Chase Long Beach-
Danny Says! sat down with (over the phone) Patrick "Fitzie", bass player of Victory Records' Chase Long Beach to talk about their big break on Victory and how they feel they fit within the genre of ska.
DS: How’s the tour?
Fitzie: “The past tour was good; definitely our favorite places to play are Florida, because it’s just like home town in California. We also like to play in Colorado; we have lots of friends out in Denver.”
DS: How has the band progressed?
Fitzie: Our band is definitely growing. It was dead when we started because the scene was rusty. It’s going really well though, first ska west coast signed band in 10 years.
DS: How has it been working with Victory Records?
Fitzie: We were signed in February 2009 by them and it’s definitely a lot of fun, it’s a HUGE learning experience and a great to be a part of. They are the ultimate marking machine; their job is to make us big.”
DS: Would you say this is your first big break?
Fitzie: “Absolutely. It just opens up so much. There are so many more people that do work that you can’t do on your own.”
DS: Do more instruments make the band harder or more fun?
Fitzie: More musicians is key. It works when there are lots of dedicated members. It’s basically all my friends playing instruments. It was harder to tour when we were traveling without the bus. Using the new bus to tour is so much better, much more personal room.
DS: Do you feel you're still part of the 3rd wave ska movement or are you ushering a new perhaps "4th wave" of ska bands?
Fitzie:“I wouldn’t say we are the 3rd wave. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were the big guys on the block, and still are. We started in 2002, 3rd wave bands started earlier. We are attempting to push the limitiations of the ska scene, we want more of a wider audience.
DS: How’s the new CD "Gravity Is What You Make It" doing?
Fitzie: Really REALLY well. It’s been doing better in the UK, because the tour is the same length of time, and it covers smaller ground. We’ve toured 3 times over there, it sells better. All bands do twice as good over there.
DS: We heard you were supposed to tour Japan, Australia, and China in 2010 but it was pushed back?
Fitzie: It was pushed back to save money. The label wanted to concentrate on the US marketing.
DS: How has the new single “We’ve Got Pockets Like Nobody’s Business” been doing and what do you have planned for the future?
Fitzie: “We have gotten 10,000 plays in 2 weeks. Victory Record’s digital distributor accidentally took our music off. We lost everything. We also plan on redoing the website. We want more of a live feed, twitter style, type site. We plan on having a tour diary on there. “
DS: Now here's the obligatroy question, who are your biggest influences?
Fitzie: We all have a bunch of different influences, being in that there are 7 people in the band. Simply walking down the street influences me. As far as bands, I’ve been listening to a lot of Alkaline Trio, Motion City Soundtrack, Atmosphere, and The Queers.
Chase Long Beach are playing Friday January 29th, 2010 @ Soundwaves Academy in Union, NJ with The Waffle Stompers, Sexy Heroes, Pilots in Orbit, After Shock, Four In Reserve, Six Ways To Saturday, and Touchdown Boy. Tickets will be available through www.jerseyshows.com
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