Is there any significance to the band’s name? Chris: When I first started trying to put a band together in Nashville, it was really hard to keep the same guys, so I just started using the Chris Weaver Band because then it didn't matter who was in the group.
What are your musical influences? C: My biggest influences while growing up were my dad and the late '70s and '80s music. Bands like The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Steely Dan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Seger, and Joe Cocker influenced my singing style. However, in the early '90s, I started to be influenced by my music and bands like Counting Crows and Toad the Wet Sprocket. I also appreciate the music of the Stax and Motown eras. Groups like Sam and Dave, Sly and the Family Stone, and Wilson Pickett have impacted me. As my band has horns, I often play these songs today.
What are your musical inspirations? C: My inspirations are more about life without the focus always being on relationships between two people. I like to write about places I have been and people I have met over the years.
If given the chance, what musician(s) would you like to collaborate with? Rather this is to either write a song or be featured on a track. C: I would love to work with Adam Duritz from Counting Crows. Adam was someone that made me want to focus on songwriting from a young age. The fact that the songs he wrote impacted me then and even more as an adult really shows the power of his lyrics and music. The other person I would like to work with would be John Mayer. I like John because he has been able to create music that influenced him instead of sticking with just one sound throughout his career. Also, I like writing the music first and then the words and having his ability to create music would, I think, be an interesting write.
So what’s the brand new single about? C: Our new single is a single that I recorded in Brazil. It was a song written by a Brazilian and more on the EDM side. I enjoyed playing it because it was something different, allowing me to open up my song catalogue. Music now is more about things that you like and not so much being in a specific genre, especially with streaming services. It can just be something that adds to your music mix, plus it's a fun dance song.
What’s something you hope people take away from the new songs?
C: I want people to take away from it that you can mix the different types of music together and create some neat and interesting collaborations. Also, it was another bridge being built in translating Portuguese to English and bringing together two different styles of music.
Do you have any favourite songs to perform live? Could be your own music or even a cover. Any reason why? C: There are a lot of songs I like performing live, but one of my favourites is "Night Moves" by Bob Seger. I like this song because it allows me to sing in a way that brings heart and soul to a song; it also has low and more intense parts, making it very fun to sing. My favourite original song to sing would be my song "California High," and I like seeing that song for the same reason that there's a slow build to it, and it has both the words and great music, which also makes it enjoyable to play live.
If you could perform a show this very second anywhere in the world, where would it be? Is there any particular venue(s) or city/cities that comes to mind?
C: There are really three places I want to play the Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, and Madison Square Garden. A lot of it has to do with the history of these places and also the way I felt the first time I ever saw them. These are the places that make me want to work at and play music every day.
What do you currently have planned for the remainder of the year? C: For the remainder of the year, we hope to be putting out three or four more new songs as well as a couple of music videos. I'm also working on putting together my first singer-songwriter festival in River Ranch, Florida, for Westgate Resorts. Along with that, we have our normal yearly events, and we hope to be adding new events to the calendar this year. Thanks for taking some time out of your day to talk with us, Chris. Is there anything else you may want to add before you go? C: Thanks for the chance to reach out to your followers, and please check us out at chrisweaverband.com.