One In The Chamber Interview
Canadian rockers One In The Camber bring a nostalgic flair to modern music. With their new album on the horizon bassist Christian Dotto and drummer Gerrod Harris gave By the Barricade a deep dive on the band’s creative process. Check out the full interview below!
What inspired the band’s name One In The Chamber?
Christian: We’re believers of that “seize the moment” philosophy, and our name in a cool reflection of that. You’ve only got one shot, so make it count.
The new music video for “Bills To Pay” is awesome! Can you tell us about the backstory of the song and video?
Christian: “Bills To Pay” was the first song we ever jammed on and is a fan favorite at our shows, so it was obvious that it was destined to be our first music video.
You have a new EP scheduled to come out later this year. How has One In The Chamber evolved since your last release?
Gerrod: On our last release, we worked with Scott LaFlamme during all stages of production, but while Murray Daigle produced this record with us, pre-production was all on us. Each of these songs have been practiced and hammered out for quite some time and I think the result is a sound that is much more us than what we’ve put out in the past. We had really pushed ourselves to become the best songwriters we could be for this record.
Can you give us a little more info about your writing process for the new album? Was there a song that was particularly difficult to finalize?
Gerrod: The writing process almost always begins with a riff of some sort. All four of us are always writing and sharing ideas so a lot of the time we are taking and borrowing from each other while we jam on these parts. That’s how most of our songs come together. For this EP, we’d been sitting on these songs for about two years or so – some of them just clicked immediately and organically, while some of them have seen many different versions as they grew into what they are now.
I hear a mixture of tastes from bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Led Zeppelin. How do you balance between the modern and nostalgic influences when creating songs?
Christian: Thank you! Those are some of our favorite bands. While we all have a mutual love for rock n’ roll, our individual musical influences sometimes result in clashing ideas. Mike gets his inspiration from classic rock n’ roll, while Gerrod’s influence comes from a combination of funk and 90s rock. Both Cecil and I share similar influences in metal, however, Cecil also takes a lot of his ideas from the world of jazz. So how do you write a jazz/metal/rock/funk song that isn’t a chaotic hurricane of noise? I guess the result is One In The Chamber.
Gerrod: Yea, we all come from very different musical backgrounds. Cecil and I both studied jazz in university, Chris and I share a love for metal, while Mike and I probably have the most in common between our tastes. Lots of classic rock, 90’s alternative rock but then again, you wouldn’t expect me to listen to nearly as much hip-hop as I do.
I saw One In The Chamber participated in a world record recently. Can you tell us more about the event and what it was like?
Gerrod: It was really cool! Epidemic Music Group wanted to put on the longest concert from multiple artists. I think the original goal was to beat a bar in Vegas with fourteen days of nearly nonstop music but they ended up setting a new record with just over sixteen days. Guinness has a lot of rules for this sorta thing: there could be no longer than thirty seconds between songs, and five minutes between bands and at least ten people had to be in the audience at all times. So for half a month The Earl Of Witchurch was the coolest place to be. Chris and I pulled an all-nighter there once too. It just was actually just verified that Epidemic won the record for the longest concert so it was pretty amazing to have been a part of that. Record aside, a lot of money was raised for various charities as well.
What do you spend most of your time thinking about?
Christian: Future plans/goals, what we can be doing to better stand out as a band, and as musicians. There isn’t a single day where we don’t think about the band, so we try to make it as productive as possible.
Gerrod: We are always hustling and constantly improving on what we do to make sure that each step forward is better than the last.
What was the biggest challenge you’ve overcome since starting One In The Chamber?
Christian: Being an independent musician can be tough. The work, behind the scenes, can prove to be really expensive and often comes with a steep learning curve. We try to do as much as we can ourselves and while it’s a challenge, I think we have had some success with it. There really is no “right way” of succeeding in a band. You just have to try things out and see what happens.
Gerrod: Definitely that! It’s a bit of research, a bit of talking to others who have done the same, and a whole lotta trial and error.
Who are some local Toronto bands that should be on our radar?
Gerrod: Crown Lands, Drop Top Alibi, The Crooked, and The Reed Effect. All killer rock bands putting out great music. I’d add Last Bullet to that list as well; they may have broken up earlier this year, but last year’s release, 80-69-64, was incredible.
Christian: All of the above, for sure! I’d also like to add The Matte Black Finish, Second Pass, 9 Lives and Counting, Tomahawk Love, and North Reign. All amazing bands, in their own right. Gigging in Toronto has really made us realize the overwhelming amount of talent within the city. These few are just off the top of our heads, but there are tons of excellent bands out there.
Is there anything else that you want to say to the readers of By the Barricade?
Gerrod: Check us out and share with your friends! You’ll be happy you did!
One In the Chamber on Facebook
Keep it on Bythebarricade.com for tons of punk rock interviews, reviews, articles, and photos! Also, “Like” By the Barricade on Facebook to never miss a post.
