If you’ve ever had the need for some fat riffs and cool hooks, Chicken Happen is your antidote. This power trio blasts through the malaise of the great quarantine with their new record Maybe I’m The Problem. Following the tongue in cheek insanity of last year’s Burn in the USA, they take a back seat to the grandiose rock arrangements for a more stripped down sound. After ten years as a band Chicken Happen seems to have found a groove that feels like a well worn glove. We were lucky to have Lilly, Mark, and Zack talk to us over email about the new direction and what they’re looking forward to when we can all go outside again?!

LC: Lilly Choi (Gutar / Vocals)
MG: Mark Gianforte (Drums / Vocals)
ZH: Zack Hjelmstad (Bass / Vocals

You just released your new record Maybe I'm The Problem earlier than expected. When so many artists are delaying release of their albums, what made you all decide to release early?

LC: We are actually releasing this late! We originally planned to release it for Ian’s Party but it wasn’t ready in time. We sat on it for a little bit then decided to try and get a release show sometime in late April/May, but then the whole pandemic hit and we decided that we might as well just get it out there because who knows when we’ll be able to have a release show.

Last Spring's Burn In The U.S.A. was filled with very tongue in cheek humor, while Maybe I'm The Problem is a far more serious work. What's changed that brought on a shift in sound?

LC: Some of these songs are REALLY old. We’re talking written at the same time as the first album that Zack had recorded demos of but they never really made the cut as songs we wanted to develop. After Burn in the USA, deciding to just go as a three piece, Zack shored up the demos again and we decided that some of them would be cool to finally turn into full band songs. And then I was just kind of in a place of anxiety at the time that I wrote a lot of the other songs. I wasn’t going out much and was feeling a little socially alienated. I wouldn't say that there was any PARTICULAR change, I always write songs as an outlet for my frustrations so I guess I was just feeling particularly frustrated when I wrote a lot of these songs.

MG: On Burn in the USA, there was so much going on instrumentally that some of the vocals kind of got lost in some parts. One of the best things about being a 3 piece now, is the added space that naturally comes with having less parts to write. And with that added space, I think also comes an element of vulnerability particularly within the vocals, and I think Lilly did a great job of capturing that on this record. 

 ZH: I don’t know about this release being really more “serious” than the last one, but it is certainly more “straight forward.” That was intentional, and I think it can come across as more serious because of that maybe? We spent a lot of time on Burn and it was super fun to indulge in those songs and do all those big arrangements; but for this, not only did we want to do something different than that, we also wanted to really focus on the core of the band since we were making the change to a trio. So that is all the recording is, just the three of us... Maybe that “smaller,” more “intimate” approach comes off as more serious.

How does it feel to strip down to the power trio basics? Is it refreshing or do you miss a second guitar?

LC: This is our first record as a trio and honestly it feels so good to be back to power trio basics. We’ve gone through so many lineup changes but the constants have always been Zack and Mark, so it just feels right. Something clicked in that first practice as a trio that we just knew this was the right move for us. When we first started in 2010 we started as a trio but had Mark as our second guitar player by the time we recorded the first album. Now Mark is drumming and I definitely have improved a lot as a guitar player since then so I have more confidence playing as a three piece then I did before. I personally don’t miss having a second guitar but I do wish I could shred and do some sick solos like Mark did. Maybe someday! Oh! And this is the first time we released a song written by Zack, “Sweet Depression,” which was a lot of fun for us. 

MG: I definitely miss playing lead guitar and doing backup vocals for this band. Our songs have a lot of room in them to create some really fun riffs and harmonies, sometimes to the point where I needed to actively hold back in order to avoid making things too busy. But as Lilly mentioned, we really clicked as a three piece right off the bat and I think it’s the best dynamic moving forward, pending any magical encounters with another guitarist/drummer who’s super into what we’re doing.

ZH: Like they both said, we really clicked in as a trio right away, and we also just went straight to work on new material when we made that move so it never really felt like we lost something because we weren’t having to adjust old songs for a “new” lineup. There was a lot of intent in writing the songs and making them specifically work as a trio. We also just work really well together; Lilly and I have always had a really great, fun, musical dynamic. Mark and I have been playing music together since we were 16, and when it’s the three of us together, it just kind of flows.

This feels like a break up record. Is that the case?

LC: It is not a break up record! I guess I can see why you would think that. It’s actually more about personal/internal struggles and social anxiety!

MG: I think all of these songs have some of the same elements that you’d find in a “break up” song or record. As someone who played zero part in writing any of the lyrics, I view much of them to symbolize an emotional awakening of both one’s self and of the influence we allow others to have on ourselves.

In this time of uncertainty, what brings you solace within your music?

LC: Honestly, I haven’t played any music or written any songs since the shelter-in order. I did actually feel like this EP was just appropriate to release in these times as everyone is feeling uneasy and it’s kind of, as you mentioned, a more serious work. I guess for myself personally it just hasn’t felt like the right time to be writing anything because I think it would be a little too…doom and gloom, we’re all going to die vibes, and I just don’t feel like diving into that right now. We all process in different ways and I’m sure that many people will be creating some great music in these times, I’m just not there.

ZH: For me, playing our music, listening to music I love, especially music by all the people we’re fortunate enough to be close to, is just an amazing reminder of the great things we do have: our friends, our families, our communities, our art. Nothing makes me feel more comfortable and “normal” than listening to and making music.

MG: I feel infinitely grateful to have always been around amazing musicians that push me in ways I’d never be able to push myself otherwise. Being someone who’s always been more adept at producing riffs and not picking parts/transitions, rather than writing lyrics and melodies, it’s even more apparent to me at a time like this how much I really need Chicken Happen in my life. I mean, it’s only been two weeks since our last show and I’m already feeling a gaping hole where band practice used to be. 

What are you going to do the first day we're all allowed back outside!?

LC: Probably stay home! Some chill backyard hangs with a couple of friends sounds really nice right about now.  

MG: Low key outdoor hangs with a few people sounds perfect.

ZH: Fire up the keg and hit up the practice space!

When you get to do a release show for Maybe I'm The Problem what would be your dream venue and openers?

LC: So we actually had just booked our EP release show at Empty Bottle on May 3rd with Ordinary Reaper (They are members from FKR JR’s new band) and Rad Payoff!! We had JUST locked in the bill as the pandemic and shelter orders were being announced…so who knows what will happen now. I’m not sure if this show is going on anymore and I haven’t heard anything about it either way.