Exclusive Interview with 'CHUCKY TRADING CO'

Chucky Trading Co is a dynamic collaboration between songwriter CS Taber and producer Everett Young that brings timeless new folk-rock songs to life in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles. Formed on December 1, 2021, CTC will release its debut album, which includes fifteen songs about love, life, and the human condition. Chucky Trading Co’s music is full of soulful arrangements, magical hooks, and images that touch your heart from Grace to Tumbleweeds. Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: My name is CS Taber, and I am the singer/songwriter/guitarist for Chucky Trading Co. I was born and grew up in Africa, but my family moved to the hills of Tennessee when I was a teen, and it was there that I began playing guitar and singing in local bands. The best of these was a folk-rock group called Three a.m., which had a decent regional following in the southeast U.S. Chucky Trading Co is my current musical project, collaborating with Everett Young, who is a film score writer, and singer Patricia Taber (who is my little sister).

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: I have not had any formal training in music, but Everett is a pretty accomplished jazz pianist and arranger with a strong musical training. I learned to play things with strings on my own in Tennessee, with roots in country, bluegrass, folk, and rock.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘CHUCKY TRADING CO’?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: Yeah, it was that folk, rock, acoustic music I heard in Tennessee that hit me first. Then I was drawn to great vocal harmonies coming in the Laurel Canyon folk-rock, singer-songwriter movement. But I have super eclectic taste in music that kind of drives my friends crazy. Chucky Trading Co was the name of a now-defunct Mexican restaurant and music venue in Tennessee that was the first place to pay Three am to play, even though it was just tips and an enchilada dinner! The name is a nod to our early days in music.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: Well, I think we are retro, with acoustic roots and vocal harmonies, but we have a modern sensibility in the arrangements. New classic rock. My eclectic tastes have a big influence as well. For example, our latest single is Psychopath Cool, which has bluegrass fiddle, a classical cello opening, along with country jazz piano. We really enjoy putting these odd elements together into a cohesive whole. I should also mention our attention to lyrics. We really want our songs to carry emotional power through lyric and music.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?

**CHUCKY TRADING CO**: I was in a few early cover bands before I ever thought to try my hand at songwriting or crafting a unique sound! The first band with a real identity, Three am, covered a broad range of country, rock, bluegrass, folk songs while also plying original tunes. That was where I first started forming a sense of who I was musically.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative and entertainment?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: Music can be a powerful voice for social justice! I was always drawn to the political activism in folk and rock music, and many of my songs have deeper and sometimes philosophical themes. Margarita tells the story of a Central American migrant girl lost in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. In the Dark questions whether humans actually have free will. Peace With the Devil tackles despair and lost faith. Even my songs about relationships are often a little dark or questioning. I think that is who I am as a songwriter.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: I don’t measure music fulfillment in terms of stream counts or earnings. The act of expressing myself by writing and producing a song is so incredibly rewarding, that I would do it even if I didn’t get back critical or financial rewards. So, yes, I get back more than I put in, and I love what I do. But, you know, a little world domination would also be fun.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: I mostly write by myself, with an acoustic guitar and a pencil, sitting alone someplace quiet. Chord changes usually come first while noodling on the guitar, then melodies, then lyrics. Occasionally, it all comes at once in an incredible catharsis of emotion where I feel like I’m channeling the song rather than writing it. Most often, I write and then rewrite a song over a long period of time. However it happens, it’s magical. When I collaborate it is generally still done separately, like Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Individual hermits working on one song. lol.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: The isolation of Covid.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

CHUCKY TRADING CO: The release of the first CTC album in December 2021. That felt special. I am now writing and recording the follow up! It’s a great life.