Guitarist for new Band 'Parachute' cites Jonny Buckland as influence

[Mimixxx]

Introducing: Parachute

 

Mixing full-throttle rock with dollops of blue-eyed soul, vintage R&B and melodic pop radio anthems in-the-making, Parachute has arrived.

 

The band’s debut Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group album takes off from the individual members’ shared histories, from “She Is Love,” the ballad torch song and first single, with its Van Morrison-like scatting by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist and piano player Will Anderson, to Nate McFarland chiming, The Edge-styled chunks of guitar laced through “Back Again,” “Under Control,” “Ghost,” “Words Meet Heartbeats” and “All That I Am”.

 

Will has been playing with drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave and saxophone/keyboardist Kit French since they were high school classmates in Charlottesville almost five years ago. Will met Nate while attending University of Virginia together, and the guitarist joined the band two years ago.

 

“I remember seeing them at Starr Hill, which is the big venue in town, and they came on to the ‘Mortal Kombat’ theme,” he remembers. “I never would’ve imagined myself playing with them, let alone becoming a member of the band. It’s really gone downhill since then,” teases Will.

 

With a diverse selection of influences ranging from old-school legends like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Paul Simon and Journey to newer acts like U2, Coldplay, Weezer, Ben Folds, Maroon 5, John Mayer, Jay-Z, Kanye West, The Fray and the Arcade Fire, the group began to attract a rabid local following under the name Sparky’s Flaw.

 

With an eye towards creating music for the radio, Parachute is unapologetic about aiming for popular appeal. “If no one’s going to listen, why even play?” asks Will. “For us, melody is king.” Anderson’s songs are unabashedly emotional affairs that try to work out the difference between romantic ideals and the frustration of reality (“Words Meet Heartbeats”), dealing with love lost (“For Liz (She)”), longing (“Under Control”), regret (“Mess I Made”), guilt (“Blame It on Me”) and obsession (the creepy “Every Breath You Take” stalking of “Ghost”), questioning what went wrong (“All That I Am”) and trying to put the pieces together for the future (“The New Year”).

 

“I tend to write about things I know, that are happening to me,” says Will. “If it’s not really true to us, it doesn’t make sense. We try to make music that people can relate to, that they’re going to want to hear. We question things, try to get to the bottom of it all.”

 

“Will’s always been good at writing radio-friendly pop songs,” adds Johnny, a self-proclaimed “pocket drummer” who adds his own industrial solo to “All That I Am,” citing DMB’s Carter Beauford, the Police’s Stewart Copeland, The Roots’ Questlove and session veteran Matt Chamberlain as his personal favourites.

 

“We want to create music people like” nods guitarist Nate, who counts U2’s The Edge and Coldplay’s Jonny Buckland among his own influences. “I’m a very compositional guitarist. I try to make every note count in the service of the song, with a bunch of suspendeds and seventh notes to give it a little edge. We call it Tele-rock because I play the Telecaster a lot.”

 

For those who question the group’s motives in licensing a song for commercial use, Will comments, “It’s simply a new paradigm,” he insists. “Everybody’s doing what they can to get their music out there. We considered it an opportunity. We’re not going to give our songs to just anybody. Nivea approached us with the spot, showed it to us, and we felt it was tasteful.”

 

Full article here: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/features/Introducing+Parachute-7420.html

[Sirhc]

Nice :nice:

[crazyduckette]

What a coincidence :dozey:

[Mimixxx]

That they're called Parachute?

[crazyduckette]

Yeah, I know it doesnt really mean anything though... they didnt choose it cause of Parachutes...

when I first started reading the article I thought they were gonna be called Will, Jonny Chris and Guy :lol:

[Mimixxx]

Ooooh yeah, the names too :lol:

[but a dream]

It's about time Jonny gets some recognition :heart:

[KissesBirds]

Squee! :dance: :guitarist: :cool: