Chewy Soliloqui, from Kansas City, just released their EP "Chew on This" on November 29. Ahead of the EP release, the band released track "Anxiety Attack" as a single on November 18.
The band describes themselves as: "If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock and grunge noise and have a respect and affinity for DIY bands and raw creativity, you may just like Chewy Soliloqui."
Photograph taken by Luis Reyes; Artwork designed by Heber I. Alarcon-Ortiz
LP: How did the band get started/how did everyone join?
CS: Two ways to answer this question:
Heber and Aleks are family so they’ve been making music together since 2010 or so with Heber’s brother, Ivan. Ben became a collaborator with them around 2015. So that’s where the music as a group of collaborators started, but the group had not made music officially since 2015 until getting back together again February 2024.
The band Chewy Soliloqui can be said that it started upon Ivan’s return to Kansas City after living in Colorado for the past five years. He brought the initial batch of songs in and the band got backed together. We didn’t need to audition anyone because we already knew we all four had the chemistry to just jump back into it and start writing what eventually became our upcoming debut EP.
LP: What are the origins behind the band name?
CS: The origin of the name begins with Aleks and Ivan recommending it to the group. It was unique enough that it kept standing out amongst the list of other potential band names. Eventually it just stuck.
LP: Who are your influences?
CS: This ranges from the psychedelic sounds of Pink Floyd, The Mars Volta and other prog-rock bands, to the rawness of Modest Mouse, Pile and Nirvana. The bass grooves from Rage Against the Machine and Deftones to the jazz percussion and house music rhythms. Our musical influences vary and cover a wide spectrum of genres.
LP: What made you want to release the single “Anxiety Attack” ahead of the EP?
CS: Out of all the songs on the project, “Anxiety Attack” just screams lead single because of the way it will introduce the fans to our EP. We hope you enjoy the rest of the songs but if anything, we know you’ll at least like that one.
LP: Let’s break down the EP track by track. What was the writing/recording process like?
CS: “Palm Grip”: The initial song brought to the band by Ivan (our guitarist from Feb-June. Recording it was easy but it felt like it was missing the extra element that was brought in from the second guitarist.
“9:16 in KC”: was an interlude created by Heber that happened as an accident during the recording process. We left it in because the way it helped transition the first song into the next one. We hope you like it.
“Anxiety Attack”: The second song created by Ivan during a late night jam session with Aleks and Heber. It was called “Anxiety Attack” because Aleks had an anxiety attack during the initial creation of the song, and the name just stuck afterwards.
“1:41 The Mood”: created from a bass line that Heber was randomly playing during a jam session. The band kept it and worked around the bass line until it developed into the song you’ll hear on the tape. The recording process for this one was really fun to do because of the layers and sonic journey this song takes you on.
“24 HRS”: was the last song created as a 4 piece before the departure of Ivan from the band. The was the toughest song to rework as a 3 piece since the initial song benefited greatly from the second guitar part that Ivan played during its creation stage. We like the version we ended up with but still feel like it’s missing that extra something.
“Used”: was created by Aleks and Ben and later worked on by Heber. The band takes on a very distinct sound and reflects the writing process because of how the bassline almost does its own thing in the second half creating a unique counter melody and groove that locks the band in to a dancey vibe.
“Prism”: the first song created entirely as a cohesive 3 piece band and the easiest and funnest song to perform live. It was our second option for a single and you may even see it being promoted as such after the EP release.
LP: What’s next for the band?
CS: We’ve recently added an unofficial fourth member to the band (Luis Reyes of Reptil) and if everything works out we will be moving forward as a 4 piece and performing more live shows as well as working on new music and the next EP which is already half finished with our new member. Also, merch and hopefully some music videos; we have only just begun.
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