CHRISTIAN FRENCH plays Constellation Room Feb. 29; press photo
Christian French has had a phenomenal rise to success in a short amount of time. And it all began from quite humble beginnings. “That’s a funny story actually,” he says. “My friend came into choir class – at the time I was in a school where you either had to be in band or choir class and I was in both for a year. So, he came into choir class one day and we learned “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles. He came in and had learned to play that from YouTube and showed me how he had learned it on piano. And I was like, ‘I can do that as well.’ So, I learned that song and just started learning how to play all my favorite songs.
“That was going on for a couple of years and I started putting my covers up on Soundcloud. Gradually, I just kept getting better at piano and started writing my own stuff. After I found I could write my own stuff, I just kept developing it more and more. Once I got to college, I started releasing music through Spotify and compilation via my college. And it was in my college town that I met my manager and we came out here and that’s where we are at now.”
Coming up with a name is sometimes one of the more challenging aspects to being a musical act, but often times the simplest route really is the best. “That was the debate for some time,” states French. “But Christian French is just my name and my music is genuine as myself; there’s always the thought of thinking about a different name but it just seemed to fit and that’s all I can really say.”
Inspiration can come from anywhere, and French has shown he seeks it in many of the unlikeliest places time and time again. “It varies from time to time,” he reveals. “Sometimes, I will mess around until I find some chords I like that go together or write lyrics that I get inspired from. Lately, I’ve been tapping into podcasts and reading a lot of stuff from self-help books and taking away the main points from them – trying to apply those to my music and see If I can write a story around it.”
CHRISTIAN FRENCH; press photo
The concept behind Bright Side Of The Moon is simple yet powerful. “It’s based off this idea of consistently focusing on the bright side of things rather than letting all the negativity take over,” explains French. “That was kind of the theme of it, because from my own experiences and being in bummer situations one day I realized that I didn’t have to be so bummed out. It’s all about a change of attitude, and after I realized that a lot of things started changing for me for the better.
“I started taking the good things out of situations rather than being stuck on the past. I started seeing so much improvement in my life that I wanted to write about it and pass the knowledge along. And that’s what Bright Side of the Moon really is, and what the whole tour is about.
“We released Bright Side of the Moon last August. We hit a lot of towns on that one but not as many as I wanted to, so we are bringing it back around so I can hit all the places we didn’t get to last fall.”
Every artist has something that drives them, something that they are extremely proud of: “The reaction to it,” he describes. “My thing with music is as long as I’m having a positive impact on people’s lives is all I really care about. The response to my songs was so motivating…and not everyone who has this type of knowledge is going to know they can do all these things, and just putting it out there for people to realize has been amazing. I’ve heard so many great and life changing stories from fans who have taken it to heart.”
In addition to that is the sheer joy of playing live for his fans. “It’s just a whole other connection to the music,” French illustrates. “Being there with fans who I’ve talked to for months over social media, finally getting to see them live and rocking out with them… there’s just no feeling to compare it to. I mean, we have live drum and live guitar so it’s just a new energy for them to experience. Last tour was the first time I got to bring a drummer out with us and that just created a whole new vibe.
“There’s a couple that are always a lot of fun to play. “By Myself” is one that everybody knows, and I always have fun with. The same goes for “Love Ride,” and both those songs have a lot of energy to them. And then, one of my personal favorites is “Head First”. Every time I play it, it’s such a rocking song. So those would be three favorites I love to play.”
Getting ready for the next show is a constant process for every touring band, and each always finds their own unique way of combating the pre-show jitters. “We kind of do our own thing to try and get into the zone,” conveys French. “My thing is I go into a bathroom and start warming up – start stretching, going over my lines, and getting into a zone where I’m not thinking about anything else. Then a few minutes before a show we will get together, talk about the show, and a have little huddle to establish a base.”
The future looks bright for French as well, who is already extremely busy forging ahead. “I just started releasing this cycle of music and just released a song called “Time Of Our Lives,” he asserts. “We are going to continue releasing music this March/April and over the next couple of months. And are also going to be on this tour for the Spring as well. After that, the focus is going to be on doing a lot of college shows and hopefully be back on the road in the fall. I also plan on releasing a lot more music before the year is over as well. I’m super excited for 2020 and getting all of this stuff out there.”
Catch Christian French on his Bright Side of the Moon Tour Part Two tour, when he plays the Constellation Room on February 29th!