Hey Champ
Hey Champ discusses their first album finally being released, remixes and blending the line between indie rock and hip-hop.
The road to release Hey Champ’s first full length has been a long one, but the Rockford, Illinois trio is finally set to release the album in July. Album release shenanigans aside, Hey Champ is already wildly successful; recording the infectious hit that has (probably) been played in every single club everywhere, “Cold Dust Girl,” and remixing artists such as Passion Pit, The Sounds and The Cool Kids. Hey Champ has already broken out – and their first full length is poised to carry them further.
HEAVE: I was born not too far from you hometown of Rockford, Illinois. Did you enjoy Magic Waters Waterpark as much as I did?
Hey Champ: Jonathan and Saam grew up there. And yes, we've been rocking Magic Waters since the time that there were only three waterslides there.
HEAVE: Debut album Star is FINALLY coming out in July. It’s been a long time coming – does that make you more or less nervous for its release?
Hey Champ: As artists we're always going to be a little nervous about what people think of our music. There are reasons to be more nervous, like 'will people be disappointed after waiting so long?' But to even make it as far as we have up to this point is a friggin' miracle, so we're more excited about people getting to hear the songs than nervous.
HEAVE: It’s not out yet – so you get to plant the seed in people’s brains already. Why will people love Star?
Hey Champ: Because they have to or else we're screwed!
HEAVE: Tell us about Townie Records. How did that relationship come about?
Hey Champ: We had just played Lolla, our album was done and we didn't have a way to release it. We wanted to avoid a major label because we felt that would be like jumping aboard the Titanic after it hit the iceberg. Then we got a phone call from Townie and what they wanted to do made sense for us. It's really been great, we're not just kissing up.
HEAVE: Did you ever imagine “Cold Dust Girl” would be as loved as it is by people? It’s like a megajam.
Hey Champ: I think it's always difficult to know how people will react to stuff. But, the fact that people are still discovering it and being excited about it - we have to admit that it's a very incredible feeling.
HEAVE: You’re discovered by and open for Lupe Fiasco – and have done some remixes with The Cool Kids – what’s it like, as a band, to be entrenched in both the indie and hip hop community. Does it make you try to create and look at your music differently?
Hey Champ: We garnered this incredible fan base through Lupe and the Kids. Their fans liked our music as it was, which is really great. People would come up to us after shows and say "man, I don't listen to rock music but I really dig you guys." How cool is that? But we don't fancy ourselves ambassadors to the hip hop community, nor would we say we really approach music differently because of our involvement with it. When artists try to merge hip hop and other genres it can often come across as too forced or downright terrible. We wouldn't want to make that kind of music. We approached The Cool Kids track just as a normal track, except the verses would be rapped instead of sung. Chuck and Mikey were nice enough to let us use their song "Champions."
HEAVE: You’ve also done your fair share of remixes. Which band has liked your remix of their song the most?
Hey Champ: Hmmm....for sheer excitement we'd probably have to say French Horn Rebellion/Database for our "Beaches and Friends" remix. I think they wrote us back in all caps when we sent it to them.
HEAVE: Townie Records slogan is “good music for good people.” What is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone?
Hey Champ: We're always nice.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Jun 11, 2010 @ 7:07 am
