Band of the Day: Chip & the Charge Ups

Ever wanted to hear one of the most genius mash-ups? These guys have you covered. But first, read.

Where are you guys from?

We are based in lovely Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

How did you meet?

Our drummer, Jeff, and I met back around 2012. Our bands at the time were both competing in a charity battle of the bands. Jeff’s band won. But, I forgave him and we stayed in touch! And, when he heard I was putting together a new band after a hiatus, he reached out to me and those years of knowing each other paid off handsomely! Chris and I never knew each other until I put out a “guitarist wanted” ad on Facebook. He responded, auditioned and we hit it off instantly! Maleena is my daughter, so I met her quite a while ago!

How long have you been playing as a band?

We just formed in April of 2018 and came out of the gate on fire!

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

Because my last band, Chip DiMonick, was named after me and had some decent success, I wanted to start this new band with a little familiarity yet a clear indication that this was a new project. So, I wanted “Chip & The” in the name. I brainstormed for weeks on names and narrowed it down to a “short” list of 26. I got feedback from multiple people and it was neck and neck between two. So, I got logos designed for both. The logo for the other name was utterly horrible, so “Chip & The Charge Ups” it was!

What are your influences?

Each one of us has drastically different personal influences. But, when I ponder our collective influences, I think we are most influenced by old-school punk and bands that were influenced by old-school punk. So, we’re directly influenced by the Ramones and the Pistols, but we also are influenced by bands that stemmed off of that sound, too, like The Cure, The Killers, Green Day and more.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I think we combine so many different “ingredients” of entertainment that our “musical casserole” is something that music fans haven’t tasted before. Just in our first EP alone, you can hear hints of the punk, metal, pop, power pop, and singer/songwriter genres. Yet, we don’t sound genre-confused. Plus, we even have a mashup on the EP! Our look is part jazz band, part punk. Our stage moves borrow from both current alternative rock and ’80’s metal.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

I think that every one of our songs is a breath of fresh air. When listening to our EP, Flow of the Current, Part I (+), it’s like every track is a train stop in a new destination. We start off the EP with a song about concert life and end it with a song about dealing with the loss of a loved one, with many other themes in between.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

True to our name, we try to make every one of our shows absolutely electrifying! From our song selection to our stage moves to our look to our crowd participation moments, we try to keep our audience entertained from our first note to our last note! As we kicked off our first summer as a band, we concentrated mainly on playing some of the big, regional outdoor festivals, which are so much fun. We’ve played six shows as of the time I am responding to this question with a busier schedule in our immediate future!

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?

Our last show at the Le Creme Music Festival was insane! As we were playing, the weather quickly went from sunny and pleasant to apocalyptic! The wind and rain practically blew the stage into the sky like it was the tornado from the Wizard of Oz! You can see video footage on YouTube.

Despite being on a “covered stage,” we got absolutely soaked. Head to toe. Every square inch of our clothing was drenched. It was quite unpleasant! Maleena’s grandmother lives close to the festival location, so we went there to dry out our gear and clothes. She had, let’s say “limited,” choices of clothing for us to change into. I changed into literal granny panties! But, they were fresh from a factory sealed pouch, so it wasn’t too weird!

What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?

Maleena plays an Epiphone SG-style bass through a TC Electronics amp. Chris plays a Gibson Firebird through a Peavey 6534-series half stack. Jeff plays the Ludwig John Bonham kit with the Paiste Bonham cymbal kit. I use a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier for amplification. I switch up my guitars based on what fits best for our set list. You might find me playing one of my Schecters, my Gibson Lzzy Hale Signature Explorer, or even a guitar that my son made for me!

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

Our video for our Green Day/Poison mashup, “Good Riddance, Fallen Angel,” has gotten such great feedback that we are pushing that heavily. That also can be found on YouTube.

What are your plans for 2018-2019?

In the Spring of 2019, we’ll be releasing Flow of the Current, Part II (-) publicly. Members of our Patreon program have already started getting songs from that. We are currently writing – and will soon be recording – songs for our third album, which we will release in Fall 2019. And, between now and then, we hope to get ourselves to multiple states to play in front of new, rock-loving people!

If you were second on a three band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

We think Yungblud is a hot act that is blowing up quickly, so we’d love to support Yungblud. And, for openers, we’d love to play with Pineapple Pizza again. They opened our CD release party and were just so much fun!

Chip & the Charge Ups: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | youtube

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