Interviews: Tha Feedback Talks With Chester Gregory

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Chester Gregory sings “I Only Have Eyes 4 U” Live for Tha Feedback

Introducing to most and presenting to others Chester Gregory. This new, yet not, artist is bringing his distinctive mark to the R&B world with his new album In Search of High Love. Coming from Broadway success and a deep rich and varied musical background, his ample range and grown and sexy approach to music make his debut album a pleasurable listen.

In a time of independent success and shrinking major labels, Chester is stepping out on his own and hoping that you will be convinced that his voice is one you want to hear on a daily basis. We talked about a lot in our interview, from his success on Broadway, his humble beginnings outside of the traditional “black gospel” church, and to how he adapts quickly from stage to studio and back.

A tireless hustler, a gentleman, a talented vocalist and musical force to be reckoned with — these are all the things that describe Chester Gregory. It was a great interview and he dropped lots of knowledge, so it’s lengthy! We talked about 30 minutes!

Check out an exclusive clip of him singing a snippet of his single “Only Have Eyes 4 U” above and peep the rest of the interview after the jump!

Tha Feedback: I noticed and I wanted to bring this up first, but I noticed in your bio that it seems that you made a specific point to say that you weren’t trained vocally in the church, which I think most people assume for a lot of R&B singers. Why did you choose specifically to point that out?

Chester Gregory: Well I guess it was a little bit different, I think. I grew up in a Lutheran church and I think sometimes, people hear me kind of sing like raw or whatever and they would sometimes assume that I grew up singing in church. But my first time singing in church was much later. It was just a little funny you mentioned this because I talked about this with a friend of mine yesterday. We just had a little hymn. So everybody would read out the book. They all had that ending that [SINGS]. And that would be the ending of everything.

TFB: Right.

CG: I wasn’t even really inspired to sing from the Lutheran church, so to speak. I wanted to point that out and to spread some information that was maybe a little bit different about my story and where I was just sort of really, really inspired by entertainers.

TFB: Okay. I grew up Pentecostal, but I have a lot of friends who didn’t. So, it’s always interesting because they are late to the game from my perspective. They always seem to catch up eventually. I was wondering if it was something like that. One of my best friends grew up Methodist. So, that’s what even made me ask the question because he reminds me vocally of you.

CG: No. But I, I did end up singing in church later. I was in college and THEN I joined the Pentecostal church. So I got a chance to experience some real good singing… [LAUGHS]

TFB: Right. Gotcha.

CG: … in college. When I was going around to the churches and stuff like that, I was actually over gospel choir in college. It was called The Love [unintelligible] Gospel Choir. That was actually when I first started getting my first little niche at like songwriting and stuff like that because actually the first songs that I ever wrote were, besides a few R&B songs here and there, were a lot of gospel songs. So, a lot of times, I struggled with oh, okay, am I gonna be a gospel artist or not or whatever. You sing a lot of gospel songs and a lot of artists in the church always kind of struggle with that that arc, or that fork in the road. That place of “okay, well am I gonna sing gospel music or am I gonna sing R&B music?” I definitely went through that.

TFB: Yeah, I’m more than familiar with the same exact struggles that you are talking about right now. So I feel you.

CG: It’s interesting that you mention that my tone was like some friends you have that are Methodist because when I first started singing it was just a really, really pure tone. I didn’t even have any vibrato. I would sound like Sade, just real straight tone.

CG: One time when Ledisi was in town, I was just going from straight tone to vibrato, from tremolo, which is running fast vibrato and the wobble, which is like the, a lot of the gospel songs or whatever. It’s just funny to kind of play with the vibrato and I just use it now as a tool to really help convey the message of the song I’m singing.

TFB: Right. I got you. I understand. Have you learned how to squall yet?

CG: Squall, a little bit. I’m not a real, real squaller like, like Fantasia or something like that. But I try to hit up a little of ahhh and then come on right on back down because I don’t want to damage my voice. [LAUGHS]

TFB: Okay. So let’s, let’s talk about your album a little bit…

CG: Uh, the album is called In Search of High Love and um, it’s been three years in the making. When I put together this project it was originally a demo project that I was working on for record [label] heads. So, I went around, did the record execs and they kind of wanted me to just pursue the super duper R&B dude [persona]. Just really, pretentious and all that stuff. And I just was not interested in that.

So, I scratched the project and I ended up keeping the songs, “High Love” and “Question.” Those songs being opposite subject matter, I didn’t know what the album was gonna be or how the album was gonna work. But I knew I wanted those two songs.

So, I got to the studio and just wrote and wrote and met AFTA-1, who’s one of my main producers on the album. He also did the artwork. He helps me with everything.

CG: So, AFTA-1, J. Most, PJ Morton and a few other people on this project. Just people who, I’ve been fans of their work and fans of their music for a while. I asked them to help me with this project and they did.

TFB: Okay.

CG: While I was writing the album, I read a line that it was a journey in love. A complete 360 degree cycle. I’m just like okay, this album itself is a journey and that’s when the title came to me.

TFB: Yeah, that, the title cut, I was reading it and my mind wanted to go, In Search of a Higher Love. But I noticed that you said, “high love”. So explain that a little bit for me.

CG: Well, I would think that people get high or whatever to go into a higher form of consciousness. And so with my album being called, high love, in search of high love, I want to just emphasize that I’m talking about the highest point of consciousness and the highest form of love. I mean, some people call God the Most High. So, if we’re referencing high love, I just really wanted to just use kind of a play on words and just have a little phrase that I think summed up the entire album. It’s also a view of the songs kind of coming together. The title song is “Search In.”

TFB: Right.

CG: And we have the “High Love” in the middle. So, In Search of High Love, but the last song on the album is called, “You.”

TFB: Mmmhmm.

CG: So again, it’s about that journey. So, the answer is actually where you start — “search in”, and then “you”, then that’s where you’ll find the answer. So, it’s not anybody else, all these internal things, when you go through the ups and downs of love, the answer’s got to start with you. And then you’re able to love somebody the way you need to.

TFB: That’s dope. That’s dope. Okay. I love that. I love that there’s a complete story behind it and not that you threw some songs together that you think you sound good on. You know what I’m saying? I love that.

CG: Well, I wanted to really put together a conceptual album. So I wanted each song to sort of relate to the next and just going on a long journey. I’m glad that people are really, really enjoying the project and letting me know that what their favorite songs are and all that stuff.

TFB: So what is the most difficult thing about being an independent artist, as you’re kind of new to this, in terms of promoting your own album and the like?

CG: Money and the lack thereof [LAUGHS]. Everybody’s giving you the money story. Okay. I would have to go and do the album and you would think by me performing on Broadway that some doors would automatically be open. Actually, in the music world, some people are close-minded, and rightfully so, because there’s been some failure in some Broadway crossover artists. “I sing on Broadway every night, so now I must do an album.” And so you’ll do an album and it’s corny. I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to really hit the studio and take away the singing to the back row that I do eight shows a week for 1500 people and pull in the intimacy for the listener when they’re playing the album.

CG: What got me tired was that I had another obstacle that probably some people didn’t have, doing the eight shows a week, and then I would come into the studio after the eighth show or whatever that week, go into the studio at midnight, record ’til like four or so in the morning, then getting up the next day doing all I had to do for rehearsal.

TFB: Mmmhmm.

CG: Then the show — you can’t have a decent show. Every person’s paying anywhere between twenty dollars to a hundred and twenty dollars to see you perform. So you gotta deliver. And then go to the studio and find the intimacy again. So for me, it was about trying to find a rhythm and get the pace right.

TFB: Wow. I thought you might’ve had some downtime and you were working on the album when you weren’t performing on the stage. I didn’t know you were doing both simultaneously.

CG: Yeah I was doing both simultaneously and, and doing three different shows on Broadway when I was recording that album.

TFB: That’s a lot of work. So are you involved in any productions right now or are you just focusing on your album?

CG: I’m just focusing on the album right now. I have some tour dates coming up. I’m playing around in New York and Jersey and then, I’m getting out to Chicago, Seattle, and to LA all at some point this summer. I’m gonna play in the DC area too.

TFB: Musicals & Broadway shows require so much from the actors and those involved in them. What is your favorite aspect of being in a musical and what is your least favorite: the singing, the dancing, the memorization of your lines, what you like, what don’t you like?

CG: My favorite thing about performing on stage, not just in musicals, but just period being on stage is that there is no take two. So when something happens it’s all about how you recover. Believe it or not, most times when things happen, the audience is with you because they’re like, uh oh, what’s gonna happen now. That’s when you really have to think fast, you got to be smart, and you have to be intuitive and you gotta be honest, all at the same time. If you recover right, you actually win the audience easier than if you work for [it], because now that something’s happened, they’re all sensitive, they’re off-scene and it takes away a lot of the “okay, I’m watching you, I’m judging you” element. “Oh wow, oh that was cool how they did that” or “that’s alright, I tripped down the steps this morning [too].”

TFB: Right.

CG: I think that’s the part I really, really like about being on the stage, is that ease. You gotta make it work. For theatre, the part I like least is when the creative team would want an actor or a performer to fit into a square peg and not bring any of your individualism to a character or to a role. I just think it’s more beneficial for people to discover what’s special about themselves even as actors or performers rather than try to imitate someone else, and try to be someone else or to have limitations on things.

TFB: How did you personalize roles like the Jackie Wilson Story? How did you personalize that and make it your own?

CG: Well, I studied Jackie Wilson like crazy for a about a month, month and a half. I reviewed footage of him over and over. This is before YouTube. [LAUGHS] The artistic director of the Black Ensemble Theatre gave me all kinds of videotapes and stuff. I would just watch them non-stop and pick up every nuance. Then, about two weeks before the show, I stopped watching the tapes and just allowed my own intuition to sort of lead me. I don’t want to be an imitation or anything like that. I just wanted to celebrate who Jackie Wilson was. And that ended up being a much stronger position for me because people were seeing me do these nuances and stuff like that, but they would also pick up that you’re really celebrating who he is as opposed to being a carbon copy, even though we’re doing a tribute to his story.

TFB: Do you find it more challenging to vocally step into a character or more challenging to step into the character via costumes and learning their mannerisms and etcetera?

CG: I think it all depends on the role or the show. For me it’s just about finding what you bring as a performer and as a talent yourself. Just seeing if that works with what the director wants or what the music director wants, and incorporating those things to really make something strong and unique.

TFB: So, I see that you’ve fallen into the clutches of Twitter.

CG: Oh yup. Yup. Sure have. [LAUGHS]

TFB: So obviously, you seem pretty plugged in terms of social media and web 2.0. Are you embracing all these things to get the word out about yourself?

CG: You gotta stay current. A friend of mine who criticized me a couple of years ago for Facebook just joined and they were like but you’re not on Twitter are you? And I was like yeah. I’m on Twitter. And he was like why? I’m like dude, you gotta stay current. [LAUGHS]

TFB: Yeah. You do. You do, especially when you’re trying to get your stuff out there.

CG: So yeah. I’m staying current. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, I’m even still on MySpace. That’s, that’s the best one for the music. They’re all under my name, Chester Gregory.

TFB: I feel like there’s not a lot of cultural exposure, if you’re an African American, to Broadway and stage productions.

CG: I would say what’s lacking right now in terms of African Americans in musical theatre particularly are original stories. We need more people like us to tell our own stories. So, those writers, those, those directors, those producers all need to come together so we can have more of our stories to share.

More often than not, there’s stories where the black character is the fat kid or it’s always you know the, the quote, end quote, the happy negro role, where they’re just happy to be alongside somebody Caucasian and help them out throughout the spot. At the end of the show, they help the central character towards success and the black sidekick, so to speak, is sort of left on one plane the entire time.

That’s been an issue that’s been up for discussion for some time and especially in my heart as well. I’ve played some musicals where my character was the sidekick, the one helping the central character. I do miss those days when I did Jackie Wilson when there was a true arc; we need those writers, those playwrights. Put together some stories and let’s get them produced and let’s even it up a little bit.

I’ve been thinking. I’m glad, really happy with America and the way America is going. They opened their eyes and embraced a Black president. It seems like some new ideas are being accepted. I was just thinking, I can’t wait to see that happen on Broadway, on the “Great White Way.” Let’s add some color up in there.

TFB: So, typically bloggers ask who’s your favorite artist. I’m going to sidestep that question and ask you who are some of your favorite composers in terms of musicals and that whole genre?

CG: Marc Shaiman is one of my favorite composers. He is brilliant. He wrote Hairspray. Everything from Hairspray to South Park to Sleepless in Seattle, he’s worked on. I would say he hands down is my favorite sort of world-known composer.

TFB: Now that you’re trying to break into the Billboard charts, who are some of your favorite kind of current Top 40 artists?

CG: That’s a tough one because I’m a throwback. I’m an old school kid. So, like in my ipod I’m playing the Marvin Gaye Here, My Dear album. I do love a lot of great artists of this time and day and age. I love Ledisi. I love a lot of vocalists: Rachelle Farrell, Lalah Hathaway, Rahsaan Patterson, Eric Benet, Jazmine Sullivan…I like P!nk! Ever since P!nk been rock. I didn’t get the R&B thing and neither did she, but when she hit the rock thing, I mean, she’s an amazing songwriter.

TFB: Do you find that it’s easier for you to get on stage and sing eight times a week to 1600 people or are you finding it easier to do promos for your album and be on stage and tour behind that?

CG: Right now, I prefer to do my album. [LAUGHS] It’s just finding a balance with everything. When I was on stage doing eight shows a week — it was wonderful being on Broadway. I do not want to downplay that at all because it was a wonderful experience. What I would have to say with that though is that was a part of my journey. That was not my destination. For some people, that’s their destination. That’s it. They want to become a Broadway actor and when they do, that’s it. They reached that goal. My goal has always been entertainment. I wanted to be an entertainer. So, it’s Broadway, its albums, it could be a movie, it could be whatever. This album is me sharing my story. Me singing the songs the way I want to sing ‘em. Me singing songs that I composed and me sharing the message of love that I have experienced personally.

TFB: How did you get into Broadway if that wasn’t your goal in the beginning?

CG: Well, it’s always been my goal to be an entertainer. It was all encompassing to me. Music, stage, theatre, all of it was one thing to me. I never really viewed them as individual things. It wasn’t until I went to a performing arts high school and they were like okay so which one do you want to do and I was like oh I gotta pick one? [LAUGHS] I want a Tony, I want a Grammy, I want an Oscar. I want it all.

I was doing the Jackie Wilson Story and I was seen by the producer of Hairspray and three weeks later I was in the show. That’s pretty much how it happened. I didn’t have the different stories you hear where folks were in cattle calls and stuff like that. I covered a lot of stories and artists of the 60s, including The Flamingos, which is how I discovered the song, “Eyes for You.” I wanted to do that song as a remake. Telling those stories was sort of how I paved my way to my musical theatre career.

TFB: Okay. And I gotta tell ya. My man, that cover, absolutely fantastic. Absolutely.

CG: Oh thank you, man.

TFB: It’s just out of this world. I’ve never heard that song sung quite like that. Hands down, you and your producer, because you said AFTA-1 did that song?

CG: Yup. Unh huh.

TFB: Ya’ll put your foot in that, for real!

CG: [LAUGHS] Thank you, man. Yeah. “I Only Have Eyes For you” was like one of my favorite songs of all time and I wanted to pay tribute to that song in a special kind of lil’ hip hop-ish way. Like Lauryn Hill did when she did “Killing Me Softly” and “You’re Just Too Good to Be True”. It was like a double old school tribute.

TFB: Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it!

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