The Chesterfield Kings’

Crawdaddy!

The Chesterfield Kings’ Long Road to the Throne (Wicked Cool)

Longtime E-Streeter and part-time consigliore Little Steven Van Zandt launched the Underground Garage—a nationally-syndicated radio show that resurrected garage rock in all of its forms. The two-hour show was initially broadcast in just over 30 US cities, but its popularity grew quickly, and before long its range extended to more than 100 cities nationwide.

As a result, the Chesterfield Kings, who were now in their early 40s, were a hot commodity again. Little Steven took a personal interest in the band, a whole new audience was exposed to their music, and unprecedented opportunities began to emerge.

“Steven was the catalyst for a lot of things,” Prevost recalls. “His power and his influence brought several people into the mix who normally wouldn’t have a clue who we were. He was spearheading his show on Sirius in addition to the FM show, and people all around the country from 13 to 65 were listening again. That made a big difference.”

“He’s been a great friend and he’s helped us immensely,” Babiuk adds. “I mean, here’s a guy who’s not doing these things for money. He’s doing them because he believes in Chesterfield Kings: Photo by Joseph Rotolosomething. He believes the genre of rock ‘n’ roll is disappearing because corporate industry has laid it by the wayside. And he’s a musician himself, so he’s been in the trenches and he understands all the pitfalls. That’s why he can relate to what other bands are going through.”

The Mindbending Sounds of the Chesterfield Kings was released in August of 2003. Appearances on The Sopranos, Jimmy Kimmel, and (eventually) Conan O’Brien would follow. And by the time 2007’s Psychedelic Sunrise hit music stores, the Chesterfield Kings were on a roll.

“It’s suddenly become financially viable for us to be in a band again,” Babiuk says. “I also think we have higher standards as far as writing and production go, because Steven’s producing us now and he has higher standards.”

“If someone would have told us we’d be in this position five years ago, I would have said no way,” Prevost confesses. “Right before Steven came along, the thought entered my mind like, ‘What the fuck are we doing?’ You can go in the same direction for a long time and after a while you start to wonder if people really care. But Steven came along and kicked down the doors. In many ways, he brought the spotlight back on us, more or less.”

Psychedelic Sunrise is the band’s first record on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label, a move that guarantees the LP proper distribution and backing. Sunrise runs the gamut from garage to glam, punk to acid, Townshend to Richards, Moon to Jagger, the MC5 and beyond—and it confirms that, after 30 years in the music business, the Chesterfield Kings are just now recording the best music of their lives.

“Greg and I, Paul (our guitar player), and Mike (our drummer), we all really like the same kind of music, which is why I think the last couple of records have worked out really well,” Babiuk explains. “When you get four guys thinking identically, you’re likely to come up with something that’s really hip and kind of cool. Unlike some bands who just get together and play music, we’re really invested in the culture of what we do. We know a lot about ’50s and ’60s rock and vintage television. I almost think you have to know a lot about music history in order to be a good musician. If your ideas come from things that are really strong and solid, it’ll reflect in your music. We don’t only like the kind of music we play, we study it.”

And so, what started out as nostalgia for a bygone era has grown into a full-blown revival. And what was once a passing gig for Andy Babiuk and Greg Prevost has evolved into their life’s work. There’s a renewed sense of optimism surrounding the band, its sound, and the possibility that garage rock as we know it shall not perish from the earth.

“When we first started out, finishing a record was a big deal,” Prevost confesses. “Being in a magazine was a big deal. But we’ve done that. You get to a point where you’ve done a lot of things and you go over to Europe and you’re a big star and eventually it’s like, ‘Who cares?’ In the past year, Steven has offered to put us on his label and we’ve released this new record and suddenly good things are happening again. It’s brought a whole new excitement to me and the band as a whole.”

“Things are different now,” Babiuk says. “These days I look forward to writing new songs and beginning that process again. The fact that people can actually get to hear what we’re doing and that we have the chance to tour isn’t only great, it’s fun again.”