(EDITOR’S NOTE — Chris Chavez is an interesting guy. And, he’s a passionate supporter of Buffalo’s Scene, someone whose face you will often see at shows several nights a week. As the producer and co-host of numerous podcasts as well as being busy with video-production work, the last thing Chris needed was something else to do. But there is too much happening on the Buffalo Scene to ignore, and so, Chris has started a new podcast called ‘716 The Sound.’ A short introductory show — Episode 0 — is up on Spotify now and Episode 1 will drop this Friday July 19. We recently caught up with Chris, who was nice enough to share his time to talk about the new show. Please read our story below and listen to ‘716 The Sound’ HERE and follow them on the socials, too.)
1120 PRESS: Thank you for speaking with us and congrats on the new podcast, ‘716 The Sound.’ What can you tell us about it?
CHRIS CHAVEZ-716: The Sound is a podcast that aims to shine a light on, and point a mic at, the wide variety of amazingly talented folks that make up the Western New York music community. The goal is to sit down with musicians, artists, photographers, videographers, journalists — pretty much anyone that has a hand in adding to the rich culture of music in this area — to discuss their passion, why they do what they do, how they do it, and why it's important to the community. I think everyone has a story to tell, especially musicians, and as a musician myself, I know I'm always interested in hearing where others came from, how they work, and what they have to say.
1120: As a man of many podcasts, what propelled you to start ‘716 The Sound’ — and why now?
716: The Sound is a podcast I've been wanting to launch for a couple of years now. I used to do a show called ‘That One Time at Bandcamp’ where I would search for new music and artists on Bandcamp and talk about them. On that show, I made sure to always feature at least one local musician/band. It was through that app that I discovered just how talented the musicians and bands in this area were and it made me want more. That podcast came to an end when I jumped on as the producer of ‘The Struggling Artist Podcast’ hosted by Trev Allen out of Massachusetts. Though I currently co-host a number of other podcasts, producing a show specifically about Western New York's music community has been on my mind since ending the Bandcamp show. I figured, ‘why continue to wait? It's time to do it.’ So, I began reaching out to a few people to gauge interest, and when I realized the interest was there, I knew it was time to launch the show.
1120: You actively support local artists and are often seen at shows throughout
the Scene. What are your overall impressions of the Scene and where it is right now?
716: As a lover of history and music, I look at scenes and cities as going hand-in-hand. In the 50s and 60s, Detroit saw the explosion of R&B and Soul. Punk and Hip-Hop joined forces to put New York City on the musical map of the 70s and 80s. Glam and metal started getting noticed on the grimy streets of Los Angeles in the 80s. Grunge changed the game once again in the 90s, full of the gloomy angst of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
To me, when I look around at what's going on here in Buffalo and around Western New York, I feel like we're on the cusp of being the next hub for musical talent and genre-changing artists. Punk and hardcore dominate most of the sound, but really, there's this undercurrent of brilliant alternative, emo, grunge, folk, Americana, hip hop, and blues that I feel is getting louder and louder with each passing day. And as I continue to hit shows, I hear it. I feel it. These sounds, though not completely new, do have an exciting freshness to them. Mark my words, in the future, we're going to look back on this time and see Buffalo's fingerprint on music's historical soundscape.
1120: So you have started recording episodes for the show … how are things going so far and where should people go to find it?
716: Yes, so far I've had the privilege to sit down with a handful of musicians and producers and it's going as well as I'd hoped. Well, aside from one lost episode, thanks to a power outage and a discombobulated brain, things have been going great. I have a HUGE list of folks to still reach out to and hopefully get scheduled. But, anyone interested in checking the show out can find ‘716 The Sound’ on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or whatever podcast app they prefer.
1120: Do you have any particular goal for the podcast in terms of where you would like to eventually take it and what you hope people take from it?
716: To be honest, I'd love for the show to be a source for music fans to discover their new favorite artist, musician, photographer, etc. I'd love for it to be the show that bands, musicians, and artists want to come on to talk about their work, struggles, experiences, and life. I'd love for it to be a show that musicians and artists listen to and take away from it the knowledge that they aren't alone in their struggles or experiences.
1120: So, aside from this particular podcast, what else do you have going these days with Hardly Awesome Media?
716: As mentioned before, I co-host and produce a number of podcasts: Hardly Awesome Podcast, Out of the Shadows, History Creeps, and Tube Time. I also produce a number of shows for The Struggling Artist Podcast Patreon — The Struggling Companion, Choppin It Up, and 716 The Sound on Struggling Artist Radio.
Recently, I've started branching out into video production in the past year. It was something I was into years ago and always wanted to come back to. So far, we filmed a show called ‘An Evening with Michael Kane’ (of Michael Kane and the Morning Afters) at the United Theatre in Westerly, RI. It was an intimate performance that Trev Allen hosted, combining the vibe of MTV's Unpluggedwith Inside the Actor's Studio. The full performance can be seen on the Hardly Awesome Media YouTube. I'm hoping to start filming more shows in the area. It's just hard when I also want to enjoy the show as a spectator!
1120: Thank you again for speaking with us. Is there anything else you want to add that we haven’t covered?
716: Thank you for wanting to speak with me! I'm a huge fan of what you are doing with 1120 Press. I feel like this publication is just as important for the music community here in Buffalo and Western New York. The music scene is vast and rich and full of great talent, but the content creators who are working tirelessly to spread the news are just as instrumental in establishing Buffalo's place in music history.
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