Central Virginia's People: Local musician Michael Chagnon compiles works into new release

Lynchburg-based singer/songwriter Michael Chagnon has just released his first nationally distributed album compiling his music from the past several years.

“Michael Chagnon” is a 13-song collection spanning from acoustic-folk inspired numbers to larger, fuzzy-electric rockers. In addition to significant touring in promotion of the album, Chagnon has kept busy co-producing an EP from his friend Geoffrey Osborne and also maintaining a blog highlighting Lynchburg’s developing live-music scene.

The new self-titled album is a compilation, pulling your best work from the past several years. Is this the formal introduction of your songs to a larger audience?

Yes, it is an introduction to my work as a composer spanning the past several years. As a performer in a previous group I was fortunate enough to get a couple of my songs played nationally on MTV (which are included on this release), so that was definitely my first foray on to the national stage, but this is the first nationally distributed album that I have released on my own.

Since “Michael Chagnon” is coming out on physical CD as well as mp3, do you have an allegiance to the idea of an album — a cohesive collection of songs to be heard in specific order, complete with artwork and linter notes?

I wouldn’t use the word allegiance, but I definitely have an appreciation and respect for an album that is put together in such a way that it can be taken in as a whole work of art. I did pay specific attention to the order of songs on my compilation because that’s how I enjoy listening to music.

Personally I prefer listening to entire albums from beginning to end rather than the currently popular model of distribution (i.e. downloading one song at a time) that everything seems to be heading toward. However, I’m also a realist and I want to give my fans the music the way they want it. I’d love to release something on vinyl in the future.

How has the constantly shifting music industry affected your approach to releasing music?

Maintaining a presence in general has become easier and easier with the proliferation of technology. The major labels have a serious problem and I think musicians are now in a great place to take advantage of that and create their own path for success. In a way, the Internet has fostered a new renaissance similar to the explosion of arts following the invention of the printing press.

“Gwynneth” was featured on MTV during their reality-show programming. How did that get set up and do you feel that exposure saw a major increase in your audience?

I am constantly searching for new opportunities. MTV was looking for music from independent musicians and I happily licensed it to them. As I recall it was a fairly broad license, so it could have popped up anywhere on the network and I would not have known about it. Luckily I had MTV on in the background while I was on the phone with a friend and I was completely flabbergasted when it aired. It helped me gain exposure and an audience that I would have otherwise never had and opened many other doors.

“The Only One” is the newest recording from this record and shows a much bigger, and electric direction for you. Is this indicative of where you want to head musically?

I am all over the place musically, but I’ve always loved the sound of a jangly, distorted, electric guitar with a little hiss and feedback for good measure. While I try to have some semblance of an idea that I want to get across and match up the music to the message, I usually just let it flow out of me (so there are many bits and pieces I pull from whatever is going on around me) and when I’m done I look over what I have created and if it still grabs me after a couple weeks, I keep it in my archives. I have over 300 songs stored away.

What songwriters have had specific influence on your lyrics? What are some of your favorite records that have come out in the past few years?

I am always searching for new music. Lyrics have become increasingly important whereas before it was always about the sound. My favorite group has always been The Beatles. When I was much younger I used to wake up wicked early and blast their 45s (vinyl singles) and annoy the hell out of a lot of people.

Recently I have gotten a ton of lyrical and musical inspiration from groups like Bright Eyes, Band of Horses, The Bees, The Silver Seas, Beulah, Dr. Dog, Cold War Kids, The Format and Neutral Milk Hotel to name a few. I just finished reading Eric Clapton’s biography, and I’m becoming obsessed with the blues (and Robert Johnson) once again.

You also run a Web site dedicated to the music scene in Lynchburg (appropriately titled www.lynchburgmusicscene.com). How do you feel about the music scene in your town?

There are so many great musicians around here that I’d love to see everyone come together and put on great performances (we should be seeing two or three local acts on the same bill playing together around here!), collaborate together and in general just support each other and help bring in other acts from out of town to boost the local scene.