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A morning bender could revolve around the outcome of a hard pressed evening of debauchery and outright belligerence. It could also be the only saving grace from an unfortunate day spent in a black hole of a hangover. However, The Morning Benders, a solid group of young talent emerging from Berkeley and the greater Bay Area, offer a more simplistic route to enjoying oneself minus the grips of alcoholic intoxication. Their new full-length album, Talking Through Tin Cans, is scheduled for release on May 6. Our David Zimmerle had the opportunity to catch up with front man Chris Chu on the much anticipated new tunes and so much more.
"It's a real overwhelming feeling and we're all happy that the release date is in sight. We've put a lot of hard work into it and have been kind of sitting on it for the past couple of months. It's very different from our earlier releases in that the other songs we've
made, we would record and cut on a CD, releasing it the next day. With our new album, we were in the studio a bit longer and we're really excited to get it out to people," Chu said. Chu is an avid fan of several stellar classic musicians and one can definitely hear their undertones pulsing vibrantly throughout the new album. However, this Berkeley grad, who actually majored in music earning his degree in three years stating "I really wanted to rush out of there," won't attest that he's gained his influence from classical composers. "This specific album I was definitely listening to a lot of classic songwriters. The Beatles were actually my gateway into music. I've
really listened to a lot of their records in the past. I also have been listening to a lot of Neil Young, The Beach Boys, Dylan and
Bowie. I've looked to them a lot and I think it shows in the music we play. We're definitely working with that kind of palette. It's also
coming from a specific place within both sonically and emotionally and the songs vary from batch to batch. I like to write my songs in batches," Chu said. After a solid performance at Noise Pop 2008 in February, which brought a lot of diverse elements of the music industry together for a slam dashing celebration in the low-slung downtown of San Francisco, the band looks to conquer SXSW in Texas in March and hit the road until June following the release of the album. Still, with all of the positive attention they've garnered lately along with signing to + 1 Records, Chu maintains he still wants to keep it real and hit up more of the house party scene in Berkeley that `originally fostered their creative development. "It was really special starting out as a band in Berkeley and we definitely want to play more shows there in the future. They also
don't have a lot of good venues to play there and that's why the house party scene is so appealing to us," Chu said.
Keep in mind that this is a band just starting to blaze its trail with a constantly growing base of fans. Their lyrical sincerity is also
infused with a harmonious and catchy quality that give their songs a fresh approach to an otherwise standard form of making music. Ultimately, they're ready for the daily grind of touring and making the best music they can with all of the energy they can muster. "I just hope people will look out for us. We're experimenting with a lot of new kinds of music that I think people are really going to like," Chu said.
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