Chat In a Hat: Christian French
The rules are simple...there's a hat, this hat is filled with many questions ranging from the personal to the offbeat. We pass the hat, and artists get a chance to answer the question they choose from said hat. Fun is had by all.
Christian French recently finished up a US tour after having to previously cancel his 2020 tour as COVID lockdown took its hold. He’s released a couple of bops in the meantime such as “Avalanche” and most recently “Oh Well”. We got to catch up with Christian at his Philly show. Read on for our interview, live photo gallery, and the latest music video for “Oh Well”.
Without further ado, here's our Chat in the Hat with Christian French:
Who is your biggest influence?
I think musically John Mayer definitely is my guy. I've been listening to him since I was three years old and my mom's just always had his CDs playing. I've always followed his albums and then a couple of years ago really started to get into his interviews and I was seeing who he was for the first time and I just really respect how well-spoken he is. So he's someone I really look up to a lot both as a person and a musician.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I got really obsessed with Queen when I was little and my sister asked me what I wanted for Christmas and it was that and an iPod touch that I wanted really bad and she's like you have to pick one. I picked the Queen’s Greatest Hits album, so I didn’t buy it, but it was the first cd that I owned. So I was definitely obsessed with Queen and then the Usher’s Confessions album was my next one that I just absolutely loved.
If you can invite two people to a dinner party who would they be?
I mean I hate to repeat John Mayer but I would love to see him there. And then Rick Ruben who is a crazy crazy talented producer that also I think is really well-spoken and really tapped into like kind of the spiritual side of things that I feel like a lot of people mess. So I would learn a lot from those two in even just 20 minutes.
What would your Wild West outlaw gang name be?
Zombie Runaway Gang. We decided last tour cause of COVID we wouldn't go home and just keep playing to zombies since there was an outbreak.
what's the last movie you cried to?
I absolutely bawled at Marley and Me and I recently watched it again and I cried again. The animal ones always get you the hardest.
What is my guilty pleasure song?
“Love Song” by Sara Bareilles. I don't know if a hit counts as a guilty pleasure song, but I love that song.
What is your favorite song on your record / EP?
I got this song called “oh well” coming absolutely loved. I wrote it just in the middle of the pandemic when I was going through a super shitty time and instead of writing this super snippy sad song I tried to have fun with it and that’s what we came up with and I love it. Then a song that’s out I'm really proud of is “Head First”, and I'm really really proud of “Avalanche”.
Would you rather have the superpowers of fly or to become invisible?
I've always wanted to fly and every once in a while you get those dreams where you do fly for a second and it's a blast.
If you could be an animal for the day what would you be?
I mean if it's forever I would be a dog cause they just get to vibe and love you and that’s about it. I don't know I would want to be deep in the jungle but also not be an animal that would get eaten.
Outside of music do you have any hobbies?
I love cooking I'm like the house Chef for my roommates and I love being in nature so we go camping every couple of weeks. I played ice hockey my entire life and I haven't recently because of COVID. I’m in a men’s league playing with some 40/50-year-olds. Then I like to read as well.
What is your favorite song and or album right now?
I am currently in love with the War on Drugs. A Deeper Understanding is just one of the best albums I've listened to in a long time, but I just found it a few months ago. My favorite songs off that are “Pain” and “Thinking of a Place”.
Favorite scary movie:
Insidious.
What is your zombie apocalypse plan?
We're stuck in the Sprinter van. Set up all the gear in the trailer then drive and play at the same time and shoot lasers at the zombies from the guitars. We will fix the zombie apocalypse
QUARANTINE PROFILE: Christian French
We’ve launch a profile series to highlight how artists are spending their time during quarantine. Several times a week we’ll highlight a new artist across the globe and see how they’re keeping busy during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Christian French has been releasing new tunes since 2018. Coming to us originally from Indiana studying pre-med and now based in LA bringing us his signature Indie Pop jams we didn’t know we needed. Now we’re in 2020 in lockdown and preparing for his new EP, good things take time, out on 24th of August. He’s just released his 4th single of the year “make or break up” and we can’t wait to see what’s next for the full EP. Scroll down to see what Christian’s been up to during lockdown.
Christian French Online: Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Here’s me outside of the studio I’ve been working in during quarantine in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve spent a lot of time writing songs around this pool.
How have you been staying busy during quarantine?
I’ve been sticking to a morning routine pretty consistently that I’ve found has helped me have a more productive day - reading for an hour or so, meditating, and then doing some sort of exercise to give me more energy. After that I’ve been spending a lot of time learning guitar and writing more music than I ever have in my life - the music for the next project is starting to come together since I’ve has so much time to focus on writing and I’m SO excited about what’s to come.
Anything new you’ve learned?
I really didn’t know how to play guitar at all before quarantine and spending so much time in Indiana allowed me to really dive into both that and production, and I feel like I’m ten times better at both now. I’ve gotten to write and produce songs top to bottom by myself, and I feel really proud to be able to do that.
I’ve also started to draw more and experiment with clothing designs - I hope to have a collaboration clothing brand up at some point this year based around what I stand for.
What’s something new you’ve cooked/baked?
Besides the occasional delivery, my roommates and I have been cooking homemade meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day and it’s been amazing. We’ve been eating really healthy for the most part, but have recently really gotten into making homemade pizza - it was way easier than I thought and we have it pretty much every weekend.
What’s an album that is your go to comfort jam?
Any John Mayer album really puts me in a good place. I grew up listening to his early albums and have really great memories attached to them, and I always find myself going back to those (specifically Continuum) to feel a sense of peace.
When I’m really feeling stressed out, I find that I tend to turn to instrumental music with no lyrics - it really helps me think things through and come out with a clearer head.
Thing that is making Christian happy right now: “Both reading and California’s beautiful weather have been keeping me sane during quarantine. I’ve been starting every morning by reading outside, and it puts me in a really good place to start the rest of my day. I’ve also been taking a lot of ‘thinking walks’ around my neighborhood. I'm lucky to live in a place with a lot of trees and plants, and walking around it always makes me feel so much more present and thankful.”
If you could only watch one film or TV show for the rest of time what would it be?
Right now I’m on a HEAVY Avatar kick - I never watched it when I was little so I’m getting to see it all for the first time now and it’s kinda blowing my mind how good it is.
And an all-time favorite of mine is SpongeBob. It’s been my favorite show since I was like 7 and I don’t think it’ll ever get old even after I’ve watched all of the episodes so many times .
What’s something you miss the most right now?
LIVE SHOWS. Summer music festivals excite me more than anything as an artist, and I really wish I could be playing them right now. I’ve been going to music festivals as a fan for years, and it’s really exciting to be on the other side as an artist performing at them now. I genuinely miss my fans and their energy so much!
What do you hope we take away from this?
A sense of personal growth. I’ve been taking this time to work on myself a lot, and I hope others are, too. It’s so important to be aware and consistently reflecting/learning about yourself so that you can set the right intentions to keep moving forward. There’s no better time for that now.
Anything new we should know about that you’re working on?
Right now we’re putting the finishing touches on my EP that’s coming out in late August called good things take time - it’s gonna be a collection of seven songs that I feel all bring their own energy to the table and I’m so ready to share them with the world.
I’m already deep into working on the next project, which I’m intending on being my debut album. I’ve spent the last few weeks practically living in the studio and we’ve come up with so many amazing ideas, but there’s still a lot of work to do.