Interview: Chastain By: L’gia Ferreira of Heaven Is Not Too Far Magazine

Hintf:Thank you for this interview, let's go back in time to the beginning, how did you meet Mike Varney and how was it to work with him?
David T. Chastain: Mike had a column in Guitar Player magazine and I submitted some instrumental music to him. Then later he wanted to hear some vocal songs with CJSS. He liked the music but wasn't in love with CJSS and suggested we put together a new band and record a few records. He put me in touch with Leather. I enjoyed working with Mike and still have a business relationship with him even after all this time.

Hintf: At that time what was the meaning of Heavy Metal for you and what inspired you to play guitar?
David T. Chastain: At that time most of all of the icons of metal had already released numerous albums. Sabbath, Dio, Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Accept, Ozzy, Uli Roth/Scorpions and others. What originally inspired me to play guitar was the sound of the lead guitar in songs. I was always drawn to that for some reason or another. Fortunately I had friends who were also starting out so we "learned" together thru jamming.

Hintf: When you started recording Mystery Of Illusion it was the first time all the band members met, how did it feels to play with people you haven't met before and how was the chemistry between you since the very first beginning?
David T. Chastain: We were all very excited about getting a record deal and recording an album together. That album has a lot of raw energy generated from that excitement. Musicians usually get along pretty well at first. Only when you have to live with people 24/7 do personalities and behaviors really start to clash. So just meeting someone in the studio as the first meeting is a good thing. Of course I still work with Leather Leone and Mike Skimmerhorn on the most recent Chastain albums as I did on the early ones.

Hintf: What is your view on the metal scene today?
David T. Chastain: To be honest I am not 100% up to speed on what is popular in Metal. Sometimes I look at radio playlists and only recognize about 25% of the band names. I never have been overly tuned in to what is going on in the music scene. I was always more interested in "composing in a vacuum" than hearing something and that accidentally influencing my music. Today when I buy new Cds I listen once. I use them more as examples of audio levels and Eqs when I go to mix and master new recordings. Of course there are many amazing bands out there both new and old.

Hintf: Nowadays what inspires you to compose? Have you been working on new material, can we expect a new album soon?
David T. Chastain: Fortunately and unfortunately, new music flows out of me every time I pickup a guitar, or really any instrument. I am sure I have at least 1000 hours of songs/song ideas that will never be released. It is like a water faucet that can't be turned off. With that said I decided 2018 would be the year of reissues and the release of some of those recordings I have hidden away in the archives. We have already released a newly discovered Chastain Harris album I found. Also we are releasing 2 CJSS demo albums. We have 3 older Chastain albums coming out on vinyl: The 7th of Never, The Voice of the Cult & In An Outrage. Plus Mark Shelton (Manilla Road) and I recorded some songs back in the "old days" and we are going to be releasing that demo before the end of the year. That one is quite special!

Hintf: Maybe you have plans for a tour in the future?
David T. Chastain: I am 99% sure I won't be touring any time in the near future. Maybe I will play a special show once a year. I much prefer the studio. When I am touring all I think of is "I should be home recording." I feel a recording is your true legacy. The reissues of those older Chastain albums proves my point.

Hintf: As a musician what do you think of your evolution throughout all this years?
David T. Chastain: I think I have my own sound and style of writing so when someone hears a Chastain song they have no doubt who it is. We don't sound like any other band. I think we have had a pretty consistent catalog. The evolution is more in how the music is recorded. For instance our drummer Stian Kristoffersen has played on numerous albums of mine or produced but I have never met him once in person.

Hintf: What got you into production?
David T. Chastain: Money! Not me making money but paying other people to do something that I could do myself. I own a couple of record companies (Leviathan Records & Diginet Music) and we never could justify paying a big time producer. Would I like to work with one someday? Maybe... on someone else's record. As long as you have a good engineer to help, a band should be able to produce themselves. They are the ones who really know what they are trying to create. Certainly some producers can add ideas that are very worthy to help young bands and artists. I really could never produce a band whose music I didn't really like. So my production work has happened because of necessity and/or the desire to present my music with my own vision not someone else's.

Hintf: As a producer what are the projects you're working on at the moment?
David T. Chastain: As I mentioned previously in 2018 I am concentrating on mixing, mastering and editing some of the ancient stuff that is actually quite good but for one reason or another we never released it back in the old days or in some cases even recorded it in a real studio. While some of those demos don't sonically sound super pro there is some really good music no one has yet heard. A few years back I decided not to take on any outside production work and just concentrate on my own music.

Hintf: Do you have any interesting stories or events to share from your career and the bands you played with?
David T. Chastain: Once in a concert I broke a guitar string and we couldn't find the spare guitars! After about 15 minutes of dead silence we found them under the drum riser. Needless to say "Quiet embarrassing!" We did big shows with Sabbath, Kiss and Alice Cooper and they were all pretty nice guys but they severely limited us on what we could play, how long and what equipment we could use. (Lights and PA)

Hintf: I have no further questions, do you want to leave a message for our readers?
David T. Chastain: Thanks for reading. For more info you can always go to www.leviathanrecords.com



















WE BLEED METAL 17 Vinyl Lp!!

More Photos! Lyrics Interviews

CHASTAIN LEATHER Era Music!











David T. Chastain & Leather's Facebook Pages

Chastain News!

CHASTAIN T-Shirts!

Southern Gentlemen Firewind Joe Stump Chastain David T. Chastain Zanister CJSS Joe Stump's Reign of Terror Vainglory Kenziner Leather Michael Harris John Hahn Full Circle
Videos Interviews Home