Channel Bluff are a rising indie rock band in the Charleston music scene who you might have seen at local venues like the Windjammer, the Royal American, and soon, their Lo-Fi Brewing debut on Friday, January 17th. They formed less than a year ago, but have been friends for years, and are happy to embark on this musical journey together, and cultivate a community in the process.
I connected Evan Grove of Channel Bluff through Maren McGuire, who recently did a photo shoot with the band and captured one of their performances at the Royal American. Get to know Channel Bluff through our Q&A below, and check out their first two singles, “Self-Defense” and “Dire.”
Q&A with Evan Grove of Channel Bluff
Extra Chill: Who is Channel Bluff, and how did the band form?
Evan Grove: Channel Bluff is comprised of me, my big brother Bryson, and my friends Harrison and Jack. Harrison and I played football together in high school and Jack and I were actually in a drama program when we were kids and then kinda fell out of touch but I knew he played drums so i reached out to him last summer and it’s been smooth sailing ever since.
EG: The band originally started as a duo project with just Harrison and I messing around in ableton and experimenting with different ways of writing and recording and ripping off whoever we were listening to at the time. Eventually it developed into us playing duo shows at local restaurants and bars, then after a few variations the band became who it is now around July of last year.
You’ve released two singles so far, “Self-Defense” and “Dire.” Can you tell me about the songwriting process for these tracks and what inspired them?
EG: For these two the process was pretty unconventional compared to the way it usually works out. Typically Harrison and I are the songwriters and he’ll start an idea and present it to me and i’ll give him my ideas or vice versa and we’ll finish the lyrics together before presenting it to the rest of the band. Lately though, Jack has been writing more too and sending me his ideas which i’m super hype about, I love a band where everyone’s interested in writing and it’s always a surprise which one wrote the song. But with these two songs, they kinda just came to me within a few minutes.
EG: I wrote “Dire” in the shower in like 10 minutes. I tend to do a lot of writing without a guitar in my hands, I’m not that great of a player so I feel like my ideas are limited by my skill if I try to put chords to a melody I haven’t fully fleshed out. I was humming this melody and I was going through some emotional turmoil at the time and just reflecting on a situation where i felt like i wasn’t being treated as a top priority so I needed to let go of that.
EG: With “Self-Defense” I had started playing the little riff on my guitar and then i was humming the melody and I almost gave up on it entirely because I thought it was way too simple and boring but I showed it to my brother and he loved it so I kept at it and had the first part written in a few minutes. I kept it as a voice memo before jamming on it with Harrison and Jack like a week later, then while we were playing it I wrote the next bit and it all came together. Everybody thinks it’s inspired by a girl or a romantic relationship but I definitely didn’t have that in mind while writing it. I like to leave lyrics open to interpretation and see how people hear it from their perspective but to me, the song could be about anyone who’s close to you.
I understand you self-recorded and produced the tracks. What does your studio setup look like?
EG: Harrison and I have been messing around with recording since high school and every time i’d go over to his house he’d have a new piece of gear to work with so the setup was just in his room at his parents’ house. We did these first two tracks in Ableton through a 16 channel interface and tracked everything separately then recorded vocals in front of a makeshift sound dampening board Harrison’s dad made.
EG: With “Dire”, I showed it to Harrison and he kinda just ran with, I had some chords and the bassline fleshed out but he added pretty much everything else you hear other than some guitar work and the drums by my brother, who recorded drums on both tracks because Jack wasn’t a part of the band quite yet.
EG: For “Self-Defense” we actually recorded all the instruments at our friend William’s house and then did all the post production and vocals at me and Harrison’s apartment. Recently though we’ve been working with a producer in Charleston named Sam Ploch and he’s really taken our sound to the next level, producing our own stuff has been fun but working with Sam has been like a dream because we can just focus on being the artist and let him take the reins. It was difficult for us to get the exact sounds we wanted when we were producing but Sam makes our ideas come to fruition almost just as quickly as they come to us so We’re all really excited about this partnership going forward.
Are these singles leading toward a larger project, like an EP or album? If so, can you share anything about what’s in store?
EG: Yes! We’ll definitely have an EP coming out sometime this year, we’re gonna be sharing some new singles here very soon so keep an eye out for pre-save links on our instagram @channelbluff. These tracks are very different from what we’ve released and everyone shines, Bryson’s guitar work, Jack’s drum takes, and me and Harrison’s vocals are all really exciting and it’s gonna be really fun to see the response.
What is the most exciting thing on your radar for 2025?
EG: Just having new music that we’re all super proud of and that we feel is truly a reflection of all of us finally coming out for everyone to hear
On a scale of 1-10, how chill is Channel Bluff, and why?
EG: I’d say we’re a 10. Early on we were not chill, we took everything way too seriously and got stressed out over everything, setting up on time, running our own sound, getting our parts right, putting on a good show, there always seemed to be some tension. There’s a video from one of our early shows and Harrison says it looks like we’re having a “standing still contest”. We’ve come a long way though, we’ve all realized how much love we have for each other and for what we’re doing and it gives us confidence and I think that comes through in the music and at our shows, so yeah i’d say chill factor is a 10.
Anything else you want to mention?
EG: I’m just so grateful for the community we’ve been welcomed into and for the team we’ve built, our photographer Maren McGuire has been a huge help with our media and the brand we’re trying to build, we always seem to be on the same page and I feel like finding someone who pairs so well with us from a creative perspective this early on is invaluable. Our producer Sam as I mentioned earlier, has taken us exactly where we want to be and really gotten us the “Channel Bluff” sound we’ve been searching for.
EG: I love this band and when everyone hears what we’ve been working on, I think they will too. The love and support we’ve gotten from venues, sound guys, fellow bands, fans, and everyone who’s seen us play has been insane to witness and we’re so grateful and just excited to see where everything goes from here. I feel like you’re gonna wanna keep up with Channel Bluff in 2025.
