All photo credit: Charles Holt
Chas Willix has been there and back again as an artist, from growing up in Florida to living and performing in Nashville. All while maintaining a love for emo and punk music. Now based in Raleigh, he’s finally investing time and the passion for those genres into Over & Over.
If you read our recent conversation with Lizzie Lakes, you already know one half of the story. Chas is the producer and partner behind that project, but Over & Over is where his sensibilities and songwriting style take the lead.
The two projects share a bedroom studio, a DIY ethos, and a deep well of sincerity, but they pull in opposite directions. Where Lizzie Lakes leans into stillness and softness, Over & Over crashes through the door like blink-182 filtered through Midwest emo. With a debut EP on the way, there’s no better time to meet the man behind the five-piece and what made Raleigh the right place to pull the project off.
What have you been listening to lately?
Chas: Me and Liz actually just saw Disclosure when they played at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh. My three-year-old is really into them too, so we’ve been bumping them lately. It’s funny, because I typically listen to punk, emo, and indie. I don’t really talk about house music much, but I secretly love it.
As you’ve gone down the rabbit hole of emo and Midwest emo, do you lean toward older or newer stuff?
Chas: It’s mostly new, actually. There was a show Liz and I went to, and it had basically all the Midwest emo bands I listen to right now: Riley, Carly Cosgrove, and Saturdays at Your Place. They’re all kind of similar in certain ways, a little less of the American Football super-technical guitar riffs, more melodically driven. Almost more pop-punk in a way. Less mathy, more pop-punk. But it always kind of boils down to blink-182, to be honest. Whenever I’m making music, I’m like, “How can I make my guitar sound more like blink?”
Were they the first band you got obsessed with?
Chas: They were definitely one of them. The first band for me was Relient K. I grew up pretty conservative, so my parents would let us listen to Christian music, and my brother bought this CD from the Christian bookstore. It had a smashed limo on the cover and was Relient K‘s Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right… but Three Do, which has this borderline ska, pop-punk, very California energy. That record really shaped me as a creative in ways I’m only now hearing as I make this music.
I’ve waited a long time to make punk music; it’s always been indie pop or some form of pop before this. But now that I’m making it, I can hear the Relient K melodies coming through.
What was the catalyst that pushed you toward emo and punk after years of indie stuff?
Chas: Liz and I used to live in Nashville. We were there about four years, moved there right after getting married, straight out of college, and knew no one. We were playing shows under our indie band Willix, which has been on hiatus for years. Then COVID hit, and I didn’t exactly fall out of love with indie, but I stopped being as interested in it and started gravitating toward other stuff. First, it was hip hop. I was really into BROCKHAMPTON, Isaiah Rashad, Mick Jenkins, Earl Sweatshirt. I even started a hip hop project that’s still just sitting on my hard drive. But that whole process of experimenting made me realize I didn’t have to make indie pop every time I sat down to write.
Then, around the same time we started writing the first Lizzie Lakes songs, and after we moved back to Raleigh, I tried making my first punk song. I remember just thinking I should make it as fast as I could. And that became “Rats”, which is still our only song on streaming. I was a little reluctant to even try the genre at first, because I love it so much that I felt like if I’m going to make it, it needs to be really damn good. I can’t half-ass it. And I’m the most self-critical person you’ve ever met.
I’m literally working on the second single right now. It’s called “Saturdays with the Rats”. The whole EP is kind of rats-themed. I had pet rats as a kid. I love rats, and I thought it’d be funny to just make the entire band’s imagery around rats. One of the songs is called “Sarah,” which was my first rat’s name. All the other titles tie back to rats somehow, too. And yeah, all the merch will have rats on it.
So the project is a five-piece live, but how does it actually work? Who’s the core of it?
Chas: It’s kind of like a Tame Impala thing where it’s basically one guy, and then a live band. HALFNOISE is another good example; the drummer from Paramore has his own project where he makes psychedelic music and brings friends in to play live or appear on certain tracks.
For me, if I feel like a specific part needs a particular bandmate’s touch, I’ll just send it their way. All the drums are my buddy Chris Rainer. He’s actually in Nashville AND has a pretty grueling touring schedule playing for country and pop artists. Whenever he’s home for a few days, he tracks drums and sends them over. We have the same creative brain when it comes to drums — same taste in bands, same taste in drummers — so I don’t really have to over-explain what I want. Sometimes I’ll send him songs with drum references; other times I’ll send everything drumless on purpose and just say, go crazy.
The funny thing is he plays really tasteful, in-the-pocket country drums on the road, so I genuinely have to tell him, “No, dude, play out way more, you’re not going to get in trouble here.” Punk drums can be really flashy, and especially with the Midwest emo leanings, we have a lot of section transitions that need to breathe.
What’s the process of putting this EP together been like, and what’s the plan for releasing it?
Chas: The process has been long. I’m doing it all myself, with the exception of having bandmates come in to track when I need them, and Chris handling drums when he’s available. Right now, I have about four of the five songs in mix form. I’ve sent these mixes to people, and they’re like, “These are done, bro, just put them out,” but I know they can be better. So I’m taking my time.
I was planning to put the EP out this summer, but now I’m not so sure. The funny thing is I started this thinking it’s punk, but it can be loose, you know? And the more I’ve worked on it, the more I’m like, no, I actually want this to be really tight and high quality. People assume punk music is easier or sloppier, but it’s not like that at all. blink-182 is a great example; their stuff is incredibly tight. If you mess up on guitar, it’s very noticeable. So right now I’m thinking the next single should be done by the end of this month, out early summer, and possibly the EP in the fall.
How are you managing live shows without a consistent drummer?
Chas: Our next show is July 12th at Neptune’s. Funnily enough, I’m playing a Lizzie Lakes show there in May, then an Over & Over show in July. A lot of time at Neptune’s. We didn’t plan it that way.
I still don’t have a permanent drummer. The guy who was supposed to play for us has an insane work schedule. He does live sound for back-to-back events, just no flexibility. Once he gets something more flexible, he’s automatically back in, because he’s incredible. But for July, my good friend Kevin is filling in. He plays in about four different bands, which is also the problem. Every good drummer you find is already in three other bands. I feel bad even asking.
Are there other local or North Carolina artists you want to give a shout-out to?
Chas: For sure. Earther and Chiroptera were both on the bill at our first show. Earther are a really cool group of guys — they’ve got this Emery meets early Acceptance sort of sound, almost Saosin-esque. Their singer is just insane. Chiroptera are literally all under 18, and they were honestly the most punk band on that bill by a mile. They have big early Clash, Ramones energy, just fast and raw.
Some bands I would really love to play with are blankstate. and Weymouth. They’re a little more on the Midwest emo side. There aren’t a ton of emo or punk bands in Raleigh specifically. A lot of them are out of Charlotte but come through here regularly. But the scene here feels really open. People aren’t protective of their clique like they were in Nashville. Here I feel like I could walk up to literally anyone, say I love your music, and ask if they want to play a show, and they’d just say yeah. It’s not that deep.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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