Season 03, Ep 07 – The Cold Stares (Chris Tapp)

Trout (Podcast Intro): Hey, everybody, it's Trout. Hope you're having a great day. Let me run this by you. You wake up one morning, you reach for your cell phone, and you see that it's blown up with a bunch of text messages. And you're concerned, you're thinking something's wrong. So you read one of the text messages from a friend of yours. And the message says, go to Joe Bonamassa Instagram site. Yes, that Joe Bonamassa. So you jump on Instagram, and you go and watch what Joe had posted. And there too, you're surprised, is your band's brand new album that Joe was endorsing, saying, It was a great find, for him to listen to. That's what started the catapulting of Cold Stares, and their relationship with Joe, and their fans that they now have all over the world. Chris Tapp, lead singer and one of the songwriters in the band was kind enough to sit down and talk to me about the cold stairs, talk about their music, talk about how they got started, and how they formed a relationship with Joe and all the other great people they played with. So stay tuned to that and listen to Chris talk about that, in this episode of The Trout Show. But before we get there, if you liked this episode, give me a thumbs up. And please subscribe to my channel. It's much appreciated. So up next, the Cold Stares, a great rock band that's making their headway through not just America, but Europe. That's next on The Trout Show. How long the two of you? Who was your partner in crime when you first started? 

Chris Tapp: Brian Mullins is the drummer and we were actually in a band before this one. And we're playing for a little bit. And that band came to an end. And we both decided we were done. We weren't going to play anymore. And then we get coaxed into opening a show, playing a show with a friend of ours. And we ended up putting this together, the two piece thing together out of that, but when we originally did that, the only thought process for not having a bass player in band, be in a trio then, we were trying to retire. We're trying not to play anymore. So we thought if we had a bass player, it would be a legit band. And without a bass player, it wouldn't be a legit band. 

Trout: We're just pretending. 

Chris Tapp: Right. We learned the hard way that it's not always the case. 

Trout: And where did you find the bass player? What's his name? 

Chris Tapp: His name is Bryce Klee, he was a fan of the band, his brother used to come out and see us early on. So we've been playing together about 10 years, his brother came out to watch us as a duo and was bringing him out. And it worked out well with him. We had tried a couple other bass players along the way. And they were great, great individuals and great players. But it just didn't fit. The timing wasn't right. And we knew Bryce, but we had played our second tour in Europe. The record label came out to see us and they said, Man, you guys are amazed, send an amazing love. But we missed the guitar solos that you did on the record. And so Brian, and I had that conversation. I said, Man, maybe it's time to add a bass player.  We've always played the songs live just a little differently. And so maybe we try to do these a little closer to the record. And he said, we've tried that before, he was really against it, he thought we would lose the amount of uniqueness that we had as a duo compared to other bands we if we became a trio. But we've been a duo for so long, and I was just had gone as far as that train would go on the track. And I asked him, we should try Bryce and we sit down. I had lunch with Bryce when we came back from Europe. And like I said, we'd known each other for 10 years, and I just knew he was the right guy. He came into, the first we said, we'll get together and we'll have a rehearsal and just see how it goes. Learn a couple songs. He came into the first rehearsal, and he had memorized our entire catalogue. So it was a hard thing to do. 

Trout: They do that you're like you're in. Well, I know the chemistry part has to be there too. Sure. 

Chris Tapp: That's the big. It's a huge part of it. But you know what if I really wanted to gig and I was going for it, I wouldn't memorize the catalog. So when you have expectations for yourself or for your company, or your band or whatever else, when you bring somebody else in and you see they have the same work ethic and it definitely helps their cause. 

Trout: And that just started last year?

Chris Tapp: Yes, we did that. We brought him in December. So we were about to write the next record. And I really wanted to write it as taking about a three piece. And so we brought him in, he played one or two gigs with us on the road. And we went straight into the studio with him. And then after that, since the record came out, we actually toured the world with him at this point, but we throw him right to the wolves, right away. 

Trout: Do you record there in your hometown? Or do you go to Nashville? 

Chris Tapp: No, we've recorded all around the world, one of the records we did at East West Studios in Los Angeles, where we recorded it, did some work at Blackbird in Nashville, we've recorded everywhere around the country, just depending on who we're working with during that time period. 

Trout: So whoever you're working with producer, and all that stuff at the time.

Chris Tapp: Yes, we both have studios, well all three of us have a studio. I have a fairly extensive studio at my house. And then Brian, our drummer has a great studio at his house too. So we have the ability to do that. I'm old school, I just feel like you get in a different headset and it's a different work mode when you go into a physical studio, and you're there to do the job. So usually we record in the studio as far as maybe live, drums, bass and guitar and then I may do some vocals, but I'll do a lot of the vocals here at my studio at home. 

Trout: All the music that you've done. The question is, was it all original stuff that you're doing the duo? 

Chris Tapp: Yes, we've always played just our music. 

Trout: I think the thing I like about your music and I think I know is, you got a Western thing going on. But then you got this kind of hard edge rock stuff going on. I grew up with ZZ Top. Billy Gibbons is actually a little older than me which makes me feel stiff rockin, which had that edge on there. But then you got this western flair to it. Where you at? I noticed you were talking to Western wear and all that stuff. Did that influence you as a kid? Or how do you think that flinch of? Like movies or what was the deal back that whole western thing? 

Chris Tapp: Well, Brian and I both were in Indiana now but we both grew up in Kentucky. 

Trout: I wonder where they come from. 

Chris Tapp: I grew up in Hanson, Kentucky. And then lot of my family was from Dickson Kentucky. My great aunt had a 650 acre farm in Dixon that I spent a lot of time on growing up. And, well that was always just around a rural Canada environment growing up but my grandfather, some of the earliest memories I have, was watching Westerns with my granddad and I always was just a big fan of the genre western movies. And you know, where we grew up, is very similar to Texas, in a lot of ways Kentucky is, it's maybe Tennessee has some attributes that are similar to Texas too but outside of the landscape, the people and the mentality is, I feel like they have a lot of things in common. And one of the things growing up where we were, there's a lot of bluegrass and a lot of country around us, but I loved the aspect of that music, and I liked what they sang about. And I liked just the environment. I even like the look, but I was a kid of the 90s. We both grew up around hard rock and and stuff. I just don't think that you do anything well, unless you do it honest. It doesn't matter if you're laying brick or if you're writing songs. You have to put yourself in it and I don't feel you can do that if you're playing a role of somebody else. So just naturally, I love the Southwest, I love Western stuff. But both of us had either older brothers or god brothers, or people that we were around that were 10 or 20 years older than us, when we were in high school, grunge and Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and that stuff. But we were listening to Zeppelin and Hendrix and cream. We've always been old souls and we've always listened to stuff. I want to hear where it's coming from. I'm more of a straight Whiskey guy and then a Long Island tea. Let's get down to the core of it, let me hear where it's coming from. (Music 10:12-11:37). Your music has a real guts to it. And like you said a while ago, I drink straight up whiskey, I don’t drink a Long Island tea. So that tells you everything you need to know about your band right there. And, I bet your attitude and along with your bandmates is if you don't like it, we don't care. We want you to like it, but this is us. This is what we do, right? 

Chris Tapp: Yes, before this band, the band prior to this that Brian and I were in, it was during the grunge time. And we were really close to getting a record deal. We had done a showcase for some big labels. And we were right there. And we didn't end up getting the deal. And that's when we both were like we were done. But part of the reason that we didn't get that deal was we weren't being real. I was writing things because we were so close to getting a record deal. And I thought, Man, I got to write what they want. And when we did this, I told him, I don't give a damn, I don't care if anybody likes. I'm up there in my own world with my eyes closed. I'm hoping that everybody's enjoying it, you can feel the energy. But I'm up there doing my thing. And I just think, when I listen to somebody speak, it doesn't matter if they're talking about astronomy, or if they're talking about rod and bulls, it doesn't matter what it is, if they're passionate about it. I don't even have to be interested in the subject. The passion and honesty will carry that through. And so I think that's very important. To your point about classic rock stuff. I can't tell you how many times we play a show, and somebody over the age of 35, 40 will come up to us after the show and say, Man, I am really thankful that you guys are out playing. There's ups thinking of a guy the other night we played in Toledo, the man gets in. You know, I've been listening to Spotify. I've been listening to the same music for the last four or five years. And it's all music from 60s and 70s. And I can't find anybody that's playing that style of music. And I do agree with you. I've seen analytics that show that the majority of people listen to Spotify or listen to music that I think 1985 and back that's a make 75 or 80% of the catalogue of people that are listening. They're not listening to newer stuff. And, the media shoves all this crap down everybody's throat and it's killed radio, it's killed so many things because they try to feed you things. And I feel a certain amount of responsibility as somebody that loves the music of everybody from Bob Dylan to Zeplin and muddy Walters and Robert Johnson, I feel a responsibility to carry that lineage forward and have younger people hear that stuff and go, where does that come from? Because that's what I did. I heard Clapton and I was like, everybody from Bob Marley to Robert Johnson, I found through Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, one that grab for me the other night and all I saw on the news was, it was amazing that she went on like, do you have any idea who she is? All the talent in the whole damn show that they had, if they added it up, it wouldn't amount to one of her high heels. Come on people, people have the media and a lot of this new wave, people just don't know what to call them. But man, they've just given up on the historical importance of these individuals that have brought music to where it is. And I'll tell you, that's another thing I like about Eric Clapton. And I'm not saying that he's not made mistakes or we've all done things and said things we wish we hadn't, but he has a reverence as a gentleman. The people that he admires, and the people that caused him to create the music, and I'm the same way, I don't want to hear somebody talking smack about anybody from Bonnie Raitt to Clapton, to do whatever. I have a reverence for those people. 

Trout: So we're missing that rawness. And I think that's what's so great about you guys, is you got that rawness in it. And I hope that as you dis release comes, you get more exposure. There's obviously as you just got to saying about somebody coming up to you. There's people that want to hear it, but they don't get to hear it, where we listen to it. If you listen to radio, I don't listen to new stuff. I turn it on, some classic rock. Of course, classic rock is now 2000, and that's the other part of it. And you've been worldwide done some things. So when you go to Europe, because I know you're going to Europe, you're going to be in some places over there. What do you see? And you've been there before? I know this maybe sound like a stupid question. But what do you see from the response because, they get to see a lot of acts from America. But you're not like everybody else. What did they say to your? What do you hear when you go through performing? Is it the rawness? What do they like about you? 

Chris Tapp: Well, first of all, in general, every place that we've been over there, is just super appreciative for us coming over that period. And well, we always talk about the difference of places in the States versus overseas. And in the States, the club owners like well, you guys are really lucky, you're able to come in here and play my venue tonight, over there it's opposite. We're very fortunate, excuse me to have you guys over here to play. Even I would say even 50% of the venues that we've played, and we've played 12 countries over there, the people that own the venue will, they'll make your home cooked meal, they welcome you into their venues, in their homes in a much different way than they do in the States. Now, that's not to say there's not venues in the states that we don't love. And they take good care of us. Especially in places like Texas, where we come and we love that. But it's a very different mentality. And we've had this discussion for a while because our foothold as a band really took off once we started going to Europe and we do much better in Europe as far as ticket sales and album sales, a lot of times but in Europe, you don't compete with country. And I'm not talking about Hank Williams and Waylon, I'm talking about this new country and you don't compete with rap. So neither one of those things are really present really exist.

Trout: I used to be in the UK they liked older country. 

Chris Tapp: They love it, they still do, especially when we're in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Scandinavian countries, they love rockabilly and they love early country, they love Willie Nelson, they love you know that kind of stuff. But you don't hear Florida Georgia Line, you don't hear any chicks, the journey with the banjo, is basically what I call it, you just don't hear that over there. So it's more of an opportunity too, they just like blues and rock and roll and they want to see people playing their instruments, they don't want to see people with computers and so it's been great and it's every place that we've been over there has been super con to us. I've got no complaints about any single place that we've been over there and like I said, we've been basically every place except for like Czechoslovakia and Romania. (Music 00:19:57 – 00:21:03). We are touring for the record March, April, and May, we had to Europe for about a month, and we come home for a week or two and then we go back to the UK for Madan stone Festival, which is the ramblin Man Festival, we play that and do some touring in the UK. And then we're back here again, our plan is to probably release another record in October. So we're starting to work. We're getting ready to launch record in March, but we're also already writing the next record. So I grew up, my dad owned automotive stores and the 13, I was changing tires and brakes. And, I worked in factory for few years and did welding. And I know what physical labor is about, where I grew up, we bailed, we've did all that. And so the fact that I get to play guitar for a living and go around the world, and I don't ever take that for granted. And so there's times you get exhausted, I'll tell you what exhaust or what's been hardest on us is flying, and especially these last couple years since the lockdown nonsense, plan overseas, is what was a 12, 15 hour flight, lot times turns into 23 hours of travel. And it takes you a couple days to get situated once you get over there last time. So that can be exhausting. But if I don't know where I'm at, it's because I can't pronounce it. Belgium, I can't pronounce the government places we played in Belgium or Germany.

Trout: Well, you know what country you're in, you just can't pronounce name of the city.

Chris Tapp:  My degree is in history. And my dad, my granddad both told me, I told him I was going to pursue music, so we'll get you a degree to fall back on. So I was working on my Master's in history and was getting close to having that done with, one of our first mother band got its first record deal. So when we're traveling, I'm always thinking about where I'm especially in Europe, but in the states too. If I'm in Dallas, I want to see historical things. If I'm in Houston, I want to see historical thing. So when we're in Europe, especially I'd take time to see the sights, our tour manager gets pissed off at me because he's like, it's another castle. Man. You've seen castles before. But we don't have those in the States. 

Trout: It's like a vacation for you in a while because you get to see stuff that you learned about in a book and study. And there it is. 

Chris Tapp: I don’t ever forget how lucky I am to do that. Because it's things and places that I drempt about seeing. 

Trout: You're in a situation like I get paid to do this. And not only I get people love what I do, I love what I do, then I get to go on vacation while I'm here. And traveling and meeting people from different countries. It's always fun too.

Chris Tapp:  I'll tell you a quick story about Joe. I had no dealings with him prior to 2019. I knew who he was. And I bought a couple of records, whatever else and I got our record, it just came out the wage record. So it's 2019 and I got to woke up one morning, I looked at my phone and I had like 50 text. And I thought well, my mother's passed away here. There's another 911, I was like, must be something going on. And it was all my friends. They were like, get on to Joe Bonamassa Instagram. And I was like, well I got on there and Joe had posted our album cover and in the caption, this is my greatest musical discovery of 2019. It was just a sweet thing to do. It helped us immensely. The guys at fender call me and want to know what kind of guitars I was playing, it did a lot of things and then hit Joe's. I've written a couple songs with Joe, we've become friends. When I'm buying a vintage guitar. He's like, I texted him and say, what do we got here? And then he just took us to Greece. 

Trout: For you and that gig. 

Chris Tapp: Yes, speaking of Walter Trout, we were on that cruise in the Mediterranean. 

Trout: Walter is a great guy. 

Chris Tapp: Just an amazing artists. He was fantastic and we'll be down in Texas in August, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, if we're anywhere close please message.

Trout: I will message. I'll always get a hold of John whenever I talk to him, and say because you're going to be, I want to come by and see. I love to, I've interviewed a lot of people and I've only met two in person, rest of them, I haven't had a chance to. Well I haven't been through.

Chris Tapp:  We'd love to have you out, pick your brain about Dallas when I'm out there.

Trout: Yes, i got it. All right you take care, have a good evening.

Chris Tapp: You too. (Music 00:26:34 – 00:30:17).

Trout (Podcast Outro): Well that's it for this episode of The Trout Show. Thanks for watching and listening. Special thanks to Chris Tapp from this Cold Stares for coming on and talking about his band and all his music. I hope you get out there and listen to him and watch him. For more information about the Cold Stares, visit our website thecoldstares.com, and you know me, I'm The Trout Show. For more information about The Trout Showand follow us on our podcast, for more videos visit our website at thetroutshow.com, hat's thetroutshow.com. And so next time people you know what I say, it's only rock and roll but we love it.