Chaz

Chaz? Chaz. Chaz! Is it punk? Is it thrash? Political garage music? Socially conscientious rock? Introspective ranting? I spent a week listening to this album, hoping that I could I identify their sound, their style, something tangible to point to and say, “...this is Chaz.”

Finally, it came to me. They are a haphazard mix of contradictory elements. The segue from semi-philosophical songs about existential epiphanies to the often strenuous act of balancing poverty and romance. There are moments of glory on this album, where all the elements and influences seamlessly fuse into a sound that is uniquely “Chaz”.

Overall, each track stands on its own. There is little continuity between songs; every track represents a different part of Chaz. They can do punk. They can do the sing along anthem. They can thrash. They can scream. They can rock. They can even do their take on the ballad. Their lyrics are intelligent and witty. They cover a wide range of content. What they lack in overall aesthetics they make up for in energy and intensity
Kevin - sandiegopunk.com

Why I Love Indie Music (a kind of CD review)

I spend a lot of time looking for new music. I try to make sense of foreign languages, I use google translate, I sit and try to decipher what broken English websites and blogs are trying to say to me and I read a lot of magazines.

Trolling the reviews section of a magazine and then googling for myspace pages is a great way to quickly hear a lot of songs from a band inexpensively.

A really good resource is the Maximum Rock n' Roll review section. The coverage of MRR can be a bit odd in who they choose to feature. Or at least it seems to me that a lot of the people I'm finding through MRR are hardcore or producing a style of punk which just
doesn't appeal to me. However the reviews section is just pages and pages and pages of music I've never heard of and you can find some really interesting stuff there.

In the latest issue, I found this review which painted a band named Chaz and their Self Titled release favorably in just five sentences:

"This San Diego band has a strange sound. Think ALL or G-Whiz mixed
with Queen and Heavy Vegetable. A Bit of lo-fi production on this
rocking indie sounding release. Math Rock gone astray? A good trip."
MRR - July 07

So, like I always do, I checked to see if the band had a myspace page (they do [here i linked to your page]), after listening to the five songs they have online, I wanted to get the full release, seeing no sale information I contacted them via myspace.

Through a series of small negotiations and a paypal transaction, I got him my money and he got me the promise to send out the CD. Then he told me it was sent out and the waiting began.

Now today, Friday, it arrived in a sturdy mailer, with a panel from a comic book taped to the mailer (i recall the style and think I probably even read whatever it's from, but for the life of me I can't recall what it is.

Inside is the digipak CD and a hand written note.

"Dearest eric," it begins,"Congrats! You're the first person to get one of these things via mail order (they were previously only sold locally in stores or through shows -ep). I am also a checker-outer of MRR reviews, so I'm quite flattered by your interest."

It continues for a bit and on the back of it was the beginnings of some one's to-do list, so it looks like aaron thornhill jacked it from his roommate (who I imagine is now lost and adrift with only barely remembered intangible goals).

I've ordered a lot of stuff over the internet and through indie mail order over the years, but this is the first time I think I've ever gotten a hand written thank you note.

This band deserves to be heard. It really does. If you're a fan of pop punk, in the vein of ALL or The Descendents (minus the horrible adolescent songs like "In My Van") or if you're a fan of Weezer or if you're a fan of good power pop and are musically adventurous, give
this band a listen.

The stand out tracks on this Self titled CD are Jamaican Me Crazy, The Dream, The Coronation, This Fabled Pawn (you really must hear this song. It starts off in a strange falsetto before mutating into a clean version of emotive hardcore and then it ends up sounding a bit like something you'd hear at a beach concert and then it all goes into kazoo solos).

This is a good, enjoyable CD and you should really seek it out if you can or contact the band through myspace and try to get it through them. I only hope they remain together and continue to give us more great music as they have with this release.

For every Descendents, Weezer or other band out there making music that everyone hears there's a million local bands like The Porcelain Boys that no one aside from a lucky few ever knows.

-Eric Phipps
- Eric Phipps

This San Diego band has a strange sound. Think ALL or G-Whiz mixed
with Queen and Heavy Vegetable. A Bit of lo-fi production on this
rocking indie sounding release. Math Rock gone astray? A good trip."
MRR - July 07 - MAXIMUMROCKNROLL