Parachute

Words and Photo by Joe Koch

How many high-school kids start a band wanting to become rock-stars? Hundreds, maybe even thousands. The reality is that most never make it out of their garages.

That being said, it’s a rarity to find a band that has stayed together through high school and college. Parachute has. Formerly known as Sparky’s Flaw, four of the five members started the band in high school in Charlottesville, Virginia — Will Anderson (vocals, guitars and keyboards,) Kit French (saxophone and keyboards,) Alex Hargrave (bass) and Johnny Stubblefield (drums). Nate McFarland (guitars and vocals) joined the band after meeting Will when they were both attending the University of Virginia. Playing up and down the East Coast earned them a loyal legion of fans. This sparked the interest of record labels that quickly recognized the band’s potential to produce pop-rock anthems, which ultimately led them to sign with Mercury/Island Def Jam Music Group.

Parachute is now preparing for their first major-label release, “Losing Sleep,” due out May 19. They also have a jam-packed summer schedule. While getting ready to wrap up a tour with the band O.A.R., I sat down with the band to talk about the new album and life on the road.

Hoopla: With four of you being together since high school, how does that affect touring? Is it harder or easier?

Will: It’s definitely easier. Knowing each other for so long, it allows us to know when to back off and not push the other person too far. We really know each other’s limits and boundaries. Being aware of those things allows us to be a cohesive unit.

Hoopla: Nate, you’ve been in the band two years. Was it hard joining a band with four guys who know each other inside out?

Nate: At first it was kind of awkward but we definitely got along right away. It was more of a sense of when do I or can I start giving my input to the band? When does my voice become valid? I pretty much just had to make it through the hazing process and then I was officially in the band. You know, pick on the new guy. I kind of expected it.

Hoopla: You’ve been playing since high school. How important is it to you to grow as musicians?

Will: It’s pretty important.

Hoopla: Will, you’re the main songwriter?

Will: Yes. So as a songwriter I want to keep growing musically and lyrically. I hope that we can be as creative as a band like U2. You know, as soon as we seem predictable I hope that we can reinvent our sound and produce albums that people are always gonna want to listen to.

Hoopla: Are the songs that you write personal?

Will: They are either experiences that I’ve gone through or someone around me has. If it’s not really true to us, it doesn’t make sense.

Hoopla: How did the signing with Mercury/Island Def Jam come about?

Will: Playing around Charlottesville we knew that we were getting some label interest. So we thought that it would be best to get a management to represent us. We signed with Red Light Management, which is also based out of Charlottesville.

Hoopla: Red light boasts some pretty big names on their roster.

Will: Yeah, they have Dave Matthews, Alanis Morissette and Phish just to name a few.

Hoopla: So when did you sign with the label?

Will: We signed in our junior year of college. And most don’t know it, but we were signed as Sparky’s Flaw. Changing the name was just part of the band’s progression. Then it took us about a year to record the record.

Hoopla: On the new album “Losing Sleep” you worked with some pretty reputable producers.

Will: Yes, we worked with producer John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Ashlee Simpson) and John Fields (Jonas Brothers, Switchfoot, Lifehouse).

Hoopla: What was it like to work with them and how much say did you have in the process?

Nate: It wouldn’t hit me right away. I would just show up to the studio to do my thing and then I would look up on his walls and see all the musicians that he’s worked with. Then I would be like oh right, he probably knows what he’s talking about (referring to working with John Shanks.)

Will: It was frustrating sometimes when we would love a certain idea or the vibe of a song and the producer would not. But, for the most part, it went smooth. We actually sat down with them and did like a pre-screening interview before we even started recording. So they knew the direction that we wanted to go in. This way, certain suggestions wouldn’t even be brought to the table by them. It worked out great.

Hoopla: Did you co-write any songs?

Will: John Shanks and I worked together. But the highlight for me was to be able to write a song with Dan Wilson best known for his work with his band Semisonic; he’s also written with the Dixie Chicks, Jewel and Jason Mraz. It was my idea and I was honored to be able to do it.

Hoopla: “She is Love” is the first single from the album. Why did you pick a ballad versus a more upbeat rocker song?

Will: Good question, because we actually went back and forth on it. But, because of all the publicity “She is Love” got from being in the Nivea skin care commercial; we decided that it was already established as a single so we should just go with it.

Hoopla: Do you fear “She is Love” might turn away some of the potential male fans?

Will: Not really. We have a pretty good approval rating from the guys at our shows. Don’t get me wrong, our target audience is definitely 18- to 24-year-old females. So with that, the guys will show up to the shows and when they see us perform live they usually become fans when they see that we’re more than just a ballad band.

Hoopla: At the beginning of the year you did a tour with Jon Mclaughlin. How did that go?

Will: Jon is a great guy and his band is really talented. We had a blast hanging with them. The shows went great. Our music appeals to the same crowd.

Alex: It was amazing to play a sold-out show at The House of Blues in Chicago.

Will: We just had some good times with them, like singing karaoke with Jon and his band in some city in the middle of nowhere.

Hoopla: What’s next after the tour with O.A.R.?

We’re just waiting for the release of the new album “Losing Sleep.” We have an album release show back in Charlottesville on May 23. Other than that we have some things that are being worked on for the summer, but we can’t talk about them yet. Nothing is finalized. We’ll definitely be on the road.

For more information go to: http://weareparachute.com/