Interview with The Chase: ‘If my mind was a TV and you were flicking through the channels, each track on this EP would be a different TV show’

Nottingham-based four piece indie rock band The Chase have released their debut EP ‘Not the F*cking Game Show’ today (6 May), which reflects their experiences as they manoeuvre through what they call ‘the trials and tribulations of life’.

The band comprises Tyler Heaney (vocals and guitar), his brother Dion (drums), their cousin Luke Childs (bass) and school friend James Cahill (keys). Their name is a reference to where they grew up, their local precinct, The Robin Hood Chase.

‘Not the F*cking Game Show’ is a light-hearted title that pokes fun at the band often hearing the words “Oh, like the game show?” when they introduce themselves. ‘It’s really annoying!,’ Tyler said. ‘We had the name first, they owe us a lot of money!’ In addition to singles such as ‘I’m The Man’ and ‘Set The World To Rights’, the 6 track EP includes 3 new songs: ‘Live To Die’, ‘La La La’ and ‘In The Q’.

‘If my mind was a TV and you were flicking through the channels, each track on this EP would be a different TV show,’ Tyler said. ‘From drama to comedy to biopic, it’s an anthology of what it’s like navigating through your 20’s. The songs are so varied, we’ve got rock, ska, ballads and acoustic at the end. It’s an eclectic collective (laughs).’

‘It was about a hundred different songs’

‘Live To Die’ is a cheeky love song, which never lets up the pace, with the opening line “I bite my name into your neck” setting the tone for the rest of the track. Dion’s frenetic drumming, layered guitar lines and Tyler’s powerful vocals hook you from the off. The chorus line “I can’t live to die without you” is incredibly catchy, although the version on the EP bears little relation to the original version, according to Tyler: ‘Me and James had it for a while, it was about a hundred different songs (laughs). We had the shell of it but didn’t know where we were going with it, it sort of came together. We already had all the other songs on the album but on this one, we took a gamble, we wrote a lot of it in the studio. I was struggling with the lyrics. It’s a love song but with a dark core, like me!’

As the track kicks off: ‘I bite my name into your neck. You’re mine to be, we’re not done yet. I’d give my heart should I have one. I can’t believe we’ve just begun.’

Some tracks are more pared back, like the closer, ‘In The Q’, which just features Tyler on the acoustic guitar, although the others can be heard chatting in the background. The track kicks off with “All my life has been the same, no I don’t see your reasons to complain” and I joke that he sounds slightly hammered on it and they all laugh: ‘We had everyone in the room doing it, they were making me laugh,’ he grinned. Incredibly, they’ve had the song for around 10 years but had never played it live or recorded it until now: ‘We thought it was one to play among ourselves,’ he said. ‘It’s about the dole office queue, we’ve all done a bit of that, we’ve signed on. It was a bit of a joke, Luke’s a bit older than us, he’s signed on more (laughs).’ At the moment, Tyler is working as a labourer, both James and Luke are cleaners and Dion is a teaching assistant. I say that based on the strength of this EP and previous singles, I can’t imagine them being on the dole again, and it’s clear how keen they are to work on music full-time rather than ‘dossing around’ at the warehouse, as James puts it.

As the song kicks off: ‘All my life it’s been the same. No, I don’t see your reasons to complain. All of you lazy so and so’s like me. Let’s let the world see things just how we see.’

Their songs are distinctive both for their massively infectious melodies and for the way Tyler rolls his r’s and I ask them what the secret is to writing such anthemic songs. ‘We think about it a lot,’ Tyler said. ‘If you’re not going to be humming it, it’s no good, you don’t want to write something beige (laughs). There are a lot of bands that get attached to writing a song and want to put it out but you want there to be something in the song that gets people going. Me and James do the writing. We might have some guitar bits but it’s more about the melody and what people will chant back live. Some melodies take years (laughs). We’ve not long been in the studio in Wales, we got those arrangements and everything done in a week, it came together fast.’

‘It kind of started as a joke, then I couldn’t help doing it!’

Tyler’s r-rolling turns out to be something of a happy accident: ‘It kind of started as a joke, then I couldn’t help doing it! Then it was boring not doing it. It’s become a trademark.’ I tell him that if he can roll his r’s like that, he should give Spanish a go because he’d be a natural: ‘I love everything about Spain, I wish I could speak it,’ he said enthusiastically.

Tyler and Dion entry into music came via their dad, who got them into the guitar, drums and piano. ‘Then Luke started to help me and I was in the same year at school as James, we started playing together,’ Dion said. James had a slightly different route into music: ‘There was always a piano knocking about,’ he said. ‘I had lessons but I didn’t get on with them (laughs), so I started dabbling in bands.’ Luke jumps in: ‘I grew up with this lot,’ he grinned. ‘Chris – Dion and Tyler’s dad – he forced me into it!’

‘I’m The Man’ is a rock ‘n’ roll slammer, full of swagger, mashing up glam rock with bluesey keys and a fiery guitar solo around 2 minutes in that builds. Dion’s backing vocals in the chorus also elevate the whole song: ‘It’s one of my faves to play live, I feel I AM the man,’ Tyler quipped. ‘I rip my shirt off and that’s it! It works wherever you put it in the set, it’s nice.’ I ask if it’s the song that most gets the crowd going but it turns out that it’s not, that ‘I Can’t Believe We Share The Same Name’, their ska-infused single from 2021, has that honour. Of ‘I’m the Man’, James says: ‘We wrote it after a long session spending hours trying to write a song.’ Tyler agrees: ‘I left the room and he started playing that melody and I said “Stop, what’s THAT?!” I was listening to The Spencer Davis Group, they’ve got that song ‘I’m A Man’ and I jokingly thought, “Yeah, I’m the man!”‘

As the track goes: ‘Rugged looks, unforgiving charm. Someone you would love on your arm. If I do say a perfect specimen. I live rent free inside your head.’

‘Lyrically, Dion thought it was a political song but really it’s a love song’

‘La La La’ is a bumper of a ska track on the EP, propelled along by the thumping bass line and the build up of the drum roll, topped off with the ‘La la la’s’ in the chorus, which are instantly singalongy: ‘It was a rock song first,’ Tyler said. ‘We couldn’t think of anything to call it. We say ‘dickhead’ in the chorus but we didn’t want to call it ‘dickhead’ something, so we called it ‘La La La’!’

The gorgeous, Beatlesey ‘Set The World To Rights’ feels like a very fitting title given the line in the chorus “the world is run by fools…don’t let them break me and you”, which perfectly describes the current political climate globally. Inspired by John Lennon’s ‘Nobody Loves You’ and Burt Bacharach’s ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’, it’s essentially a love song about sticking together when the world is falling apart: ‘It’s one of my favourites, I love it,’ Tyler said. ‘Lyrically, Dion thought it was a political song but really it’s a love song saying “The world’s shit but together we’re all right”.

That comes across strongly in the chorus: ‘Now we’ll set the world to rights. Here tonight. I’m holding on, don’t let go. The world is run by fools who tried and couldn’t do. Don’t let them break me and you.’

In the space of a few short years, the four-piece have amassed a dedicated fanbase. From debut performances at some of the best UK festivals (Isle of Wight, Y Not, Truck, The Great Escape), to sold out nationwide tours and support slots with The Rifles, The Skinner Brothers and The Clause.

‘The band’s personality is imprinted on every song from start to finish’

They’re all fans of bands such as The Beatles, Oasis, The Specials and Damien Marley. Tyler and Dion were born and raised in Nottingham with Scottish and Caribbean heritage. With cousin Luke on the bass and keyboard warrior and co-writer James, the result is a sound that is both unique and undeniably infectious. As James puts it: ”Not the F*cking Game Show’ is a snapshot of the band throughout the turbulent ups and downs of the last few years. It’s an insight into us as people and the band’s personality is imprinted on every song from start to finish.’

Ultimately, it’s all about the live experience for them: ‘Our live show is theatrical, full of personality and showmanship, I couldn’t do it any other way,’ Tyler said. ‘We want to get the crowd involved, we love it when they’re singing the tunes back at us, it’s all part of the experience for us and them.’ His wardrobe is testament to that, up on stage in a leopard print shirt channelling strong Marc Bolan vibes, a fashion sense that he describes as ‘champagne taste with a lemonade budget’.

If they could write a song with anyone, they all pick different people: ‘I’ll say the Red Hot Chili Peppers,’ said Luke. ‘They’re amazing, it’s a band I’ve always listened to.’ Dion jumps in: ‘Noel Gallagher, you could see where he nicks his songs from,’ he said mischievously. Tyler picks Morrissey: ‘I find him quite funny.’ he said. ‘I’d love to see him do one of our songs. He might annoy you but I reckon he’d be ok for the first 10 minutes!’ James has other ideas: ‘I’d like to collaborate with Ringo Starr, get him rat arsed, and shove him into a recording booth!’

(Top photo from left to right: Dion, Tyler, James and Luke)