Interview: Charn and These Sins of Mine
Over a few slices of pizza I entered into the world of Charn. No… not the fictional city featured in the Chronicles of Narnia – the other Charn, the local indie rock quartet.
Taking their name from a prank once played on them, the guys in Charn are no joke when it comes to musical talent. The soft-spoken childhood friends, Levi Stugelmeyer, Steve Bosmans and brothers Phil and Alex Hicks will officially release their debut album, These Sins of Mine, on Aug. 7.
Like most artists, Charn’s vocalist Alex Hicks derives his lyrical inspiration from events in his life, but lets his fans ponder at the story behind each song. This is why the band opted not to include the lyrics with the album. “Every person that listens to our music will interpret the songs in their own way and we don’t want to ruin it for anyone by including the lyrics,” explains Alex Hicks.
“Satellites” by: Charn
These Sins of Mine includes ten tracks and a slightly disturbing cover depicting a fox holding a dead animal in its mouth, which speaks volumes about the album itself. The melancholy tone of the album alludes to the struggles the band has endured in recent years; Alex describes it as, “a snapshot of 2007.” Each member of the band plays an important role in the song writing process, “It’s very democratic, we all fight for the arrangements, and we never play a song until we’re all settled on the arrangement,” says Phil Hicks.
The never-serious guys of Charn spend their days working odd jobs, playing with their two cats (Willow and Umlaut), and Alex enjoys late night Roseanne Marathon’s on cable. Though they may not take themselves seriously, their music is seriously something anyone with a broken heart can relate to.
Charn’s CD release party will take place at Tiff’s in St. Paul on Friday, Aug. 7 at 9 pm. Also playing that evening are Wishbook, Bill Mike Band and the Teddy Holidays. Every person in attendance will receive a free copy of Charn’s new album, These Sins of Mine.
“I Will” by: Charn
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posted August 6th, 2009 at 11:19 am Interviews, MN Rock, Reviews
Very nice. I’m seriously digging Satellite right now. These guys remind me so much of a modern day Pavement it scares me.
Yes, I scare easy.