Music
Press
12.8.07 I made it into the "hot tickets" box on the same day as Bob Dylan. I have the clipping. - Sunday Telegraph
The eponymous frontman of Ben Cheshire & The Chats had the titular smug grin. Happy featured cute lyrics - actually, all the songs did. The set-up was bucolically folksy and comprised acoustic guitar (Ben), acoustic bass (Dan), and rustic, possibly homemade drums (Joe). Cheshire played up his huggable bespectacled geek image with tongue in cheek lyrics - "If I could lose some weight/maybe I'd be happy," or the clever opener to Heaven: "I went to heaven, and it was okay but I thought it would be better." Mexican Gin was a jaunty travelogue of a bittersweet romance. It was all clean, pluck-happy riffs, driven by a languied jazz cat rhythm section and the odd blues breakdown amid the folk. Delicious.
by Clare Fletcher - Drum Media
Discography
The Chats (2008) 7 tracks recorded in two hours, mixed and mastered in many more, this is the first studio outing for the chats. Happy/Looking Out/Love Song/Heaven/Nightingale/Mexican Gin/Nothing's Gonna Be. $15
The Living Room Gig (2008). The Chats blow off a shitty band-comp and took our friends back to Joe's place for a private performance to remember. Recording thanks to Joe Gould. Introducing the Audience / Nightingale / Heaven / Who Am I / Love Song / Mexican Gin / Happy / Looking Out / Noting's Going To Be The Same Again / If Life Were Like Porn (excerpt) / Holiday / The After Party.
Chats in the Thicket (2008). The Chats were invited to host the birthday picnic of a special musical friend; the Chats first outdoor performance is accompanied by the lovely rustling of a gentle wind; and the laughter of a bunch of friends having a great day. Recording thanks to Alex Shaw and Peta Wood, and all others who made it a special day. Happy / Nothings Gonna Be The Same / Love Song At The End of A Rope / Holiday / Lull in the Set / Heaven / Ice Song (Who Brought The Ice?) / Who Am I (Drunken Sing-a-Long Version)
Photos
Bio
These guys are a fun and loveable bunch of chats who play lively music that's a cross between doo-wop and roots rock. They're also a jam band in that since they found their groove, they've been writing all their music through live improvisation; but think Elvis Costello and the Attractions as a jam band; with three minute songs, good melodies and good singing; in other words, nothing like The Grateful Dead or Phish.
"The eponymous frontman of Ben Cheshire and the Chats had the titular smug grin... Huggable bespectacled geek image with tongue in cheek lyrics... Clean, pluck-happy riffs, driven by a languied jazz cat rhythm section and the odd blues breakdown amid the folk. Delicious." Clare Fletcher, drum media, August 2008.
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