For brothers Caleb and Will Chapman, music has embodied every aspect of their lives for as long as they can remember. Their father, Steven Curtis Chapman, has been a touring musician for almost 30 years and even had his sons accompany him on multiple tours as his guitarist and drummer, respectively.
Though they now tour the world together, Caleb and Will still deal with family quarrels.
“Oh, we still fight,” Caleb said. “The road does not change that. But, we know the importance of being on the same page. It’s definitely not something that neither of us dread going out on the road for fear of fighting. We deal with it as it comes. But, oh yeah, we are brothers and we will always be that way.”
Now Caleb and Will, along with Scottie Mills, are on a new adventure in the former of Colony House – an indie rock trio from Franklin, Tennessee. After touring and recording briefly under the name CALEB, the trio changed their name about a year ago and set out to record their first-ever full-length album.
They began the process without any backing from their label, funding the entire process out of pocket. Originally planned as just an EP, the project quickly turned towards a full album after talking with their producers. Still, the band was going out on a limb without any backing from a studio.
“I don’t think confidence is the thing I had going into it,” Caleb said. “It was a lot of questions, and a lot of doubt, of whether this thing was going to turn out right. An album is more than just 13 songs, it’s got to be a complete thought. You want them to all be cohesive.”
The cohesiveness of the central theme of Colony House’s debut album “When I Was Younger” stems from a shared tragedy in the Chapman family. In 2008, five-year old Maria Sue Chapman passed away after being struck by a car in the family’s driveway.
The event inspired many of Caleb’s lyrics on the album, including the haunting song “Won’t Give Up”.
“It’s just something that has weaved itself into the fabric of my family and who I am,” Caleb said of the accident. “So naturally it’s going to come out in my songs and probably will continue to for the rest of my life. In big ways or small ways, I think it will always play a part in my writing.”
The next song on the album, entitled “Moving Forward,” talks of redemption and how the Chapman family has embraced the tragedy
“I mean, it’s definitely therapeutic to talk about it and sing about it,” Caleb said. “It’s like a diary that you can put music to.”
For Caleb, having his brother behind him as he sings through his “musical diary” is something that is incredibly meaningful.
“I can’t imagine doing it any other way,” Caleb said. “It’s definitely special to be able to tell our story together.”
Colony Huse has found success relatively quickly, having only been on a label for just under a year. On September 29th, the band made its television debut when they performed their single “Silhouettes” on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Despite growing up in a home full of musical success and accolades, the Chapman brothers never imagined this kind of recognition for their own music.
“You can dream about things all day long, but the process always looks different for every body,” Caleb said. “You can never just snap your fingers if you’re not where you want to be. With some many great things that have happened [to the band] it is easy to look past them and go ‘Well, what’s next?’ We’ve done some craz things that I never thought we would get to do when we were kids banging on drums in our house.”
Colony House will continue their nationwide tour when they perform Thursday night at the Grand Stafford Theater in Bryan.