ChugChugWob are a metalcore/electronic act straight out of the Twin Cities. They have been around the block, and are definitely a force to be reckoned with. You like to party? Come to a ChugChugWob show.
I recently chat up the dudes in Chug, and we talked about the release of their debut album, Redemption. Here’s how that went!:
What was it like as you got down to the final touches? How’d it feel to be almost done with a debut full length?
Jordan: It was super stressful to try to get everything done before the release date we picked. There were so many final touches that we were putting on the album to spruce it up that it was kind of getting ridiculous. I had to force myself to stop so that we could just finish the stupid thing. But we’re super stoked on how it all turned out.
That’s rad! So, with that, we all know what instruments you guys play. Who is the mastermind behind the Wob part of the album?
Jordan: I’ve written all the dubstep and synth tracks up to this point.
How does that normally go for you?
Jordan: Usually after we write the “chug” parts I’ll sit down at my computer and kind of fill in the skeleton of the song with some synths and whatnot. Unless I have a specific vision for an electronic intro or dubstep portion, then I’ll write that first and the chugs will follow.
Interesting. With the album, there are some old favorites. Did you approach them in a different way than before, or was it more of a “let’s get this re-recorded and done” process?
Jordan: We absolutely tried our best to make a new experience for old fans aside from just a better recording. We added new synths, reworked lyrics, added guest vocals, etc… Which is, I think, one of the reason it took us so long to get this out. We didn’t want to just redo the old stuff and call it good.
I noticed that with Life is An Ocean and TTFN. They sound amazing.
Jordan: Thanks so much, man!
For everyone – Which would you say is your favorite track on the album? Why?
Seth: I think mine is “If I Were The Devil”. The song is interesting instrumentally, but the lyrics are powerful and relevant which is what I like the best about it.
Jordan: I personally like Ghosts In The Grooveyard. I feel like it really shows another side of chug. Not just being a fun, party band all the time.
Jason: YODO, because the chorus gives me chills and the lead lines are real melodic, which I love. The lyrics are also very powerful and convicting.
Matt: I’d have to say If I Were The Devil also. I really enjoy that slower groove feel and it’s probably my favorite chorus. Plus the fact that it’s a new one that we haven’t been playing for years helps too.
Conner: I’d have to say that Ghosts in the Grooveyard is my favorite song as well. I’ve got a lot of tasty leadies that are also easy to play so I have a good time with that.
Those are all great. Any plans for another album or possibly a tour?
Matt: Definitely! We’re super excited to begin writing again. Some of the stuff from Redemption is over 3 years old. So we’ve grown a LOT in our musical tastes and abilities since most of Redemption was written. As you can probably tell from the new songs If I Were The Devil, A Dying Prayer and Ghosts In The Groovyard. We would love to be putting out an EP a year from now with a fresh newer more progressive sound, with some familiar Chugs and Wobs thrown in. As for a touring, ya know, we haven’t talked about it much. But the vibe I get from the guys is that we’re just gonna kind of keep this thing closer to home. I’m sure we’ll have some weekend runs in the future here, maybe some small tour stints. But we’ve all kinda got our own things going on at this point, so it makes it pretty difficult to drop it all and hit the road!
If you could perform anywhere, where would you perform?
Conner: Well the simple answer is that we love to play shows, so we will play just about any time, anywhere. We even have a good time jamming at practices when nobody else is watching. But speaking for myself I would love to get opportunities to play more festival type shows. Sonshine, Lifelight, things like that. Our friends in In Favor were blessed to have that opportunity and it was awesome to get to watch that happen. Having gone to festivals for years I always loved the atmosphere and the friendships you develop with fans and other bands. At a regular show, the people are there because they already know who you are. At a festival, it’s a chance to meet new people and reach out to an audience you might not have been able to connect with before.
Jason: I’ve always wanted to play in an abandoned school. I saw The Chariot do it once on their farewell tour and it was insane.
Conner: I also support that idea. The Chariot also played in what looked like an alley in between buildings in the video for Evan Perks so we should do that too.
Jason: I just love floor shows the most because they’re more fun and intimate. Being a metalcore band, we don’t do very many, but I love them the most.
Okay! Last one. What was the most difficult part putting the album together? What was the easiest? Aside from the time aspect.
Jason: Conner would know best, since he mixed and mastered everything.
Conner: I think the hardest part about recording was deciding what parts we wanted to change to keep the songs fresh and what parts needed to be the same. With the recording process being as long as it was, it gets hard to resist the impulse to change everything. Not to mention we had been playing these songs for almost three years. You get so microscoped in on them and we had so much time to microanalyze the whole record that it was hard to just accept that everything is the way it is supposed to be. Like Jordan said earlier, we were tweaking pretty much right up until our deadline. We already had a fanbase that was so familiar with all of our songs that we wanted to make them recognizable, but still interesting to someone who has heard them several times before. Maybe there will always be small things you wish were different, but people seem to like it so far. And if they’re happy, we’re happy.
I think the easiest part about putting the album together was the collaboration aspect. Having someone in the band track and mix the record is a huge plus and eliminates any creativity barriers or differences between the artist and the engineer. It was really awesome to be able to draw in ideas from everyone in the band as a producer and bring a fresh twist to some old songs. Pretty much everyone of us is in a different place musically, and all those influences came together in a really cool way. But with this released, I’m ready to get started on what’s next for us. We’ve all come a long way since these songs were written, so I’m excited to see what we all come up with next.
ChugChugWob’s debut full length album Redemption is available now, both physically and digitally, here. Redemption will also be available on the major music services iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc. soon. Check out their single from the album “If I Were The Devil” below and come out to a show!
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