Since 2011 The Record Company have been kicking around, gigging where they can and writing songs since the very beginning. Just over a year ago this culminated in their first LP Give It Back, made from the comfort of their bassist’s living room.
That’s when a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album hit them like a ton of bricks. Since the nom Chris Vos and the rest of the band have been touring the record left right and centre; we managed to sit down for a chat before they hit Australia.
Since receiving a Grammy nomination for their debut long-play, The Record Company have cemented themselves as a force in modern, bluesy rock n roll.
HAPPY: You guys will be playing at Bluesfest Byron Bay next month as well as a few headline shows here. What’re you most looking forward to about playing in Australia? And is there anyone on the Bluesfest lineup you’re keen to see?
CHRIS: I have never had the pleasure of visiting Australia so I am very excited to be coming to see it for the first time while being part of such a tremendous festival. I know that you all love rock n’ roll. Bon Scott is one of my all time favourite figures in rock history, I’ve spent a lot of hours listening to that music. I am looking forward to seeing our friend Mavis Staples again. Hoping I’ll get to see her in person, a couple minutes with Mavis will fill your heart for a long long time.
HAPPY: Do you have any on-tour rituals or traditions?
CHRIS: Nothing crazy, drink a bunch of water, eat a good meal, do vocal warm ups, listen to some Muddy Waters, Rolling Stones, and Beastie Boys backstage to prime up for the performance.
HAPPY: You released your first full-length LP, Give It Back, in Feb 2016. The album went to number one, and was nominated for a Grammy. What was it like to receive such an overwhelmingly positive response from both general listeners, and the industry? How did it feel to be nominated for a Grammy?
CHRIS: It was very unexpected. I remember in January of last year sitting in my house wondering how the year was going to turn out because I had no idea. To have those opportunities were beyond anything we could have imagined or would have ever dared hope for. Being nominated for a Grammy was an honour and it totally took us by surprise.
HAPPY: Tell me more about the record. Where was it recorded? Who produced it?
CHRIS: We recorded the album in our bass player’s living room, and he mixed it there. We all have a hand in production but we wrote, recorded, produced, and mixed it ourselves.
HAPPY: Talk me through the writing process of the album, is there any track that stands out as a fave?
CHRIS: We had written all the songs over the years from forming the band. By the time a song gets recorded and mixed it is something that we have been writing together for a bit. The good thing about recording music in a space like we do is that we get to capture the song at the moment it is being born, right at the second it is done being written.
HAPPY: Are you working on any new music or music videos currently? If so, when can we expect them?
CHRIS: We just released a single called Baby I’m Broken and there will be a video being released for it in the very near future.
HAPPY: You guys have shared the stage with some absolute music legends. What’s been your favourite on-stage moment? and is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
CHRIS: It’s hard to say what the favourite moment is. Playing at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville was astounding. Selling out our first hometown shows. Going back to where I grew up and playing sold out shows with all my longtime friends in the audience was a thrill. Anytime you get a chance to open for one of your heroes it is something you treasure and an experience where you just sit back and try and learn from the honesty with which they carry themselves and the intensity with which they perform.
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
CHRIS: Family, music…be it performing writing or just practising, and being around the ones we love.
The Record Company will be kicking it live in Australia this April, catch the dates below:
Apr 13-17 – Bluesfest – Byron Bay, NSW
Apr 19 – Newtown Social Club – Sydney, NSW
Apr 20 – Northcote Social Club – Melbourne, VIC
