Chad Harvey
Get Lit. Could
there be a better title for a debut album? For Indie 500 Record artist Chad
Harvey, it seems to be perfect. “I’ve always had the mentality of work hard and
play hard. I’ve spent time playing my music in bars. These songs are stories
that I’ve either experienced myself or seen through others lives that are close
to me,” explains Americana
artist Chad Harvey. While sitting at Evansville’s
own Firefly Southern Grill, Chad
saw the words “Get Lit” at the top of a cocktail menu. “Get Lit” on this menu had
a dual meaning…Firefly and cocktails, get it? The song, “Get Lit” came together
at the last minute to join 12 other songs already on the album awaiting the
right title. “I can’t wait to play this song live. It’s going to be a great bar
anthem,” says Chad.
As I listen to the entire album preparing to interview Chad for Tripodder.com’s Podcast Channel, I recall
a year ago when I interviewed Chad Harvey live from his performance at Hotel
Café in Los Angeles.
Chad’s
talent has always impressed me, but his music has truly become better and
better. I’m proud that Tripodder.com makes following the progress of regional
independent artists an important element what we do.
Songwriters tell stories through their music, but Chad’s has a
style all his own. This collection of stories is shared in a variety of styles
of music bringing each to life in a special way. The track, “Just to See What
She Feels Like” completely rocks and Chad calls it his “hail to the
Rolling Stones.” While the last track on the album, “Downtown Tonight” is
strong with a fiddle and a catchy country- type tune with the lyrics, “Downtown
tonight, gonna let it all hang out ‘til I feel right. Got a hundred in my
pocket and my boots are nice and shined to go downtown tonight.”
“I’ve been influenced by many genres of music over my
life. I really don’t like to pigeonhole any music into a certain genre. I’m a
big country music fan and a rock fan. There are artists out there that bring
all those genres together. Steve Earle does it better than anybody and he is a
big influence on me. When I put this record together, I wanted to bring all my
styles and influences in. I think it does work. The songs all have a common
denominator of being American music.”
Chad’s
own story is as American as the music he writes. He shares this in the inside
liner notes of Get Lit, describing
his move from Indiana to Austin, Texas.
“I knew no one in Austin
and I had only written three songs. But I did know there was a reason I needed
to be there: to develop my music I needed to walk the same soil as my heroes.”
Chad says that if he wouldn’t have left Evansville, he wouldn’t have been able to
write most of the songs on Get Lit. The
song, “Dream On” is an important song to Chad because it is a song written
for dreamers. It is a wake up call to those in the Tri-State area who may be
too content with where they are and need to be reminded to chase their dreams.
Speaking of dreams, the players on the record are all star
host of dream cast of supporting musicians including Mellencamp-alum Dane Clark
on drums, Grammy-winner Lloyd Maines on steel and three-time Grammy-winner
Larry Franklin on fiddle.
Just like Chad Harvey, his own album Get Lit has tremendous potential of
going far beyond this region and realizing its own dreams. Tripodder.com happily
invites you to be a part Chad Harvey’s Get
Lit album release party at Duck Inn on Saturday July
12 at 9 pm. Dan Conn will also be on the bill along with Indie 500 Records
label mate Stereo Deluxe. However, if you want to hear a bit of the album
before then you can listen to this podcast interview with Chad Harvey on the
Tripodder.com’s Podcast Channel. You can buy the album locally at Joe’s Records
or order the album by visiting www.ChadHarvey.com, and myspace.com/ChadHarvey.
Even better though, you can join Chad in helping support our
troops overseas. Chad contacted the Soldiers’ Angels project and suggested that
for every copy of Get Lit sold
through Indie500Records.com, he would donate a copy to be sent to one of our soldier
overseas. To learn more about the Soldier’s Angels and how you can adopt a
soldier to correspond with, visit www.SoldiersAngels.org.
This is just one more part of what makes this album and
Chad Harvey is an astonishingly cool slice of Americana.
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