CHRIS WOLLARD & THE SHIP THIEVES
Interview with Chris Wollard.
Written by: Christer Davidsson | Posted: November 3d, 2009

Hello Chris! How are you doing?

Hello hello... Doin' ok. Still a little sore from The Fest, and doin' a little bit of last minute work, trying to get ready for tour... but doin' ok, no real complaints.

How do you feel about hitting the road?

I guess i haven't thought about it too much. Don't really know how I feel, except maybe a little jumpy. I keep feeling like i've forgotten to do something...

You're starting off in the U.S. on friday for 7 shows, if I got my numbers straight. Then you're flying over to Europe to do around 16-17 shows over here. What would you say is the biggest difference between playing shows in Europe and playing back home? What are the pro's and con's about the two?

Actually I think we have a few more east coast shows that just aren't up on the list yet... Valtimore, Va. Beach, maybe something else (it's kinda early right now, not really awake yet). And then yeah, we go to Europe, which is actually a double tour for me... Hot Water Music does a week over there before the Ship Thieves tour begins, so it's a pretty crazy month... And as far as differences go, I don't know if there's a lot of things different and a lot of things that are the same, when you travel over seas...
Differences: expensive plane tickets are a big one (and a major obstacle), food (no tacos to be found, but i'm looking forward to some pommes frites and some bratwurst, maybe a schnitzel), beer is better in europe but usually a little warm for my taste, no football on tv (our kinda football), a looonnng hot shower is hard to come by, as is good toilet paper, and in some places it's even hard to find a toilet (in some places you just get a hole in the floor, and that's awkward for sure). I don't know, it's a long list.
Similarities: Tour is tour. Shows are shows. Clubs are clubs. And people around the world are more similar than you might think. But also, when you and your friends are locked in a van together for extended periods of time... it doesn't really matter where you are, 'cause everyone is bound to get a little weird. It's not easy.

As far as I know this will be the very first tour you do with The Ship Thieves, but it's been a while since the record came out. How come you've waited to take this show on the road?

I guess i'm just not in an kind of a rush with this. I've just been having fun writing music, jamming with my friends and recording things every chance I get. The guys in the band slowly came together, and now we're rocking, so we figured we should hit the road and see what happens... go play our new stuff.

From what I've seen the album has been given some pretty great reviews. What are your expectations when it comes to playing the songs on stage in front of an audience who has never heard these tunes live before?

Seriously, I don't really have any expectations. Other than to get in the van with my friends and have fun. Have an adventure. And although we'll be playing some stuff off of the record... i'm pretty deep into writing the next record, so we'll be playing a lot of stuff that nobody knows... So it's hard to really expect anything. I just wanna go play.

You've been around the world with Hot Water Music and The Draft so I'm guessing you're pretty used to the life of touring. Do you still get nervous about getting on stage?

Well, I don't know about being nervous, but your nerves do get going, just from all that energy going through you. My trick is to remember that I've already played the worst show of my life, and it'll never be that bad or embaressing again... That usually helps.

Do you feel that there's a difference in playing these songs compared to playing with HWS for example? The Ship Tieves record has a really intimate feeling to it and it feels really personal. Does that affect the way you feel about playing it live?

The main difference is that with Hot Water Music everyone expects to hear the songs they know... and to see us keep doing what we've been doing for so long. But with the Thieves, I don't think anyone really knows what to expect. That gives us a lot of freedom to do what we want to do, instead of doing what others want us to do. It's very different, but awesome on both sides, I feel very lucky to be in this position for sure.

Let's talk a bit about the album. What has the overall response been from people?

It's been more positive than i could've hoped for really.

Well as I said earlier, I find this album intimate and personal and apart from your voice it doesn't sound a bit like HWM or The Draft. How come you decided to do a record like this?

It probably wasn't as planned as you might think. I knew that I'd put these songs out, but I  didn't really know in what way, or how I'd really get it done, for a long time. Really, I was just writing a lot of stuff that didn't seem to fit in anywhere. And i just kept doing it. And here and there I'd get into a studio, or a friends house, or whatever, and invite friends over, and we'd just get into it. Play what we felt, put our ideas together, and see what worked... and after a while the album started taking form.

I also think the album has a sleepy tone to it, don't get me wrong, not like it's boring or anything, in fact, I find it the exact oppsite of boring. But it's got a really quiet and mellow atmosphere around it. Why is that you think?

Well I can think of some possible reasons why, but I'm not sure how valid any of it would be... I'm just kinda writing the songs that I want to write, trying to make records that I would like... And this is the way it's coming out of me. 

What's your favorite song off of the record and why?

I think I might be a little to close to the record to really say I  have a favorite song, or moment or anything. Everything is on there for a reason, and they are all different reasons, but all equally important to me... But I guess I'm still really stoked that "In the Middle of the Sea" didn't have to change to make it on the record... Me and Addy did that in my kitchen, at the end of a horrible day, and since we had no drums in my kitchen, we just stomped on the floor and banged on my pots n' pans... It was rad, and it really helped me through that day, and I still laugh when I think about it.

How did you come up with the idea of doing a record on your own without the other guys you've usually played with. Was it something that came out of the fact that HWM was on hold or is it something you've been wanting to do for a while?

Well, like i said earlier, I was just writing, and these songs didn't fit in anywhere. But they still meant as much to me as anything else, so I just had to figure out a way to put it all together and make it work somehow...

Speaking of records, besides the album and the split with Mike Hale you are about to release a split with Drag The River in time for the tour. What do you think of Drag The River?

Well I think Drag The River is awesome... and I'm super stoked on doing this tour in Europe with them. Rad guys with rad songs... and great attitudes... It's gonna be a super fun tour. And hopefully we'll make some shows happen in the U.S. too. (And we also just did a split w Ninja Gun on Chunksaah Records as well).

Would you call Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves a "solo project"? Are you bringing the guys that play on the record on tour?

I just call it- me and my friends want to play some music- I honestly didn't think too much about it. The tour will be with me and Addison Burns on guitar, Chad Darby (from Averkiou) on bass, Jeffrey Heinault (from Ninja Gun) on drums... and Ben Lovett (when he's available, he's super busy) on keys/acoustic/percussion/whatever the song needs.

In recent years a whole bunch of people from "punk" and "hardcore" bands have done solo stuff, often acoustic or at least more laid-back than what they're known for. Your companion Chuck for example, or Tim Barry of Avail. What's your favorite solo-record done by a guy or a girl who's more know for their work with their original band?

Uhm, I think this would probably be an answer that might change fairly regularly, but as of right now... Paul Kelly "A to Z Live", Tom Petty "Wildflowers", David Gilmour "s/t" and Paul Westerburg "Mono-Stereo" (yes I know that's 2 different records).

And the short tour with Hot Water Music. How does that feel? Good to be back in Europe with the band? I'm guessing these shows will be pretty damn packed with people.

I think the whole trip is gonna be a blast. But a little cold for someone that lives in Florida...

What are you planning on doing once you get back home? I'd love to see another Ship Thieves record coming out. Is that a possibility?

Yup, more recording coming up in the near future. A new full length, maybe some more EP's... and probably more tours too. I really like this band so I'm excited to see it all come together...

Ok Chris, thanks a lot for answering my questions I bet you're quite busy with packing and rehearsing. Is there anything else you'de like to say to the ones who read this before we say goodbye?

Just keep your eyes open, cause we might be coming through...