melissa: so that being said. Do all of you get along?
John: yes and no, mostly no
Chip: we do argue alot, but just over silly stuff, mostly me and whomever happens to be there when i rant and rave. I like to argue, and nobody else does. i just won't let things die
Melissa: is this a common occurance
Chip: well you see I have a bad habit of feeling "underappreciated". i just get in a mood sometimes and it's nothing anyone did or anything, i just feel for some reason I need to remind everyone around me what i've done and make em feel 2 inches tall. so i start bitching and getting down for no reason what so ever, except that i'm a loon
John: yeah he likes to remind us how much it (laughing) "hurts him to do everything"
Chip: (laughing) exactly!!!
Melissa : it's like some sorta weird bond? between the four of you, that is?
John : yeah it makes us 4minus1. If we were nice and happy, we'd just be like the monkees or the partrage family, all happy and smiling and blah.
Melissa : Chip, I heard somewhere that you wanted to be just a guitarist and not a singer?
Chip : oh yeah definitely, i don't think of my voice as a "stand out" voice. I mean i could sing backup and maybe a few slow songs, but not the frontman gig. I just don't really get into it, most of the time I forget i'm even singing. I would rather just stand there and play guitar, cuz that's what i like. I mean don't get me wrong, i love the songs we play now, but i don't wanna sing all of them, i would just like to do a couple slow numbers and have someone else rock out.
Melissa : so why not just write songs you want to sing?
Chip: well i do write, and have, some songs i want to sing, but we don't play em so they get put on the back burner so to speak. Right now, I mean at this time in my music life, i am writing songs that 4minus1 wants to play, songs that we can all jam too and get our style as a band out there. but i don't know if it will last forever, there will always be 4minus1, but I have songs i that at some point I would like to record for myself, and maybe get a product out that you might not expect with my actual name on it. But it would not include anyone in the band as of now. not cuz i don't love em or would want them to work on it, i just don't think it would be their style. but that's all in the future. right now we all have a common love for 4minus1 and rock n roll. i'm not messing that up for the world.
John: yeah we're on top of our game right now, everthing has come together and we're ready to rock.
Melissa : so what kinda music have you guys been enjoying this year, any thing we might wanna go out and get or look forward too?
John : the dave matthews live stuff, it's good, um resident hero's skin deep is really something to go get, um lets see, chip turned me onto the newest fastball album.. it's a must,
Chip: the new oasis live album is great, their newest album had some of their best tunes on it, but it had a couple of "uncharasteric" bad ones too. um like john said the rhero album is great, cuz those guys are just great all the time with everything they write. the dexter freebish album, was way good. I finally go to hear chris cornells album. it was fantastic. picked up the sterophonics, robbie williams, supergrass, seven mary 3's..orange avenue, live's newest, valve, the're and unsigned...um i'm sure there's more i'd just have to raid our collection.
melissa : well i'm see they are calling for soundcheck so i'm gonna let ya'll go. i want to thank you for your time and I'll look forward to the show tonight and hope to catch up with you guys again
Chip : you bet, anytime
John : enjoyed it, take care
and with all that being said, john quickly whiskes off to find the rest of the band for sound check then. as he leaves, Chip slowly rises up out of his seat and meets me by the edge of the table and quietly gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. he again says thanks for giving him the opportunity to speak and then politly says goodbye and walks towards the stage. I can honestly say i enjoyed the interview and even have a strong feeling that Chip and John enjoyed it also. And now that all is said and done, for some reason I want to follow this band and cheer them on in their quest to Bring Back Rock!
p.s. i waited around to catch them at soundcheck and was treated to and instrumential version of a new track titled, "that's rock'n'roll". then they played a new track that was very retro and jangly that had the opening verse "i'm getting sick and tired of sitting here and listening to the whine and the gripes......of my generaton" then the band scattered and Chip proceeded to play two songs on an acoustic. one was titled "Strangers in the Night", and the other called "Cigarettes in Heaven". while singing he glanced over, as if to proclaim his independence, winked at me, and i finally understood what he stated about his voice. And i can only hope, for eveyones sake, that those 2 songs and songs of their likeness see the light of day.