Daily Dose: Rich Chambers – I Wonder

It is amazing how often three musical chords can be manipulated and presented in such a way that we are left with something new and exciting. Rich Chambers’ “I Wonder” is a testament to this. Using three basic chords as his foundation, Chambers has built a simple yet effective melody, a sing-alongable gang chorus, some crafty guitar hooks, and a well-placed harmonica to create a Rock n’ Roll tune that is both memorable and highly infectious. It’s a Rock N’ Roll track that would not be out of place in the Country, Easy Listening, Top 40, or multiple other genres.

Rich: “Those who know me, know that I often talk about how personal songwriting is or how I am often trying to reflect upon some aspect of the human condition and/or experience in a song, but they also know that a part of me also fully embraces and enjoys the “guilty pleasure” aspect of music and songwriting. Not all songs have to mean something. Sometimes a song is simply about enjoying the music and having fun, which I guess, when you think about, does portray a certain meaning in relation to the human condition, but I will leave such a discussion alone for when I am having a more existential moment!

“I Wonder,” is a song with not a lot of meaning behind it, yet it is still very special to me because it comes from a wonderful place. It is the result of a joint writing effort with myself and my previous band Half-Late, which was made up of some of my closest friends on the planet, Todd Foxcroft, Jeff Warren, Sean Gemmill, and Jim Gemmill.

We were rehearsing one night, and in between songs we started into chatting about all things and everything, as was always the case amongst the five of us, and for whatever reason, I started into the basic chord progression that constitutes the song. There was nothing flashy about it. It was, and is, a very basic three chord progression, but there was something about the way I was playing it and the sound that I had going that inspired our bass player Todd to just declare “I Wonder.” From there Sean, Jim, and myself started a gang sing along of that same phrase. Jeff kicked the drums in and Todd started screaming lyrics to answer the rest of us singing the “I Wonder” phrase. A minute or two later, Sean broke into the descending guitar riff that is featured predominantly throughout the song and we then knew we had ourselves something pretty cool. It all happened very quickly and organically. It was a very cool moment!

Essentially, there is not a lot to “I Wonder.” It is pretty benign in meaning and more of a guilty musical pleasure that is simply a lot of fun to listen to, which is pretty darn okay as far as I am concerned! But even more special to me is the fact that this song was written one night by five close friends just enjoying being together and playing music.”

From humble and modest beginnings to redefining 60s and classic rock, Vancouver, Canada’s Rich Chambers has a story not unlike that of countless other musicians, or anyone in any career for that matter. Discovering a passion for the guitar at age 10, and an even greater passion for songwriting at 14, he embarked on a life-long commitment to music and songwriting. Like any successful individual, he is all about commitment, dedication, hard work, maintaining perspective, and believing in himself.

Chambers’ journey has not been without its bumps though. After completing high school, he was so sure he would be the next big thing, until countless nights playing in many cheesy dives, for at best a round or two of cheap draught beer, taught him otherwise. It was then he made an important, life-changing decision—he went back to school, which eventually led to a bachelor’s degree in English and later a master’s degree in Humanities. As Chambers so enthusiastically always says, “education rocks!”

Along the way, Chambers’ rock n’ roll journey always kept moving. As a solo artist, and previously with his band Half-Hour Late, he released numerous albums and singles. His most successful song to date, has been his cover of “Snow Miser vs. Heat Miser” from his first album, ‘Santa’s Rockin’ Band,’ which was released soon after his first university graduation in the days before Spotify and on-line music sales and streaming. Once iTunes hit, and later Spotify, “Snow Miser vs. Heat Miser” began to really resonate with people and rise in popularity. It has since been downloaded over 18,000 times in the last ten years and streamed approximately 900,000 times in the past three. The song became the cornerstone of his 2020 ‘Santa’s Rockin’ Band’ album reboot, which also included a newly penned original, “It’s Christmas Time (All Over the World),” which went on to attain over 250,000 streams on Spotify alone in the last two months of 2020.

Following on the heels of his successful 2020 Christmas album, Chambers has been consistently and methodically releasing new original music throughout 2021. His socially conscious rocker, “I’m So Tired,” came out in January, accompanied by a hard-hitting video brimming with thought provoking social commentary (the video continues to receive accolades from film festivals around the globe). This was followed in the spring with his mid-tempo, love gone wrong, “Sorry Isn’t Good Enough.” His summertime release was “Summer Looks So Good On You,” a Beach Boys meets Katrina and the Waves fun and sing-alongable offering, which was followed by his fall release, “High School Can’t Last Forever,” a rocker that merges the sounds of Buddy Holly and Green Day to explore the notion of what really constitutes youth and innocence. For winter 2021/22, Chambers has released “I Wonder,” an infectious, almost bubble gum pop/rock song that Chambers likes to simply call a “musical guilty pleasure.”

… and this is merely the beginning! Chambers has countless single and album releases planned for well into 2022 as he sets out to establish himself as the voice of vintage, yet freshly modern Rock n’ Roll for the 2020s!

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/c/RichChambers
https://richchambers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/santasrockinband
https://www.instagram.com/santasrockinband/
https://twitter.com/RichChambers5
https://open.spotify.com/track/2b59UhOkH71mHnD2lkXqBY?si=d191be798ee347e9&nd=1