Phatt James
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Phatt James -
Since their formation in 2018, Phatt James has made waves throughout Connecticut with their distinct alternative rock/ pop sound. The band quickly gained attention with the release of their debut album, “Just Begun,” in 2023. Now in 2024, Phatt James shows no signs of slowing down, promising even more exciting music and memorable shows in the future.
Interview by: Jessie Fuentes
How did each of you find your way to becoming musicians and what led you to form Phatt James together?
Matt James: Guitars intrigued me from an early age. My cousin and uncles definitely had an influence every time I’d see them play. I started in middle school and was inspired more frequently by my good friend Cal Kehoe. My dad always encouraged me to play as well. The band came together through our time at University of New Hampshire, at least Chris and I. Then we found out we grew up towns over from each other in CT. That brought us back here after school. Craigslist brought us the great Matty C. What a boss. And here we are.
Chris Wilson: I was introduced to music when I was around 5 years old, listening to bands like Rush and Dream Theater in the car with my dad! My mom also always played music in the car, but the drums in both of those specific bands drew me to that instrument. I got my first drum set when I was 8 and the rest is history! Fast forward to 2017, and I was introduced to Matt James through the guys in another band I was playing in at the time. Phatt James was playing a show with us one night and I immediately was HOOKED on their sound. So, when the opportunity arose to possibly take over as the new drummer of Phatt James, I pounced on it! It was the best decision I’ve ever made and now these guys are my brothers!
Matt Christoforo: I started with drums at school when I was young but always played around on guitar. When I was about 12 or 13 years old I picked up the bass for the first time and never looked back. From there, I played in a band called SELLER throughout high school and college. When that band started to slow down and eventually went on a hiatus, I found myself looking for more projects to get involved in. After filling in for a couple bands and doing some recording session work for people, I eventually got in touch with the boys in Phatt James and we immediately hit it off. Definitely grateful for the guys taking me in and being incredible friends and musicians.
Before Matt C. joined the band, what was your sound like? How did you all build on/reinvent that sound when you came together?
Matty J: Our sound wasn’t as full. Matty C brings a tone that is encompassing and bold. We need that kind of sound in our music. Matty C also brings some heavier riffs to the band and keeps us up on new sounds and music to be inspired by.
Do you guys have similar tastes in musical genres or are they drastically different?
Matty J: I would say that we all have similar tastes in that we are open to anything and what we don’t like, we all mostly agree. I think our foundational inspirations are different though.
Chris: I’d say we have both a collective taste as well as our own personal tastes. We all connect on bands from the ‘90s and ‘00s, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Incubus, but as for me, my personal taste is pretty wide. I listen mostly to heavy metal music, and I also have a massive appreciation for classical music.
Matty C: Yeah, like Chris said, I think we all kind of congregate in the middle with the ‘90s and ‘00s alt-rock stuff being our meeting point, but from there we all definitely go in different directions as far as our own personal tastes go. I tend to lean towards the more post hardcore/punk type bands, but I love more laid-back acoustic Americana type stuff as well as reggae, so I’m kind of all over the place.
For Matt J. and Chris, are there any noticeable differences you’ve encountered from playing in the New Hampshire music scene v.s. in CT?
Matty J: It is really just a different type of people and crowd. Both appreciate music and have a web of connections and both are fun to be a part of. I think that in CT we’ve really found more bands that sound like us. In some ways, I felt like our music didn’t fit the vibe of what was going on up in New Hampshire. Not to say we didn’t play some great shows with some great bands and have some awesome friends and fans.
Chris: In both areas, the reception to our live shows has been very overwhelming! Everyone has had so many nice things to say when they come out. But I think we are beginning to build a more loyal following down in the Connecticut area, which we are really excited about! And we hope to continue to build out into the surrounding states.
Chris: We are very lucky to be able to call Park City Music Hall a bit of a home hub for us now! Everyone we have dealt with over there has been incredibly gracious and welcoming, and honestly, in my opinion, it is the best local music venue in Connecticut. I will say, any time I step on that stage, I tend to have flashbacks from our album release show!
You guys seem really in sync with each other both on stage and off stage. How do you guys bring out the best in each other on stage?
Matty J: When I let myself go in the music and just enjoy it myself, I can definitely encourage the rest of the guys, I hope. I love to jam with Matty C on stage and be in that moment with him and Chris. Chris is always hype mode and that can bring you out of any funk.
Chris: This is an amazing question, thank you!! But I think we all just love playing music so much, so when we get to play together, there’s a synergy that comes out. We are so lucky to have found each other in the unique ways that we did, and we just have fun doing it. Off stage, I think that energy carries over. We all get along really well and we just really enjoy being together. I can’t wait to hit the road with these boys–I know we’ll have a blast together.
Matty C: Bands really are like being in a second family. Everyone in Phatt James has a very similar sense of humor and it makes for some pretty hilarious stuff at practices, as well as before, after, and sometimes even during shows. Spending so much time together, you start to anticipate each other's next moves, and that definitely has its advantages on stage and when writing. I feel like at any given point during a set I can look back at Chris and know when he’s about to hit a certain change in a song, and the same goes for Matty J when we are improvising parts out.
I caught your recent show at Park City Music Hall and you guys were great! How did it feel to be back at Park City since your album release?
What are some must-haves on your rider/backstage?
Matty J: Tea and honey is always good for me and a spot to unwind.
Chris: I definitely like a couple of Budweisers before we get on stage just to loosen up a little bit! Other than that, I’m not too picky, just a spot to do some warm ups and maybe some pushups haha.
Matty C: Love me my Bud Lights! I always thought it was so funny seeing the ridiculous things some big artists need on their riders. We’re simple guys though, so we don’t need much more than some beers and a place to hang out haha.
You recently released a music video for your single, “Seven Days,” and I gotta say the creative cupid storyline really added to the intensity and impatience in the song lyrics. Where did that concept come from?
Matty J: This concept came from Connor and Matt of Kicker Pictures. After reaching out to them about a music video and giving them their choice from the album, they unveiled this concept to us. We were immediately hyped on the idea and thought it would work very well.
Here’s what Kicker Pictures had to say, “We came up with the concept for the music video years ago and were just waiting for the right time to make it happen. When we listened to ‘Seven Days’ it just felt right and we were delighted that they loved the idea too. The idea of Cupid becoming lonely and down seemed to fit the feeling of the song as well as lyrically. It was really satisfying to shoot the video with everyone and build the story along to the music.”
How did you approach the songwriting process for “Seven Days?” I get the sense that this was one of those songs where the lyrics quickly comes pouring out.
Matty J: Yeah, that is very true. I usually take some time with lyrics, but this song, a lot of it was written very fast. I wanted to be more straightforward with this song after writing a string of poetic love songs.
Who are your dream collaborators? (Living or dead)
Matty J: Brandon Boyd, John Frusciante, John Butler Trio, Jeff Buckley, Gary Clark Jr., John Mayer, MGK.
Chris: I’d love to see us collaborate with Post Malone one day! I think his vocal style would mesh well with Matt’s. and I honestly just want to hang out with him. He seems like a good dude.
Matty C: I would love to do an album with Will Yip. Definitely one of my favorite engineers/producers out there. Every album he works on sounds huge, and I think the way our sound is evolving, he’d be an awesome guy to have work on our songs with us. As far as artists, I think hanging with John Mayer would be so cool. He’s a fellow CT guy and definitely one of my favorite songwriters, so just to jam and pick his brain would be so cool.
Matty J: We’ll have our same sound because this is still a song from a while ago, when a lot of “Just Begun” was written. We have made it a little heavier and I think that theme will continue with most of our new releases. We’re very excited to release more music and build our catalog of music.
We loved the little teaser of new music, “Step Taken,” you guys gave us at the show! What can fans look forward to with the new music?
Matty J: Sallys 100%
Chris: OOF!!! I gotta go with Pepe’s! Something about the crust to cheese ratio is something you can’t recreate. Absolutely immaculate, 10/10!
Matty C: I’m a New Haven guy, so this is a pretty regular debate around here. It’s Sally’s. The OG though, Wooster St or nothing!
We ask this of all of our Connecticut-native musicians, Sally’s, Modern, or Pepe’s Pizza? Or maybe somewhere else? We keep a running tally.