dive in shall we?
Thank you! I suppose we shall. By and large the record is pretty introspective and reflective. Maybe even a little existential... A lot of it deals with getting used to parts of myself – and parts of the world in general – that I always imagined would be different as time went by. Growing up means learning to live with the fact that nobody really has answers to most things. I think I hit a certain point where I realized that the mundane things in life and the unflattering parts of myself were always going to be a big part of existence. So I think the album as a whole attempts, unintentionally, to come to terms and make peace with all of that. I named it Marlin Fisher, which are my middle names, because they felt like a good example of things about my self that I’ve always been a little embarrassed about. I remember the first day of school, dreading role call. They always sounded more like an obscure occupation than a pair of middle names to me. As time went by I figured I’d try to embrace them, since i’m not planning on changing them.
2. What made you discover your passion for creating an eclectic blend of your own sound of indie pop goodness?
I started writing songs at a pretty early age. I tried my hand at fitting in to a few different genres growing up, but it always felt a little forced. I never liked the idea of neglecting certain influences and things I liked about music in order to fit into a certain genre or pocket. I think indie has become such a wide umbrella, that it felt like there’s room for trying out lot’s of different things and still be called indie. I still don’t totally know what qualifies music as indie, but I think that’s what I like about it.
3. What places in your mind do you channel to craft your songs?
I usually end up going to somewhere between happy and sad. I’m a big fan of melancholy as a feeling in music. I’ve always been a pretty indecisive person, so it’s hard for me to commit to one feeling and ride it out for a whole song. I think life often holds a mixture of emotions, so I tend to try and let as many of them sneak in at once, whenever possible. Sometimes I’ll have a happy sounding song with darker lyrics, or a sad sounding song with a little humor thrown in lyrically. I’m also a big fan of puzzles, so when I’m working on the musical layering part of a song I like to pretend I’m a mad scientist like Doc from Back To The Future or a detective like Sherlock Holmes. It helps me to feel like I’m cracking the code or figuring out one of life’s great mysteries, even though I’m really just writing a pop song at the end of the day. You gotta aim for the stars in order to land on a hill… or something to that effect...
4. What are your favorite venues to perform at? and if you had to choose, do you feel more comfortable in the studio or onstage, and why?
It’s hard to say. Anywhere with a sound system and people to play for is a good time. Locally in Santa Cruz, we have fun playing at The Crepe Place and Moe’s Alley. We played at Central Saloon in Seattle recently which was a really fun stage actually. Amnesia in San Francisco has been a fun spot for us as well. In general I feel more comfortable in the studio. That feels like my domain. The laboratory. I can stretch out and it feels like anything is possible. I’m getting better at feeling comfortable on stage. I have a tendency to want to please everyone when I’m on stage, which can sometimes result in me talking a lot or not being 100% relaxed into the music and can sometimes have an opposite effect. Lately though, I’ve found that if I turn that off some and just get into the song, people tend to get into it more as well.
5. How do you create your songs? What is the process like? Does it take you days, weeks, even longer? How does the perfect piece come together?
It really changes song to song. Every once in a while one will happen really quickly, in on or two sittings. A lot of the time it’s much more fragmented. Sometimes it will start with a guitar riff or chord progression and a melody. Other times I’ll have a lyric that I can’t get out of my head, and I’ll sit down with a pen and paper and start writing words. Whenever I have an idea I write it down or record it as a voice memo on my phone. That way, I’ll have like 4 or 5 ideas floating around at any given time and If something pops up and it seems like the same feeling as one of them I can try melding them together. "Peace and Quiet” and “Bag Of Chips” are both examples of that on the album. I had pieces of each of those songs floating around for a good chunk of time before I sort of started from scratch and cracked the code on them.
6. How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines your sound to you?
Thanks for saying that. I’m not sure it was a conscious thing. I guess I think that to make something that’s unique to you, you need to let yourself include a little bit of a lot of parts of yourself. I used to worry about sounding a certain way or not using a song because it didn’t fit with the “style” of the others. I try now to just smush it all together and not overthink it. I figure if it’s something that I like, then maybe someone else will like it too.
7. This year is already shaping up to be a huge year for you. What do you hope to accomplish in the remainder of 2018?
It’s been a great year so far. I’m want to hit the road some more this year and hopefully just get the record to as many ears as possible! I also have a handful or 2 of new songs and I’m looking forward to diving into them in the studio soon as well.
