Describing themselves as a "riff-playing, synth-loving indie-pop band from Tucson, AZ," Chateau Chateau certainly hits the nail on the head. However, they do themselves the injustice of not commenting on their lyrics. Their debut single "Crisis Party" features bumping synths like bubblegum popping and the jerky guitars you'd expect out of a quirky, summertime anthem, but there is poetic depth as well. "How can it be that everyday and everything's changin' / blame it on me at last you'll see that nothin's worth savin'," sings vocalist Blake Milliser. Applause is due to the band who can get a crowd cheerfully hopping and singing along to a mental collapse.
See Chateau Chateau's holiday party at Club Congress. w/ Spider Cider and Crooked Saintz. 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 15. Free. 21+.
Pixies
Doolittle
We chose this record because this was one of the first records one of our guitar players, (Zane Emory) ever bought. It is also our drummers (Tom Hopper) favorite album and second album he ever bought. The song "Debaser," which comes off this record, was one of the first covers we ever did as a band, so this record has some sentimental value to us.
Queen
Sheer Heart Attack
It was tough to narrow down which Queen album to put on this list because of the many influences we get from them. We chose Sheer Heart Attack because of the song Killer Queen. Not only is it a great song, but we like how the band uses their wittiness to craft such great lyrics. That is something we try to do in our music, using some wit to come up with lyrics you’ve never heard before. Freddie Mercury also has a way to control a crowd and fully engulf them into the performance. This is something our lead singer (Blake Milliser) really find amazing from Freddie Mercury and tries to emulate when he is on stage.
Prince
1999
As a band, we all love Prince and especially love this record. The way he uses the Linn Drum in this record is one of the main factors as to why we love using that same sound. Prince has also driven our passion for party music. We want our music to allow people to let loose and dance which is something Prince does to us as a band. Whenever we are together, you could bet on Prince coming on sometime throughout the night.
Joy Division
Unknown Pleasures
This record would be the biggest influence for us in terms of our upcoming EP release. We are releasing an EP in April of 2019 and the overall space and energy of this album is what we wanted to shoot for. The bass drum intervals creates a really nice harmony, and we love how the reverb levels creates the atmosphere around the entire album.
Of Montreal
Skeletal Lamping
Creatively one of our biggest influences is Of Montreal. A band that takes music to the next level by incorporating their music, choreography, costuming, and over the top showmanship and putting it into one package. We love this idea and have always wanted to do this since the start of Chateau Chateau. This record was the record that started our passion for this kind of performance art. Our guitarist Zane Emory and Alex Hamby saw this band, play this record on Halloween a few years back and instantly got captivated by the overall performance and how music can be more than just music. We like to say we are more than musicians, we are entertainers and that stems beyond just the music.
