Smile Politely: How did you start playing drums? What do you love about it?
Andrew Davidson: I picked up the drums around 2000 when our original drummer left for college and there seemed to be a lack of available drummers around town. So I moved from bass to drums, but I still consider myself to be a bass player. I love the dynamic energy drums add to the mix.
SP: Why do you like bass in particular?
Davidson: I believe the bass is a crucial part of any band. It gets the people moving.
SP: When did this band come together? How did you all meet?
Davidson: I met Justin Gee through my ex-roommate back in 1999. They both worked at the Red Lobster in Champaign. Justin is from Rantoul, but he would come to Champaign/Urbana to all of the house parties. He was really into Braid at the time and, as a matter of fact, clued me into them, too. There were a lot of other great local bands popping up around this time, playing house parties like the Beauty Shop, Tractor Kings, and The Blackouts. Seeing all of these great bands made us want to get out there ourselves. Bryan Phelps was a Chemicals fan before he joined the band a few years ago. He stalked us until we finally made him play bass for us. Now we call him Dad.
Tim McGee is the mysterious fifth chemical. He is my soul brother #1. He also plays in the Penny Horses. Jonny Chemical is my real brother. He is the one who got me started playing bass when I was 16. Since he was already learning guitar, naturally I wanted to join in somehow and so I bought a used bass. The first song I learned on it was “Polly” by Nirvana. Jonny and I have been playing together in various bands ever since.
SP: What about your first show?
Davidson: Our first official show as The Chemicals was in 2004 at [the] Cafe Paradiso opening for The Album Leaf. Justin, Jonny, and I have been playing together since 1999/2000. We’ve had a couple different bass players through the years.
SP: What do you like about the music scene in Champaign?
Davidson: I like the history of the music scene in C-U. A lot of good music has come out of here and is still coming out of here today. I can remember being at Planetfest back in 1996 and being blown away by all of the local bands there (HUM, Menthol, Wolfie). We love playing in the beer garden at Mike ‘N Molly’s, of course, and Cowboy Monkey has great sound. But we are not too picky. We play them all.
You can check out the Chemicals on Saturday at Mike ‘N Molly’s, as they’ll be performing with the Lonely Trailer and Dog Brain.