Chess Club is a collective that spans several musical genres and diverse lyrical themes ...
The four members of Chess Club produce music that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as intellectually stimulating. The music is carefully planned from lyrical to musical content but never sounds un-spontaneous. Intelligent lyrics and careful musical arrangements are the norm even in the more discordant passages that undeniably make up a fully-realized Chess Club song. Each song contains it’s own sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle hook that pulls the listener in and demands their undivided attention. The songs, whether played live or recorded, always leave the listener satisfied but forever wanting more.
Chess Club likes to think of each member as an element. Each element has spent considerable time honing his expertise on the respective instruments that make up the band's musical canvas. This is readily apparent in the music as well as the ease and comfort with which they perform live. They are always aware that a truly good band is more than the sum of its parts. There is a relationship that is formed within this musical collective which allows the elements to simply "know" where the music is going.
Chess Club is a collective that spans several musical genres and diverse lyrical themes; but in the end what they create is simply music.
Member Bios:
Jason Barnett, ASCAP
Jason swears he suffers from mild autism. Loud noises scare him and if his socks aren't on just perfectly with the seam upwards and placed directly in the center of the toe line, he crawls out of his skin. It always makes the rest of the Chess Club crew uneasy. Despite these neuroses Jason always knew he wanted to be a musician and nothing else. Originally picking bass guitar, as it had 2 less strings to learn and he was lazy like all teen musicians with Phil Collins posters on their wall, Jason slowly crawled up the ranks as one of the better bass players in town. Never classically trained and taking on the gritty and complex Memphis feel for bass, he established a unique sound and one hell of a learning curve for himself when he actually got to play with trained musicians in Chess Club; he began a deep descent into a world of singing minors over major chords, completely made up chord structures and Auto-tune(tm) be damned. It seems that being raised on Styx and Abba turned out to be a golden blessing.
Travis Endersby
Travis has been drumming for about 15 years and started playing gigs in pubs and clubs the moment he turned 18. He has played drums and synthesizers for several Australian bands and has gigged with DJs and electronic groups as well as more traditional Rock bands. Travis' drumming skills were in constant demand in Perth until the day he left in February 2004--heading for a new musical life in the birthplace of Rock and Roll and the home of the blues where he hooked up with a couple of artists from Stax as well as sitting in on several Beale Street sessions. Travis has a background and influences from almost all styles, including rock, jazz, funk, punk, blues, fusion, reggae, soul, jungle/drum 'n' bass, industrial, hiphop, breakbeats and anything else requiring rhythm. As with any musician it is almost impossible to completely classify his exact musical origins--exactly what Chess Club needs for a musical backbone.
Geoff Smith
Although Geoff was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the de facto birthplace of rock-and-roll, he had no aspirations to play music as a child. The desire to play music hit Geoff at a late stage; and the specific reasons for playing bass were born of necessity and hormones: he already had friends who played guitar and his best friend's sister told him that bass-players were hot. So he did what any straight red-blooded teenage boy would do. He taught himself to play by ear ... as fast as he could. His musical tastes are varied and diverse, as are his abilities on the bass. He blames his father's incessant playing of Beatles, Pink Floyd and Queen for that.
Doug Walker, ASCAP
Classically trained on the violin beginning at age 7 and self-taught piano beginning at age 12, Doug brings a level of musical sophistication to Chess Club that is sorely missing in many other bands. Doug also has a strong technical background with computers, computer recording, sound design, sound track and film scoring, commercial soundtracks, synthesizers and other electronic devices. He uses his knowledge of music theory to expand the Chess Club musical landscape while incorporating both acoustic (or sampled) keyboard instruments as well as lo-fi synthetic sound sources. Using the band's lyrical ideas as a starting point Doug strives to present a multi-layered and well-thought-out musical product that is both true to the form of the lyric and not too formulaic. Doug is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.