Yesterday I had to take a shot of whiskey and smoke a cigarette before I could record a big vocal part. That’s how Rock & Roll this album is gonna be…
Have a great Wednesday.
May
01
Apr
30
“Rewind (30 Pieces)” LIVE at Rev Room 3/25/13
So we opened for Soul Asylum a couple of weeks ago… Here’s a video from the show! It will be on the upcoming “Broken Heart” EP
Special thanks to Fred McCown at ANew Productions for his hard work!
Mar
29
BHEP Recording- An update from Chris
So we just got the drums tracks recorded in the studio a few days ago. Grayson asked me to write a blog entry to give everyone an update on how the EP is going. I do have to say this is my first blog entry ever so I guess what I’m supposed to do is just ramble?
So this was my second time in the studio with drum guru Mark Colbert. It was also only my 2nd time ever in a studio recording drums. It is quite a challenge compared to when I have been in the studio recoding guitar parts in other bands. Being the drummer all you usually get to work with is the scratch guitar track and vocals(which if your lucky is in time with the click track, Grayson!). I would say I did feel a little more confident in the studio this time around. Mark is really good at being positive and critical at the same time. This time going in I only had set drum parts for 2 of the 6 songs we recorded. It was interesting coming up with drum parts on the spot for these songs but I think overall it turned out well. We finally got to record Broken Heart of a Mindless Machine(the song). It almost didn’t even make the cut originally to become a War Chief song but with some conviencing we got Grayson to keep the song. Now its the whole theme of our new EP. The song is definitely pushing into different musical genres than the original self titled War Chief EP.
Another live favorite of mine “30 Pieces” is also going to be on the EP. The song has a really good build to it and comes together at the end with a good high energy outro. My goal for the outro part is to sound as close to mortal combat’s Goro(4 arms) on the drums as possible. I think I got pretty close. Who knows, in the studio with recording magic I really could have 4 arms.
Yeah so I think I have rambled enough. I hope everyone enjoys our newest EP. Blogged blog is blogged
-Chris
Mar
29
Support Your Local War Chief and maybe win Waka tickets? Win-win.
Ahem… a moment of your time, perhaps?
So while we didn’t win the Waka Winter Classic in January, there is still a little bit of hope for us to get back on Mulberry Mountain and play. They still accept a few more “At Large” artists through ReverbNation and we have submitted for this. The submissions close in 2 days and they should select shortly thereafter…
You could do us a mondo favor by sharing this status or by posting on the Wakarusa Facebook and telling them that you want us there! Last year was a BLAST and really put the summer on track for us so it means a lot! Plus it’s in our backyard so we get to see a lot of our friends there! And we don’t suck.
To sweeten the pot, let’s do this: If you 1) share this status, 2)post a status on their page with both War Chief and the Wakarusa page linked or 3) do something else super awesome that will get help get the word out (that we can track back to our page) AND we get accepted… We’ll give away a couple of full-event Waka passes. It’s that big of a deal to us…
To make things more sporting let’s say a minimum of 15 people have to participate and one entry per awesome human being. And that doesn’t include camping passes (we’re not MADE of money, only music and trace amounts of gasses and liquor).
If we don’t get in… Hell, we’ll give away some shirts and hugs and whatnot.
This little “contest” ends when we’re either accepted or denied (depends on their update to ReverbNation). And it starts (wait for it…..) NOW!
… just to get you fired up:
Mar
19
Update: 3/19/13
Hey guys,
Just wanted to say “hello” and give you an update or two! I (Grayson) am going to try and do a better job blogging about the new EP than I have in the past, so I thought I’d go ahead and get some things set up! Here’s what we’ve got coming up:
1) We played through most of the new songs at our last show at Stickyz… Still working through a few things, but overall everyone is pretty excited!
2) We’re going to go into the studio for the first time on Sunday, 3/24 to track the drums. From there we’ll be moving right along! I’m ready to get some album-ready sounds put down… The scratch tracks just don’t do them justice!
3) We had thought about releasing the album on May 1st, but since we’ve added a new song we’re going to take our time and do it right… so look for the new album (fingers crossed) to come out on May 14th. We promise you it’ll be worth it 
Well that’s it for now… Don’t forget that we’re opening up for Soul Asylum on Monday, March 25th… We’re really excited to get the word out to some new friends/fans!
Later,
Grayson
Feb
12
New Album Announced!
We’re still in pre-production, so I’ll make it short today:
Official Announcement
“We’re very happy to announce that writing has been completed for our 3rd album, which will be entitled “The ‘Broken Heart’ Extended Play Record”! Pre-production and scratch tracking will begin this month, with recording/production to take place in March/April and a tentative release date of Wednesday, May 1st.
Here’s the preliminary cover concept… maybe a tweak here and there… Whaddya think?”
Jan
17
Waka Winter Classic 2013, New Live Album etc.
I’m pretty awful at updating stuff on here.
That being said I’m trying to get a few new things up (like or new logo) and say hi…
2 BIG things going on for us:
We are back in the Waka Winter Classic this year! It will be 1/26/13 at Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack… We expect a knock-down, drag out once again and could use you and every one of your friends there to help us get back to this awesome event! CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK EVENT … Help us get the word out!- We just put out a live recording from our 1/26 show at Revolution Food & Music… Feel free to download and pass along to your friends… It contains a new song called “30 Pieces”… It may or may not be a prelude to a new War Chief EP, which we are set to begin recording in March… Just sayin
Nov
21
PRESS RELEASE: War”m” Chief Benefit Show 12/2 @ Stickyz!!!
We are really excited to be putting this on! If there’s one thing I love, it’s trying to help others. We hope you can make what is sure to be an awesome show!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
War Chief “Warms Up”, Gives Back
LITTLE ROCK- “After a really busy, successful year it’s nice to be able to give back,” says Grayson Shelton of LIttle Rock, AR-based band WAR CHIEF. “I did a personal coat drive last year and it went pretty well, but couldn’t help but thinking how much better it would have been as a full-band based thing. Just more people getting involved, y’know? Plus any time we can get a chance to play at Stickyz is a win!”
On Sunday, December 2nd, the 5-piece indie folk group will do just that with their event, WAR”M” CHIEF at Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack. While primarily a coat drive, Shelton says that all clothes are welcome. “The main thing I would like to see is kid’s coats and warm clothing. I can remember growing up and being lucky enough to always have a good coat, but I also remember that not being the case for everyone. And sometimes some new clothes can make your day a little better. Any woman will tell you that!”
All donations will be handled by THE VAN, a local organization founded by Aaron Reddin that meets the needs of the Homeless population in Little Rock.
While the event begins at “around 7″, according to Shelton, people are encouraged to bring coats whenever they can that day or contact the band on Facebook or their website to arrange pickup. “If they want to give and aren’t able to make the show we’ll make sure it goes to the right place. But the show is going to be a lot of fun! Just saying…” Supporting acts for this event are TBA.
Promotional media and a hi-definition image have been included. For any additional questions, please contact Grayson Shelton at booking@warchieftheband.com
ABOUT WAR CHIEF
War Chief is Central Arkansas’ (according to their slogan) “…5th or 6th best… indie folk-rock band, full of what Sync Weekly called “blue-collar-rock guitar, rowdy rhythms and a freewheeling yet energetic feel.” The band is led by Grayson Shelton, a Little Rock-based singer-songwriter with several years’ experience of solo acoustic sets under his belt. War Chief marks a turn toward focusing on more original music and sounds for the talented guitarist and singer. War Chief has been compared to everything from the gritty, classic roots-rock sounds of The Allman Brothers and Drive-By Truckers to the more modern indie- and folk-rock sounds of Spoon, Wilco and Blitzen Trapper.
The four-piece Americana-rock group formed in early 2011 and within a year was receiving accolades from media critics, local music venues, and live music fans for its debut, self-titled EP release.
War Chief’s accomplishments continued in 2012 with appearances at LIttle Rock’s RiverFest, Wakarusa, the Backwoods Arts Gathering and shows stretching as far north as Springfield, MO and as south as Austin, Tx. The Arkansas Times’ music critic Robert Bell wrote of War Chief:
“Classic rock diehards will dig the Allman-esque guitar heroics on ‘Welcome to the Real World,’ while the rollicking ‘Stand Watie,’ included below, could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with The Drive-By Truckers at their most solemnly intense.”
War Chief is: Chris Brummett- Drums, Jacob Sawrie- Bass, Grayson Shelton- rhythm guitar, vocals, Blake Lefler- Keys and Preston Whittenburg- Guitar
ABOUT THE VAN (The One, Inc.)
The One, Inc. exists to identify and meet needs of our homeless and/or impoverished neighbors that are not currently being met. Our mission is to fill the gaps that prevent those in need from gaining independent lives once again.
We primarily serve these needs by going to the people in need, wherever they may be. We visit current homeless camps, search for new camps, comb alleyways, check under bridges, and seek out the needy deep in the woods, etc. We take supplies such as food, water, clothing and hygiene products to people where they are. We take services to people where they are. The One, Inc. seeks to build relationships with members of the homeless community so that we may then identify barriers to obtaining employment and housing, and help our friends move beyond their homelessness.
taken from www.theoneinc.org
Nov
02
Fayetteville, Here We Come!
Don’t believe me? The video doesn’t lie. Ever.
Oh and we’ll have the blue War Chief shirts with us… Now only $10 or you can get ‘em in the store!
Aug
13
World, Jacob…Jacob, World
This is Jacob.
Jacob says hi. His full name is Jacob Sawrie and he’s from Conway. This is important to you because he’s been brought on as our new bass player. After 2 whole practices, he came down with us to Ft. Worth and Austin (which were ridiculously fun, BTW) and did awesome. I mean, I wrote the damn things and couldn’t do what he did after 2 practices.
So 3 things I learned about Jacob on our trip
1) He runs into/hits everything. We’re getting him a helmet and a padded suit for our next trip
2) He drinks Mr. Pibb. That’s disgutsing. I don’t even have a good joke for that. Just flat-out, M-Fing gross.
3) He’s a pretty cool dude and we’re very happy he’s on board.
Come say hi to him this Friday at Stickyz when we open for Benjamin Del Shreve!
