CF Rocks DC

If you live in the Washington DC area, there was only one place to be Saturday night: at the 9:30 Club catching Chester French's phenomenal performance. CF, along with Hollywood Holt opened for the very bada$$ Lady Sovereign. While they were all amazing, I'm going to focus on Chester French because I <3 them times infinity. :)

After watching CF's performance on Jimmy Fallon, I knew that the energy from them would be off the wall. And I was right.



My friend/assistant Heather and I were in the front row (I was actually able to rest my purse and beer on the stage, ha!) and got to soak up all of that energy as it poured off of DA and Max and flowed over the crowd.



As you know from my previous interview, these two are talented beyond words. DA's voice was smooth and sexy (like buttah!) and that boy can work a tambourine! Max was right in front of me and I got a close-up view of his tight guitar playing while he simultaneously played the keyboard:



Still blows me away! And both of their moves just make you want to get on the stage and dance with them (as three lucky girls got to do. *jealous*)



What I love most about CF, though, is how in-touch they are with their fans. They mingled with the crowd after their perfomance, took tons of pictures with everyone, and were really just so down-to-earth.



The highlight for me was when Max and DA remembered who I was when I said I was "Blonde Blogger." DA even remembered my real name, saying, "Oh, Dawn!" and gave me a huge hug. And just so you know...because you really must know this....DA also called me "sexy." ;)

The only downside of the night is that the pics of me with DA came out so bad. I'll be brave enough to share this one with you:



But the most important picture (Heather and I with DA on CF's tourbus) came out so bad that my husband couldn't stop laughing. It was that bad. *sigh* Of all the pictures, that one was the one that I really needed to turn out good. Oh well...here it is cropped:



Heather is a journalism student so I was thrilled to bring her along with me to interview CF (her first interview ever!).

The intereview is in two parts because a couple of fans walked by and wanted a picture with DA. So I paused while he took the photo. See what I mean? EVERY fan is important to them and treated like a friend.

Finally, I have tried three different hosts for these videos and all of them darken them so much that you cannot see DA's face. Which sucks for you because he has a really cute face. :)

Here is the on-the-street, tourbus-side interview with DA, with a transcript below. DA starts by offering Heather tips for interviewing, then, in the spirit of CF's brand new album "Love the Future," talks about future plans, as well as Mick Jagger and pelvic thrusts. ;)




Part One - Know that my way-too-loud laughter at DA's shout-out to you all was due to the fact that I thought he was making a joke about my blog title. I thought he was referring to himself as the other blonde of "So Two Blondes Walk Into a Blog" because even though he's a (very hot) redhead, there is some blonde there!

And this is just more proof of how sweet he is...when we realized he wasn't joking, he felt so bad that he put his head into his hands and made the most adorable, "I'm so sorry" face. Then he let me shoot a quick correction. But seriously? He could've called my blog "Five Brunettes Walk Into a Phonebook" and I could not adore him any less. :)




Part Two - D.A. explains who inspired his astounding, on-stage energy.




Part Three- D.A. gives a corrected shout out to my readers (you!).

Interview Transcript:

HEATHER: You once tweeted that, when the Lady Gaga show got cancelled in DC, that two of your best shows [that] you’ve ever done were in DC and Richmond. So what is it about DC that made it so memorable for you?

DA WALLACH: DC is just the, the most exuberant city I feel like. For whatever reason, I don’t know if it’s us or if it’s DC, when we came to DC we just played an acoustic show before in a sneaker shop and there were...I was shocked at the number of people who came out because we do it in a lot of different cities, and I was just amazed at the number of people we had supporting us in DC just organically, maybe off the internet or whatever.

But I love DC, I would probably live here if I didn’t live in Wisconsin and you know, I spent summers here a couple of times in high school because I have family out here and it’s just a great place to come.

H: So when will you be headlining your own tour?

DA: I don’t know when we’re going to headline our own tour, it’s a little bit of a mysterious prospect because we’ve never headlined, so we don’t know how many people would come out to see us in a given city. But I think we can safely say we’ll try it in the fall at some point.

H: So you’re really awesome performers.

BLONDEBLOGGER: We’ve noticed you’ve acted really well in all of your interviews, any plans to do SNL, any improv, any kind of acting?

H: Because we would love to see you do that.

DA: Man, we would definitely do SNL in a second. Yeah, we would do SNL in a heartbeat. I mean, we don’t act but we like messing around and having fun and when people put cameras in your faces it’s usually the best option. So, we’re friends, so, so I’m giving you the real genuine side.

H: Who have you seen, that you’ve taken influence from when you perform? Like, what was your first show?

DA: Well, I’ll tell you a show I saw that stays in my mind and remains inspirational, and that is my mom took me, in like sixth or seventh grade, to see The Rolling Stones in Madison, Wisconsin and even at 60 years old, Mick Jagger is running back and forth across the stadium, and dancing his ass of and, you know, not that it competes with The Rolling Stones of the 60’s or 70’s, but I certainly feel like I can’t let a 60 year old man out-energize me every night. I’m not there yet, but I’m aspiring to his level of you know, energy.

BB: Your energy was amazing tonight.

DA: Thank you very much.

H: Yeah, I noticed the thrusts [like] you did on E!

DA: A lot of pelvic thrusts. We do a lot of pelvic thrusts.

H: It’s your signature.

DA: It is my signature. I just like people to know that that whole section is just working, you know what I mean? Just trying to clear the rumors up, you know? It’s all functional.

***********************************



Functional indeed! Mick Jagger doesn't have a thing on DA!

I'd like to thank 42West for making this review/interview possible, and thanks again to Heather for her assistance. Of course, thanks also goes to DA for the interview and the hugs. :)

Be sure to check out Chester French's website as well as their Twitter accounts. You can also choose from a number of fun packages CF is offering along with their "Love the Future" album here (I so want that safari trip!), and get a free download of CF's "Jaques Jams" mixtape here.

An Interview With Chester French

On April 21, Chester French's album "Love the Future drops.

I had the privilege of speaking to both DA Wallach and Maxwell Drummey (Max) by phone today and it was a blast! I already loved their sense of humor in previous interviews I've seen them do. Just as I expected, they had me LMAOing the whole time.

If you have not yet heard of Chester French, you don't know what you're missing! This band is ON FIRE, let me tell you! And they are rising quickly with stars like Diddy and Paris Hilton taking notice among many others.

In fact, they've been touring around the country with Lady Gaga and crowds have responded well, snatching up their CDs after the show like candy. Diddy gave them a shout-out on Twitter, causing their followers to rise by 3,000 (DA said that it means a lot to them to have the support of such a legend). They recently performed for Paris Hilton at her birthday party in Vegas. And MTV has made them a featured artist.

If I could lay money on it, I would bet that they will be a household name by the end of the year.

In keeping with their fantastic sense of humor, Max answered "medium-loud" when I asked him what kind of sound fans can expect from "Love the Future." Seriously though, the CD will have lots of diverse tracks, and DA hopes everyone can just "listen straight through, close their eyes, and get into our minds" when they hear the music.



What sets Chester French apart from most other bands is their DIY-style. DA said that they write their own music, and do their own engineering and producing so that everything is "self-contained."

"We've been doing this for six years now," he added. "We're not entitled to anything more than anyone else is, but we've worked really hard to get where we are. We've played to empty rooms, we've sold CD's in the streets and after shows. We've put all of our energy into making music."

And it shows. The band is currently offering a free mix tape called "Jacques Jams," the brainchild of Clinton Sparks ("Get familiar!") Max said that Clinton "made them do it" and that he and DA are Clinton's "mix tape children."

"Jacques Jams" is more than just music. It's an entire story, complete with skits. In addition to CF and Sparks, it features other amazing talent such as Diddy, Solange Knowles, Pharrell, Lady Gaga and more.

Click here to check it out and sign up for your free copy. (My favorites are "What a World," "Ciroc Star" and CF's exclusive remix of Lady Gaga's "Love Game." I can't get enough of those three tracks!) With 60-80 thousand copies already downloaded, you'll definitely want to be in on this one!



Another thing that sets CF apart from other artists is their love and dedication to their fans. DA and Max will sit in their tour bus until 5 am just responding to emails from their fans.

And just as a side note....when I asked them what a typical day is like on their tour bus, they jokingly told me, "Usually a combination of binge drinking and gang banging." Max wanted me to emphasize the latter part and to mention that it's "every day." I assured him that I had underlined it in my notes.

Not only does CF try to write back to every email they receive, especially ones from their biggest supporters, but they also reach out to fans...and even haters....through Twitter.

Check out this recent exchange:

AgentSkitzer: @brooklyn3383 chester french does not rock!

DAChesterFrench: @AgentSkitzer Hope to win you over. We think you rock, at least! xoxo

CF has even been known to surprise their haters with free copies of their album and other goodies to win them over. "I try to keep an eye out for what's being said about us," DA said. "Some of our strongest supporters started out as haters."

He said he understands when others judge them because "we can be judgemental" at times too. With the band being so new, he said there are a lot of misconceptions about them.

"If someone is talking shit about us, I ask them what can we do to get them on the same page as us," DA added. They've found that most people are open-minded and receptive once they've reached out to them.

As for how the band got its name, it's actually derived from Daniel Chester French, who sculpted the Lincoln Memorial in my hometown of Washington DC. When I asked if they'd been to the Lincoln Memorial yet, Max chided that he makes a point of going there once-a-month.

I told them that even though I've lived here my whole life, I've never been to the memorial myself, and that I was going to visit it just for them. "You'll have to write our name on the wall," DA said.

"Oh good idea," I laughed. "I'm gonna graffiti up the whole memorial just for you!"



When I got more serious and said I had some ideas in my head for what I could legally do, maybe something with a photo, they assured me not to worry if I went to jail because they would bail me out. ;)

So who knows...maybe my next blog can be "So a Blonde Walks Into a Jail?" All for my love of Chester French! I'll be sure to sing their hit "She Loves Everybody" at the top of my lungs in my cell while I'm there too:





Click here to check out more on this fabulous band so you too can fall in love with them, find out their tour information, watch their hilarious videos, and more.

Pre-order "Love the Future" here. (Exclusive tracks will be available on Amazon and iTunes - different tracks depending on where you purchase)

And don't forget your free copy of Jacques Jams!

Finally, watch for Chester French on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on April 21. They assured me they are in touch with the most reputable designers (couture fashion is SO them) so be prepared for them to be dressed to the nines for the show.

Update: Below is video from Chester French's performance of "She Loves Everybody" on Jimmy Fallon...



She Loves Everybody Jimmy Fallon Live by yardie4lifever2


***************************************

Note: Many thanks to my assistant Heather who helped me with preparing questions for the interview and who will most likely be joining me when Chester French plays in DC. I need to confirm this, but I believe they will be opening for Lady Sovereign at the 9:30 Club in May. I'll be sure to post the exact details once I confirm them.

UPDATE: Chester French will indeed be opening for Lady Sovereign at the 9:30 Club on May 9 at 11 pm. Click here to purchase tickets to the show (CF is not listed as an opening act as of yet, but I have been assured that they will be there).

Lady Gaga Rescheduled

Update #5- Click here to read my review for Lady Gaga's DC show at DAR Constitution Hall. Pics and vids included. Meet the man who sang to Gaga and the woman who "married" her, as well.

Update #4- The DC show reschedule has finally been announced! Lady Gaga will be performing at 8 p.m, September 29, at Dar Constitution Hall. Click here for details. No word yet on whether or not tickets to the previous show will be good at the new venue. I will update once again when I get word on this.

Update #3- Still no word on the DC show, but there is an announcement out regarding the show at The National in Richmond, VA:

"The Lady Gaga show originally scheduled for April 3rd, 2009 and then moved to The National has been rescheduled for the Landmark Theater on September 24th @ 8pm. All previously purchased tickets for both the Toad's show and The National show (Etix, Plan 9, BK Music, The National Box Office, and Ticketmaster) will be honored on the new date without exchange (all tickets are general admission). Additional general admission tickets will go on sale THIS Friday April 10th at 10am at the Landmark Theater Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Refunds for previously purchased tickets will be available at the point of purchase. "

Click here for more details.

Update #2- I've just learned that an official announcement regarding the rescheduled dates/venues, etc. will be out next week, so hold tight. I'll update this post as soon as the announcements are made.

UPDATED: Read Lady Gaga's apology to her fans here. She said the reason for cancelling her shows was because of illness, not American Idol.

Of particular importance to me though, is this statement:

"...the shows have now been moved to bigger venues. for more dancing, more sweating, and more of my props to fit on stage."

So what does that mean for those with tickets to the original venues? As soon as I find out more I will update.

Also, Chester French, who was going to be opening for Lady Gaga (and who I was going to interview post-show....see below), may not be at the rescheduled performance now, according to their comments on their site.

I will try to set something else up with them if that ends up being the case.
**********************************

I was hoping so badly that this was an April Fool's Day joke. But, unfortunately, it's not. Lady Gaga's DC show at the 9:30 Club has been rescheduled for an as-yet-unknown date. Rumor has it that the reason is due to her appearance on American Idol tonight.

The good news is that I will be interviewing Lady Gaga's opening act, Chester French, whenever the show is rescheduled. So in addition to the concert review, I'll be posting the interview as well.

Have any questions you want me to ask Chester French for you? Just let me know in comments.

And if you haven't heard their AWESOME song "She Loves Everybody" yet, check it out right here:



These guys are hilarious, too. I think I'm going to love chatting with them, especially after watching this interview they did with Young Hollywood.

LOVE them!

UPDATE: Check out my interview with Chester French here.