One of Ottawa’s slinkiest, stankiest and bodaciously-bopping quartets The Chocolate Hot Pockets is funking up Ritual on Saturday eve with the CD Release of Chocolate Dreamz. We dove in the goo-pocket with the forever-phat Alex Moxon to gab about their project.
Apt613: Let’s dig into the Cacao of the Chocolate Hot Pockets. It says on your bio that the rhythm section met while studying music at Carleton U. Tell us a bit about the Carleton experience.
Alex Moxon: Carleton is wide open stylistically speaking- I learned about a lot of different styles of music there. We spent time with jazz, classical, African, Indian, fusion, and free improvised music. It’s actually the first university in Canada to have offered a Rock program. In short, they let us do our thing.
I think some people reading this might want to hear that going to music school is exactly like the movie Whiplash. It’s totally not! For me, it was an opportunity to do my absolute favourite thing all day every day and have a free bus pass.
Apt613: How did Ed join the band?
Alex: Well Ed came up in London England. He left to do a cruise ship playing contract on Carnival where he met his girlfriend (now his wife), and she happens to live in Ottawa. When she got off, so did he. I guess you could say he jumped ship. Nyuck nyuck nyuck…
At the same time Jamie and JP and I had a regular gig with a sax player in town at Avant Garde. When Ed first arrived he came out every week and jammed with us. Eventually our quartet with the sax player ended, but since we knew Ed was staying in town indefinitely we called him up. We started off playing together in our basements, then started writing tunes, playing shows, etc.
Apt613: Your band is described as fatback funk/ jazz/ neo-soul. What exactly is fatback funk for those – including myself – not in the know?
Alex: The fatback groove is a drum beat that’s often associated with New Orleans. I’m no ethnomusicologist but my Google searching has confirmed that it’s a kit style that originated in NOLA, and it was developed by players like Smokey Johnson and “Hungry” Williams. Eventually James Brown appropriated that beat for his band and it has since become definitive of a particular kind of funk music. You can hear Clayton Fillyau play some of the earliest examples of that beat in James Brown’s band on tracks like “I’ve Got Money” and “Limbo Jimbo”. Think super skanky drum n’ bass music.
Apt613: “In the pocket” is a phrase often tossed around in music circles. What does “the pocket” or “being in the pocket” mean for musicians?
It’s a rhythm section thing. If you say a band is playing in the pocket, it means that however they’re stretching the time they’re all feeling it (and playing it) the same way. If the bassist is intentionally playing behind the beat, everybody else lays back too. Voila, pocket.
Apt613: When listing influences you mention artists like Roy Hargrove (RH Factor), George Duke, D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Snarky Puppy. What is it about these artists’ music that inspires this band? What do you think of D’Angelo’s latest ‘Black Messiah’?
Alex: All of those bands have killing rhythm sections, a mix of live and electric sounds, or heavy duty improvising. Or all three! Everything we like! I’ve heard Black Messiah- gotta say, I prefer Voodoo. I grew up with Voodoo though so I don’t think I could have an unbiased opinion. I want to listen to it more before I decide, and more importantly I want to buy the vinyl because I understand that there’s a different mix on that. Tangentially, people should listen to George Duke’s track “Black Messiah.”
Apt613: Your newest release Chocolate Dreamz is your second. What has changed for the band between this record and the first: 2013’s The Filthy Chapter?
Alex: There’s a more focused group sound. Our first record felt super fresh- we were still feeling each other out as players, learning how we reacted in the moment, which, for a band that’s improvising half the time, is huge. Now after all the playing and touring we’ve done I feel that we’re all on exactly the same page. It sounds lame but I feel like I can really sense what everybody wants to play before they even play it, which is a really cool place to be.
In the past I think it had been a goal to write a wide variety of feels and tunes to see what we were most capable of- we had a soca tune, a drum ‘n bass tune, a heavy metal tune… Nowadays we’ve been writing less as an homage to our favourite music and more to fit the strongest attributes that the individuals in the band bring to the table. When I was in high school I used to think “oh how cool would be to have a band that sounds like so-and-so’s,” but I’m not really interested in that anymore. I love writing for specifically these guys and letting the music take its own direction, and the results have been a more cohesive and identifiable sound overall.
Apt613: I hear some similarities on Chocolate Dreamz to RH Factor’s album Hard Groove. Unlike Hard Groove, there are no vocalists on your album. Were you ever considering having rappers or singers collaborate on some tracks? Is it something you envision for the future?
Alex: Maybe. It would have to be the right singer. We’re super happy with our thing right now, and I don’t know that tossing some vocal runs and some raps on top would necessarily improve that situation. I know that we might appeal to more people if we had a singer or some lyrics, but I’m not interested in making populist decisions unless it serves the music. If we were to get a singer on board for a recording it’d be because they sound amazing and they really get what we’re going for.
Apt613: What makes the Ottawa music scene unique and inspiring? How does this particular city feed into what the Chocolate Hot Pockets are trying to do?
Alex: It’s kind of an apathetic city. People live in the suburbs, go out early, go home early, wake up early, and work for the government. It takes a lot for any band to build an audience and get people away from their Netflix. Which isn’t to say that there isn’t a lot going on here- there is! I feel though that to make an impression your thing has to be compelling enough to cut through all of that. Success is hard-earned in the best possible way. As a band The Chocolate Hot Pockets bring the party- we want Ottawa to come out and party more.
Apt613: Lastly, what can people expect from your show this Saturday at Ritual? Do you guys stretch out tracks with improvisation? Are you willing to take the songs to unique places?
Alex: We’ve performed about half of the tracks live. People can expect some music they’ve never heard before. As for stretching out, yeah we’re gonna go crazy.
Apt613: Are you going to be giving out little buns filled with chocolatey goodness (I’m picturing those round pizza pockets that McCain’s used to make and salivating a little)?
Alex: Haha no, though I also grew up on those Pizza Pops. We did send out Christmas cards this winter with enclosed pockets of hot chocolate in them.
Apt613: Booya!
The Chocolate Hot Pockets will be at Ritual (137 Besserer) on May 23, 2015. Show starts at 9pm. Advance tickets ar $12 and can be purchased online. For $25 you can see the show and take home a copy of Chocolate Dreamz.
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