Weekend Music Preview: Caddywhompus @ The Mohawk [Sunday]
Sean Hart from Caddywhompus was kind enough to answer a few questions for us earlier this week. The duo is set to release a split 7" with sIngs on their label Chinquapin Records this March and a full-length (on Community Records) is due in April.
When did Caddywhompus form and what triggered that decision?
Chris (Rehm) and I have played music together for a long time, but it wasn't until we both moved to New Orleans for school that we started playing as a duo. Before starting Caddywhompus, we were playing mostly with The Riff Tiffs in Houston. Chris' brother, Curran, was the other guitarist in Riff Tiffs, and when he moved to Arkansas for school we decided to start another band, but still release Riff Tiffs' music whenever possible (we have a new record coming out soon). We've stuck with Caddywhompus being a duo because we communicate well musically, Chris' amps are super loud, and it's a lot easier to tour with just two dudes in the Volvo.
What is Caddywhompus’ current discography? When did you start Chinquapin Records?
Right now we just have EPs, which is a CD consisting of our first two releases and two bonus songs, and this wasn't released on any label. Chinquapin Records is a new idea we're just starting to set up, with its first releases being an upcoming cassette of Chris's solo stuff, as well as the 7" split with sIngs (from Houston). The full-length is going to be released on Community Records, a New Orleans based label that my friends' Greg (Rodrigue) and D-Ray (Daniel Ray) started.
The recordings that compose EPs were all recorded at my apartment and we experimented a lot with overdubs and field recordings during the mixing process, especially in the She EP (second half of EPs) because we kind of recorded that album with the intention of not playing those songs live often if at all. We wanted to f*ck around in the 'studio' while we could, because our upcoming releases are going to be a pretty bare-bones/live sound. EPs and our soon to be released full length are both home recorded and mixed, while the split 7" was recorded and mixed by John Griffin at Sugarhill Studios in Houston.
Do you live in New Orleans? And were you there during Hurricane Katrina? How did Katrina's aftermath affect the music scene in New Orleans?
We were both still in Houston when Katrina hit, but we live in New Orleans now and have met a bunch of musicians that were affected by the storm. I know that a lot of equipment was destroyed and everyone had to leave, so a lot of bands just went on hiatus for a while. I was really impressed to see how everyone managed to make the most of it though. One guy I know ran around and salvaged a bunch of recording equipment, bought a dilapidated Baptist church, and built the recording studio of his dreams.
Besides the releases, what are Caddywhompus’ plans for 2010? You are currently on tour in Louisiana and Texas -- any national tours in the works?
Other than the records, we're currently booking two tours for this summer (West and East coast). We're also coming through Austin for SXSW and we're playing as many free / all-ages shows as we can. We did that last year, and we're hoping to get even more out of it this time.
Good luck with everything and thank you for speaking with Austinist.
[The Murdocks MySpace]
[Caddywhompus MySpace]
[Giant Cloud MySpace]
Flip through the Austinist Weekend Music Preview Slideshow below for information on a number of events in town this weekend.
Images from MySpace / Facebook / provided by entity.
