ION INDIE MAGAZINE October 2014, Volume 5 | Page 35

“Yeah, maybe we could have one song where I don’t sing stupidly high,” Lowery retorts with a laugh. She notes that the music
that Chameleon is currently writing, which will inevitably be the follow-up to “Monster,” will feature more of Ross in a lead
vocal capacity.
“This next release will feature Andrew a lot more, which I’m really excited about,” Lowery says. “It’s been a battle–you sing it;
no, YOU sing it.’ He’s really amazing as well.”
While looking ahead at the prospect of more new Chameleon music, Lowery and Ross look back at some of the moments that
lead them here, musically. While neither point out any past material as “favorites”, Lowery, in particular, admits that “L.A.
Chameleon” will always be special to her because it symbolically signaled the beginning of the band.
“We wrote that one in a bathroom in a hotel room in Saratoga, New York,” she recalls.
“We were working on it in there because it sounded better,” laughs Ross, provoking Lowery to the same reaction, quickly
clarifying the statement with a little levity to break a perceived awkward moment. “We weren’t just hanging out in there.”
“Something in The Water” is another track that still holds a significant memory for Lowery. She calls it an “epic” song, and
became even more so by adding additional musicians to the mix.
“With ASHA (MEVLANA, Trans-Siberian Orchestra violinist) coming in, adding a wonderful string arrangement, and AURELIEN
(BUDYNEK, Daredevil Squadron guitarist) blowing me away with a guitar arrangement–it was one those songs that became
bigger than what I ever thought it could be,” she says. “It was such a happy surprise.”
Ross notes that when they started writing the song “Something In The Water,” the structure consisted of simply two chords.
He was skeptical that the song could work with such an arrangement, but Lowery insisted that the song could indeed be built
upon with just those two chords.
“We just started adding layers,” Ross tells. “It was more of an experiment to see how many ways you can change the sound of
a song with only two chords, repetitively going back and forth.”
By contrast, the song “Anthem,” on the “Monster” EP was came about a bit more freely. “That was one of those songs that we
wrote in about ten minutes,” Lowery says. “It fell together quickly and people love it–it’s one of our best ones live. ‘Stay Wait’
(on “Monster”) is one of my babies, because it was really a throwaway song. I wrote it in January of that year (2013), and I kept
coming back to it throughout the year because I knew there was something special about it and had a lot of potential. That
song was my vision, and I was happy to see it executed so well.”
“When I first heard her version of the song I thought ‘yeah, ok; I don’t’ really get it, but it sounds really good,” Ross admits.
“We kept coming back to it, and the end result, it’s one of favorite songs on the EP.”
So what sparks this sense of musical wonderment, push, and desire for stylistic color within the band? Does the Bohemian
atmosphere and pulsing, creative current of their NYC surroundings influence Chameleon’s music?
“I find it incredibly creative,” Lowery says of her home base. “I like the busyness, and then I also like the quite. I like the
strangers, I like the neighbors, I like that there’s a huge dance scene; there are so many places to grab creativity from. There
are so many unique personalities, you see those crazy characters just walking down the street. Some people might find it
overwhelming, but I really like it.”
Ross conveys a slightly different take on the environment. “When I first got to New York, I didn’t have a band yet,” he says. “I
was waiting tables and bartending. In that respect, during those years, I wasn’t very creative. I was working long hours– coming
home, and going to sleep. I think you can be creative anywhere you are. If you can afford free time, your creativity is going to
blossom more than if you’re constantly working at something. There’s also so much to see here, and something going on all
the time–but there’s so much information coming at you, it’s easy to get distracted. It’s like if you go on iTunes or Spotify right
now–where do you start? New York is kind of like that.”
On the subject of creativity, does the band feel a creative difference when contrasting their experiences and thoughts on the
two existing Chameleon EP’s