Battering Ram: An interview with Charger
While the members of the band have their own musical lineages, Charger is a new beast, powered by heavy metal, driven by punk, and packing a battering ram. We speak to Charger.
The East Bay is home to a certain brand of rock music that burst into the mainstream collective in the mid-90s. East Bay punk was in part, the epicenter for bands that would ultimately change music. Members of the East Bay scene recently formed Charger; a hard-hitting rock n' roll outfit whose roots are more DIO than Sex Pistols, more Motorhead than Ramones, but no less blitzing than the acts these members are most associated with.
Just who is Charger? Charger is Matt Freeman- a name synonymous with the East Bay punk scene as a member of Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Devils Brigade. Charger is Jason Willer, noted punk drummer who drummed for the legendary UK Subs. Charger is Andrew McGee, whose guitar works feeds the monstrous sounds you find on Charger's debut EP- one we called a record you listen to "when you need to kick some ass". And serious ass it kicks. Because while the members of the band have their own music lineages, Charger is a new beast; powered by heavy metal, driven by punk, and packing a battering ram.
We spoke to Matt, Jason, and Drew about Charger.
The EP rips. How does the result compare to what you had in mind and wanted to accomplish with the EP?
MATT: I thought it came out great. You never know what exactly will happen in the studio. Sometimes it's hard to capture the energy you are looking for. We recorded all the basic tracks live in the room with each other, so I think that helped a lot.
How did you, Andrew, and Jason get Charger started?
MATT: I've known Jason for years around the East Bay music scene. He started teaching my youngest son, drums. We started having conversations about music and decided to jam together. We didn't really know what would happen; at first, we were just trying different time signatures and rhythms to challenge each other. We started putting actual songs together. The next step was getting a guitarist, so we asked Drew. Things clicked really fast. It's a lot of fun.
What was the songwriting process for Charger like- did you write together or separately and bring the ideas together?
MATT: It's super creative. We all bring stuff in. We all contribute. The rule is there are no rules. Allot of the songs start out one way and end up somewhere completely different and unexpected. We spent a lot of time in the rehearsal room going over stuff. It's never boring.
Charger EP
There's a variety of rock music (heavy metal, prog, rock n' roll) in Charger's music. Was this a conscious decision, or did all happen naturally during the songwriting and/or recording?
DREW: We all have various influences that come out while we're writing and playing. Sometimes someone will play a part of a song differently, and that might not always be a conscious thing. It might not be how we were playing it previously, but we'll always consider if we think it's cool or not, so it's always a conscious decision if we decide to keep it. We seem to be conscious when we make those decisions, anyway.
Was the record self-produced, or did you work with someone in the studio?
DREW: We worked with Michael Rosen, who is credited on the record. He has a ton of experience and gets exactly what we're going for. He's amazing, and we'll be working with him again as soon as possible.
Was there a catalyst that sparked your interest (personally) in heavy metal early on?
JASON: All three of us had a love for hard rock and heavy metal from an early age ranging from The Who, DIO, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motorhead and Judas Priest. Metal was ground zero for me; from there, I began digging deeper into the underground. In the early '90s, there was a Heavy Metal radio station at my local High School called "KVHS the only Real Rock." The station broadcasted a specialty show from 10 pm to Midnight playing Thrash and Death Metal that piqued my imagination showing me there were whole other worlds of music out there to explore. That radio station was my personal John Peel. I started getting into punk as well as bands like Neurosis, Sepultura and Amebix. I remember screaming along to these bands as a teenager in which I can credit some of my vocal style to.
Matt, you've sung lead with Devils Brigade, but your vocal work on here is next level. Do you enjoy singing? Did you approach your vocal work differently from the songs you wrote for Devils Brigade?
MATT: Thank you. I just try to sing the best I can for every song.
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The song "Damage" is a monster of a track- sonically its more than just a heavy metal song, a prog song, or a rock song. I feel like it is the best of everything. What was the idea behind "Damage"?
DREW: Thank you. We've written some songs that are slower or have different changes in them, so we wanted to make sure to include one on the first thing we put out to let everyone know we have that aspect to what we do.
The Charger record release show was May 17, then you've got a couple of shows with Hellfire in July. These songs sound great on record, but when writing, did you have the live show in mind? I feel like they are made for the live setting.
JASON: We write from our gut in hopes of making music we want to hear as well as enjoy playing live.
Are you looking to do more touring after these shows?
MATT: We are going to keep writing, playing shows, and recording. Thanks for the interview
Charger's debut EP is available now via Pirates Press Records. You can also listen to the album on your favorite streaming service.