HEY, CHELS

SWEET SONIC BOOZY BLISS

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST JACQUE MENDEZ BY JOHN B. MOORE T hanks to a bottle of brown Hey, Chels are following up their the group have worked out a schedband had officially formed, Ricky booze, Hey, Chels’ fate debut EP with an LP later this year. ule that’s flexible enough for all. and I had been brainstorming was sealed one day about The music is there; they are just sortband names. We weren’t liking three years ago. The band ing out the specifics. “We pretty much have a system down any of the other’s ideas until this name came a little while later. by now,” Mendez says. “Ricky and one night we were out with some “When we decided to commit to this I will write and record the songs friends in Oakland. I was having “Ricky [Schmidt, bass] and I had an project, we agreed to record an as demos at home and then send a conversation with a friend at a idea a while back to start a projEP, tour it up the West Coast, and them to Steph and Kevin. Kevin has bar, and the song “Hey Jealousy” ect together,” says Jacque Mendez. then see how we felt about moving also recorded some of his ideas for by The Gin Blossoms began to play. “We wrote a song just for fun and forward,” Mendez says. “After that songs and shared them with us in I told this person how, when I was to see what we could create back tour, which was just about a year the same way. From there, everyone younger, I used to think the lyrics in 2016. That song is now ‘I Know ago, I knew that I wanted to keep works out what they want to bring to were “Hey Chelsea.” For some reaYou Are, But What Am I?’ off of our Hey, Chels going. We spent the rest the song, and we re-track the songs son, I liked the sound of it as soon first, self-titled EP. We wrote it and of the year playing festivals here as they progress.” as I said it, and I ran straight over recorded it in a day over a bottle and there but mostly on writing for to Ricky to tell him the idea.” of whiskey. The lyrics were silly and a full-length. By November, we had And band practices? They just have changed later. However, we were written and recorded our very first to schedule those way in advance. The two also happen to have a pretty happy with the sound we creLP. This new record is certainly an good friend named Chelsea whom ated, so we decided to turn it into indication that Hey, Chels is more Finally, back to the origins of the they refer to as Chels. something.” than a fun project.” name, Hey, Chels. There's this unwritten rule that’s it's not cool to ask “She is the Chels of Hey, Chels. BeShortly after, they asked Kevin White Schmidt is a member of Western about a band's moniker, but... ing one of the friendliest and loveto join on guitar, and, after writSettings, and the rest of the band liest bartenders in San Diego, ‘hey, ing for a bit as a three-piece, they have other commitments as well, “I actually really enjoy telling this Chels!’ is a phrase she hears quite brought in Steph Presz on drums. but over the past couple of years, story,” says Mendez. “Before the often.” �� �� ��