Three, it turns out, isn’t a crowd for The Cold Stares. After a decade as a duo, 2023 saw the release of the band's excellent sixth album Voices – the dynamic Indiana blues rockers’ first as a power trio. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Tapp reckons the addition of an official bass player has been a game-changer. Lyrically as well as musically, he dug deep for some of the most personal songs in band’s history.
Speaking from Memphis – where the band are already tracking new songs – Classic Rock caught up with Tapp to look back on an important year for him and The Cold Stares.
Do you think you learnt anything new about yourself this year?
My grandad worked his ass off, my dad worked his ass off, but even playing rock’n’roll, I’m still trying to apply the same blue collar work ethic that we have as a family. I’m only here for a limited time, so what am I gonna do with it? What can I do to leave a legacy of music, and a legacy for my kids? The last year I’ve been working on scheduling and discipline to accomplish the things I wanna get done. Having purpose and goals.
When Christmas comes around, are you able to switch off and relax?
I switch off, but songs are so precious. When that antenna is off, you never wanna miss something important. So if there’s something inspiring, it doesn’t really matter. I’ll usually make a note or an audio recording on my phone. They’re just precious, man! It’s too hard to come by. I’ll get my ass kicked by my wife sometimes if I don’t switch off and focus on family. I have a 16-year-old son and I wanna be a good dad to him. I never want him to look back and think his dad was always preoccupied.
The dust hasn’t really settled on the band’s sixth album, Voices, so what's it been like to dive straight into another album?
I think you have to do it now. There’s so much new material coming out, if you’re not dropping something every couple of months, it’s easy to be forgotten. I like that in the seventies people would put multiple albums out each year. I love writing songs. That’s the easy part, and our plan is to do two albums a year going forward.
From writing and recording or performing live, how has Bryce’s addition on bass changed the band’s dynamic?
As far as songwriting goes, I can write anything I want without worrying how to pull it off live. And going through the old catalogue live, it gives us an opportunity to either play the songs more like the album or expand and add some jam sections. It opens up the band’s creativity all around.
Could you expand further and become a quartet one day?
No, it’ll stay a trio. Touring the world, you gotta have guys you get along with and I like our footprint being kinda small. It’s us three and our tour manager. We don’t have roadies, so we do all the hustle ourselves.
You’ve spoken previously about using music as an outlet for exploring personal events in your life. Do you think you achieved that on Voices?
Definitely. This record I basically decided that I wasn’t gonna be guarded. There were times in the past when I didn’t wanna sing about certain things. This time I felt that if I didn’t open myself up, then it might limit or hurt the songs. Voices has a song about my grandfather [who he lost to suicide], one about my wife, and then songs about some other things that I wouldn’t normally include.
Was that a personal or an artistic decision?
I think a lot of it came from the lockdowns. We’re just not promised tomorrow, another record or another year. We lost friends and family, and moving forward, I don’t want to miss an opportunity to say something or get something off my chest. I don’t think there’s any reason to hold those cards. You might as well put them out on the table. I think it’s a better way to live, to say the most important things.
Voices is out via the Mascot Label Group.
