How did David Z enter the picture? Was he referred by Silvertone or was he someone
you had in mind?
No. Actually, David put his name in the hat when he heard we were gonna’ be doing an album. When the producer, the one I wanted, our first one, Dennis Herring, got pushed back on a project, we had to keep goin’. So we arranged a meeting with David, he came out and saw a gig and it turned out real cool. So we said, “Let’s get to work!”

Had David heard you prior to that?
That was the first time seeing us, but he’d listened to us. And now we’re good friends, I like David a lot.

How did you end up in Nashville? Was that a Silvertone decision?
It seems that where the producer lives, that’s where we go. He lives outside of Nashville in Franklin. We first worked at the Sound Emporium. That was a real nice studio. Then we went to Silvertone’s studio, The Battery, which had a nice board, but it, uh, well, it just wasn’t a very good studio! It had terrible acoustics! For mixdown we went to the Sound Kitchen. It was another real nice studio, real modern.

Is that where the final mixes for the album will be done?
Yes, they’re already done and it’s off being mastered. I don’t know where it’s being mastered. We’ve already done the photo shoot. I was in New York the weekend of the 16th doing all that. Next is just gettin’ the old hype machine rolling! And goin’ out and playing!!

Was the week you had to rehearse in Nashville helpful?
Yeah, a little, because the drummer, Greg Morrow, had some ideas. He was really sharp. Mainly the rehearsal was just to get Greg Morrow familiar with it and getting’ to know him. He really turned out to be a very warm cat and just an exceptional player. I feel really grateful that I played with him. You know, the first album was pretty much gettin’ in the studio and playing, playing like we’d played at gigs, “live” stuff, whereas the second album is more like constructing songs. Putting up scaffolding and trying out an idea, stepping back and really liking it! And I guess since that was such a new experience for us is why we liked it so much. You hear the songs blossom. After we put all the parts on “Crying Out Loud”, the way it just matured. To hear one of your songs grow and mature in the studio is really neat. And all your ideas - when you have an idea you literally go out there and do it! There ‘s nothing greater or more satisfying than getting your ideas right on the take. Some of your ideas don’t work but it’s the ones that work that you feel really proud of.

Did you have an idea of what you wanted on the album going into the studio?
Yeah, we did. We had laid out some songs that we wanted to do and the record company had some they wanted us to do. Another thing I really like was that the whole session turned into our thing. It was our baby. We were having fun doin’ our own songs. The only copy tunes we were dong were “Drivin’ South” and “Crazy”. And “People Say”, you know, another Meters tune. We’ll just play all Meters tunes!

Are you still on track for a late May/early June release?
I believe so. I haven’t talked to Tedesco in awhile, but that was the last I heard.

What’s it like to hear one of your songs on the radio for the first time?
I really don’t listen to radio much. You know, it’s funny, but to this day I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song come on just out of the blue. I usually hear it on the radio after I do an interview in the studio as I’m leaving in the van! Hopefully, this one will do well and I’ll be able to sit back and enjoy it.

JUST THEN...
Erick Tatuaka sticks his head in and says, “Chris, while you were sleeping, Mike Tedesco called. He said he wanted to talk to you. He had that tone in his voice so I decided to just let you sleep!