Weekend 2 of ArtomaticFrederick - An Interview with Cheshi
Roy: I first came across Cheshi with the track “To Lose” recorded at 200 East Art Haus for the Flying Dog’s Music Vol. 1 CD. It was stellar, but let me hear it from you, how do you describe your sound to other people?
Ashli: I usually describe us as a dark and heavy band, heavy in various ways, not necessarily the sounds themselves. Heavy emotionally.
That’s a hard question for me to answer because each song is pulling its unique drive depending on what I’m trying to say.
Roy: I’m trying to figure out the band timeline, is Cheshi, as a band, relatively new?
Ashi: Very new, we started up as a band last Spring.
Roy: I saw Cheshi last month at Area 31. It was a great atmosphere. Cheshi isn’t necessarily punk rock, but the whole event had a sort of DIY punk ethos to it all. You all had command of the audience and seemed like good chemistry on stage as well. Every band getting together has some kind of story - what’s Cheshi’s story?
Ashli: It started with a solo set of mine. Trevor Williams (Cheshi’s lead guitarist) approached me and said he would love to play with me. So we met up one night, had a few beers, and I just played some songs I was working on. He did such an amazing job, simply improvising on them that we’ve been musically aligned ever since. Matt Jachowski and Evan Braswell joined later, with the intention of filling out the sound. It’s so amazing. We all get along so well. They all are such amazing musicians and add a much needed dynamic to the band.
Roy: Seeing your songs fleshed out in a larger band context -I imagine was neat for you to hear.
Ashli: Exactly. I like the power that the music has now.
Roy: The other thing that struck me about your show last month - you had a visual aspect to it, with projected images behind you. Works well in that space since it doubles as an indie cinema on other nights. Tell me about this visual aspect of your shows, especially as Friday’s show at Artomatic is literally surrounded by tons of art.
Ashli: As a visual artist as well as a musician, I feel that it is necessary to use an additional aspect to tell a story. I create all the videos we use for our projections, using found footage from the 1950s and 1960s, commercials, documentaries, educational films, you name it. It has this quality, this façade. It’s a way for me to express my self to express myself further than the music alone, while maintaining uniformity.
Roy: So the sound of the band, as you describe it, emotionally heavy. Somehow that evokes for me this analogy (which might or might not be accurate, I’m going on a limb here) a kind of Beach House -that rocks harder. Agree? Vehemently disagree?
[awkward pause]
Ashli: We are not very Beach House. Hmmm…I don’t know. It gets hard. We are all inspired by such a vast range of music. I think it’s safe to say it’s very hard to compare us to someone else.
Roy: Ok ok, not Beach House…apologies! Lazy music journalism means trying to do a comparison. I guess, I just meant maybe taking the emotional gravity Beach House projects -but sonically Cheshi takes a harder rocking approach. But yeah, I see what you’re getting at, it’s hard to do a comparison really.
Ashli: We have loud and intense moments, we have ethereal momenbts, ghost moments memory moments, stomping moments…I see what you are saying now and yes, that could be true.
Roy: You were mentioning earlier, the sound changes from song to song, but that to me means musically you all are adventurous, at the very least
Ashli: Our songs are…this might be strange to say, but like waves. Sometimes they crash over the rocks and sometimes they form algae.
Roy: Water moves, circulates and flows. Your music is continually evolving, even as a relatively new band. I overheard people at that Area 31 show (that I keep mentioning like a broken record), say things like, ‘wow, that’s a new song, I never heard that one before.’ Then they pause to take it all in, followed by, ‘it sounds…awesome.’ That’s not a bad anecdotal metric to go by, from my observations. These songs that are being road tested, they’re part of a new album that you all are recording?
Ashli: We are halfway through the recording process of our debut EP, through Mystery Ton studios with Kenny Eaton (recording it). It has been an incredibly wonderful and fulfilling experience, and we are so excited to finally be able to share it soon with the world.
Roy: I’m understanding that this eclectic lineup on Friday May 13 at Artomatic might see some surprise collaborations between you all and Ricole and Da’Mood. Care to comment on all that?
Ashli: We shall see (cue maniacal laughter). We are so excited to be sharing a stage with Ricole and Da’mood and Mathias, let’s just say there will be surprises.
Roy: Last question: this show on Friday is in a way a rarity, an all ages show. There aren’t that many in Frederick. Do you want to weigh in on that, and efforts to reverse that trend?
Ashli: Oh man, of course! Everyone should have a change to see who they want to see. Shows that are accessible for everyone, create a stronger musical community. Especially since most of the venues to play shows in Frederick are alcohol oriented environments.
Roy: Thank you and (as admittedly biased as I am) I’m looking forward to Friday’s show!
Ashli: Thank you! I’m proud to be part of something that is moving the creative force of Frederick forward!
Artomatic Music Fest tonight: Cheshi, Mathias, Retro/Ricole & Da'Mood. 8:30pm Free / All Ages. 115 E. Church St, Frederick MD
More Info
Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/655795647906726/
Cheshi: http://cheshi.bandcamp.com/
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