by Kenneth Morton

The Summer Circuit is the solo project of 19 year old Chris Gordon - a talented singer / songwriter just beginning to make a name for himself in the big city of Philadelphia. His debut CD is entitled City Of Love - an exciting collection of upbeat tunes that fans of The Rocket Summer and Never Shout Never are sure to enjoy. Here is a recent interview Highwire Daze conducted with this rising star...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Summer Circuit, and how long the project has been together.
My name is Chris Gordon and I am a 19-year-old singer/songwriter. Two years ago I began creating my solo music project, The Summer Circuit. What started as a simple idea to spread my music has turned into my main priority at this point in my life. I write, record, and produce songs using my own basic equipment from the "studio" I threw together in my dorm room at college. This project has given me the opportunity to share my music with the world, something for which I am forever thankful.

What city are you from and what is the local music scene like there?
I am from the Pocono Mountains in a somewhat small town, East Stroudsburg , PA. I spent the majority of my life there before moving to Philadelphia for college and despite the city's size, I found a considerable amount of musical outlets. During my years in high school I was in few bands with some close friends and managed to play a few shows in the area. Things as simple as high school talent shows provided me with the chance to perform for others and definitely fueled my love of music. A few years ago, Stroudsburg's historic Sherman Theater reopened and offered venues for local artists. Additionally, I found support in Borders bookstores and a few restaurants nearby. I owe a lot to my background in this small town because they give everyone a chance to show what they've got. You don't have to be famous to play a show in East Stroudsburg, and that's what makes it so inspiring.

Describe your music to someone who has never heard you before.
My music is extremely personal and honest. Beyond the lyrics, I try to create an overall feel for every song so that people are able to connect them to things in their own lives the way I do for mine. On a purely musical level though, I generally blend acoustic and electronica with catchy drum rhythms. It is really similar to artists like Owl City, PlayRadioPlay and hellogoodbye.

Is there any story or concept behind the CD title City Of Love?
After I graduated high school I moved to Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love ," to attend Drexel University and study Music Industry. It was a total change in atmosphere from what I was used to and I really embraced the city and everything it had to offer. I see this move to Philadelphia as the next major chapter in my life, and definitely the most defining so far. A lot of my songs on the album reflect this change and how, no matter the difficulties I face, it is a large piece of my story both personally and musically.

Where do you get the ideas for your lyrics? Please cite two songs on the CD and what the lyrics are about…
I always stress the fact that all of my lyrics are positive. Even if they focus on some sort of conflict, I make it a priority to spin it so that it stresses the brighter side of things. My dream is that people will hear the words in one of my songs and be able to connect to the music on that type of level. I want them to be like, "I've felt that exact same thing and it's so good to hear someone agree." The first track on the album, A House Into a Home, talks about how my life is just a few short years away from actually beginning. It says, "In about three years, we'll be out on our own. We'll be paying the bills, making a house into a home." The song goes on to explain that even if times are tough and life is less than perfect, I'll just be thrilled to spend it with someone by my side. The irony of the song is that every time I listen to it, those three years are fading and I'm getting closer and closer to this "real world," but the experiences I'm having along the way will shape the years to come. Track 10, Overthink and Overanalyze, is a song about the classic problem where people get wrapped up in things and let them take over. I spent a portion of my life worrying and overthinking everything and this song talks about how I learned to take things one step at a time and not let problems overcome me. The chorus says, "We overthink and overanalyze, but the answer's right in front of our eyes. We won't change over night. Let's not forget who we are, and let's promise with our pinkies crossed, these things take some time.

Do you prefer performing on your own or working with a full band?
There are benefits to both options really. I like the intimacy of performing on my own because I feel like it's just me and the audience, and making that connection is really important. But on the other hand, working with a full band offers a lot more opportunities to add components and depth to songs musically. Also, I like the thought of sharing both ideas and the stage itself with other musicians and their approach to the music. I've been working on a few of my songs with a full band and I hope to start having some performances so that I can experience shows on a different level.

City Of Love was pretty much recorded on your own. What was that experience like and how easy or difficult was it?
The experience was extremely time consuming and, at times frustrating, but at the end of it all, it is my single most prized accomplishment. I look at that CD as a timeline of my life through music. It chronicles so many pieces of growing up and I can't think of something that is more expressive of myself and my approach at life. The process required hundreds of hours of tweaking songs until I was completely happy with how they sounded. Even though it took up so much time, I see this songwriting process as a hobby that I would have been doing had I been producing an album or not. Music is my passion and no matter how seriously I am taking it, it is a component of every day of my life.

Who did the artwork for the CD and how much input did you have on it?
My roommate and best friend Jake Lazaroff did every piece of the artwork for City of Love . He is a Digital Media major at Drexel University and is an extremely talented artist. Jake was a huge support in the entire process, providing me with input on the music and creating an image for the album that is the best representation of the songs that I could have ever asked for. I had complete control over what he did with the task, but I chose to leave it to his discretion, knowing that he is brilliant in this field. You can find more of his work on his website http://hexnut.org/.

How long ago did City of Love come out and how close are you to writing and recording all new material?
City of Love was released in June of 2009. Shortly after the physical CD became available, the songs were put on iTunes for download. I am writing and recording new material almost every day and I hope to release some sort of covers album in the near future. In between releases, I update my myspace page daily, adding videos and blogs as well as following conversations with fans.

What were you doing playing a(n) (after) midnight show at a dance club? Is that the strangest gig you've ever had?
It certainly was an interesting situation. The gig was scheduled on short notice so the full band was not ready to perform with me so I was playing the show acoustic. I showed up to what I thought would be a bar but ended up being a dance club and the performer before me was a rapper. I was nervous that people would not appreciate the fact that I would be playing acoustic but I ended up playing a lot of covers of club songs and people were singing and clapping along by the end. It was definitely the strangest gig I've ever had, but it was a lot of fun!

How long were you in The Mark Williams band and what was that experience like? Did you do any touring with Mark?
I have never actually been in the Mark Williams Band, I think you have me confused with Chris Connors, who coincidentally played bass for me at live shows a while ago. Our bands were obviously very close and we played many shows together and were very supportive of each other. I still keep in close touch with them and I am very good friends with all of them.

What has been your favorite CD of 2009 and why?
The Rocket Summer's new EP You Gotta Believe has definitely been my favorite release of the year. The Rocket Summer is by far my favorite musical artist and I've been anxiously awaiting new music from him and he definitely delivered great music with this EP. Hills and Valleys has quickly become one of my favorite songs and I am pleased with the more mature direction he has taken while still maintaining the youthful exuberance that has always made his music resonate with me.

If you could sit down and have a 10 minutes conversation with anyone either living or in history, who would it be with and why?
Of course I have very obvious ones such as meeting Jesus or Martin Luther King but I think the most unique person that I would like to meet would be Bryce Avary. No other person has impacted my life as strongly as he has. His music has helped build me into the musician and person I am today.

Are you involved with any other projects outside of The Summer Circuit?
Not really, but I am working on a fun little hardcore side project that I will be releasing soon called verbnounverb!. It's going to be a loving parody of the hardcore genre and I am going to be doing it with a few friends of mine. I am doing this because it will be fun to make music with my friends and to have an outlet for the other musical ideas I have that do not fit the goal of The Summer Circuit.

Any messages for peeps reading this who might want to check your music out?
I hope you can take the time to check out my music, the easiest way is on my Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/thesummercircuit) or you can search "The Summer Circuit" on iTunes or CDBaby. I hope you enjoy it! :-)

The Summer Circuit links

The Summer Circuit on Myspace: The Official Myspace Page for The Summer Circuit!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

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