Good morning,
Today, we welcome to the Life & Times hot seat Eddie Chacon. Eddie made his name as one half of soul-pop stars Charles & Eddie, who had a worldwide smash hit with Would I Lie To You in 1992.
But it was just one worldwide hit and the duo were dropped after two substantially less successful albums, before splitting amicably in ‘97. In 2001, Charles (Pettigrew) died of cancer without telling Chacon he was sick, devastating Eddie. He continued to make music as he had all his life but became disillusioned and, in 2005, Eddie Chacon decided to turn his hand to photography, becoming an accomplished fashion photographer.
After a decade completely away from music, he met with the multi instrumentalist and producer John Carroll Kirby who helped coax the ghostly R&B of 2020’s Pleasure, Joy and Happiness from him.
Another beauty was born from their partnership in 2023 with the soft-rock tinged, Sundown.
Last week Eddie Chacon delivered another album, Lay Low, this time produced with Nick Hakim and it’s a career high, a soulful meditation on love and death. “The first two records, the themes are purposefully more vague,” Eddie explained to Teddy when they got their Zoom on just before Christmas. “This one is much more personal. It’s about losing my mom. I’m finally ready to write about the grieving process, the melancholy, and the healing that followed.” Eddie agrees that it’s his best yet. “It’s the third record of career part 2.0 and I’m feeling confident and really in command of my artistry at this point.”
Anyway, tuck in below to Eddie’s Life & Times. And please, if you don’t subscribe - go on. We’d love to be able to feed our families as well as organise, conduct and transcribe interviews for all to enjoy.
Enjoy the edition,
Ted and Niall
The Life & Times Of…Eddie Chacon
What was the first record you loved?
Get On The Good Foot (Pt.1 & 2.). A 45 by James Brown. I wore it out.
And the last?
The last record that I've been really getting into is an old record by Connan Mockasin called Caramel. I’ve been revisiting Connan Mockasin’s catalogue and getting very inspired by what he's created. I think he's a fantastic artist, and I'm such a fan.
What is your earliest memory?
My earliest memory is being with my family at Sea World in San Diego, California. I even remember the sweater that I was wearing. I think I'm three years old. It's a sweater that I wore in my school picture that year. It's like a white sweater with this kind of, early 70s stripe of almost plaid right across the front.
What is your daily domestic routine?
Well, I'm a complete and total coffee addict. I often joke that I'm not sure that there is an Eddie actually, I think my personality is merely caffeine. So, I get up in the morning, I make coffee. I oftentimes talk to my manager, Dan, who's my UK manager. We're also friends, and we usually go over things in the early morning, because it's afternoon for you guys there. I also religiously go on a long four or five mile walk all around downtown Los Angeles. It's very gritty and raw, and I love it. I like to really be on the street, on the pavement, not a treadmill.
Who or what is the love of your life?
I would say that music is the love of my life. I oftentimes think to myself, What are you doing with this career 2.0? I think, well, I'm doing what I've been doing since the day I was born. I've always wanted to do music my whole life. It's all I've ever wanted to do for a living, and I very much do it the same way today as I've done it from the time I was a child.
What's your worst habit?
I'm a total and complete popcorn monster. I can eat a large at the movie theatre. If I don't get a popcorn by the time the movie starts, I literally start getting the shakes during the trailers.
When were you most creatively satisfied?
There is nothing more gratifying than having something that you love so very much, having a passion that you love so very much, chipping away at it. It's almost like you're creating a sculpture out of a block of marble, and it starts to reveal itself. And the older you become you, you're sort of aiming to make your David. At the age of 61, I'm just really appreciating my workflow, how I create and how I'm able to articulate the things that I really want to get out there.
Has anyone you've met ever made you feel starstruck?
Yes, when I was about 12 years old, my mom and dad took me to Caesars Palace to see Diana Ross. That was probably one of two times that I was star struck. The second time was in the first week that I moved to Los Angeles as a 20-year-old. I went as a tourist to the world-famous Rodeo Drive and walking right towards me in my first week at age 20, was Rod Stewart. He walked right towards me, and all I did was just stick out my hand. He shook my hand and kept walking. I almost died. I was so excited.
Rod Stewart’s Baby Jane, released in 1983, the year Eddie met him in LA.
Who or what is the greatest influence on your work?
There's been so many over the years. I would say Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Sly And the Family Stone. And then Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath. Pink Floyd is one of the biggest influences to this day on my work. Rod Stewart, too.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
That I am not rooted in soul music. I actually came up listening to Led Zep. I was an obsessive Led Zeppelin fan. I went to see them at age 12, when they were on their Song Remains The Same tour.
My parents dropped me off with my cousin in front of the Oakland Coliseum at 4:00 in the morning. We waited until 10am when they opened the gates, and we ran like hell to the front of the field and got about 50 feet from the stage. I think many people would be surprised to know that that I'm rooted in rock and roll. I was basically like a scrappy heavy metal shredder in my very first band: a garage band with Mike Bordin from Faith No More and Cliff Burton from Metallica.
Mike lived four houses up the street, and we were best buddies. Cliff was his best buddy, which made him sort of my fringe best buddy. And we were all musicians. They were a little older than me [Eddie was 12!]. We all wanted to be rock stars. They were obsessed with Black Sabbath and I just enjoyed their company. I think they asked me to join the band and start a trio with them because my father had a trucking company. They knew we could rehearse for free in his lobby.
What do you wish the 18-year-old you knew?
That the world is unfair.
What was the home you grew up in like?
A three-bedroom house in the suburbs of Oakland, in a suburb called Hayward, California, about 15 minutes down the highway from Oakland. It was the kind of neighbourhood where all the kids played out in the street until their parents literally yelled their name from the front porch to come in, right? It reminded me very much of that movie, Stand By Me. All our parents worked so hard and so many hours that we were quite free to do whatever that we wanted.
How do you spark creativity?
I think it starts by not thinking about how to spark creativity. I think you should see everything as a teachable moment, and everything is an opportunity to be creative. I think you should see yourself as an antenna that is turned on 24/7 because anything from the mundane to the hilarious can be a spark for creativity. You just have to remain open at all times.
Do you mind getting older?
I love getting older. I absolutely love it. I don't fret about the things I used to fret about. I don't have the uncertainty of not knowing what's going to happen and I feel that every day above ground is a good day.
What's the best advice you've ever been given?
My mom would always say, just keep putting one foot in front of the other. And my father would say, your aspirations and goals in this life, it's as though they're at the top of a ladder. But don't look at the top of the ladder. Just look at the rung that's right in front of you, and one day you'll look down and be shocked to see how far you've come.
What's the secret to a happy relationship?
Kindness, you should make an agreement with your partner that through thick and thin, you will always be civil, and you will always be kind, because you can't undo cruelty.
What's your greatest regret?
I wish I'd asked my grandparents more about the history of my family before they passed.
When and where were you happiest?
I'm happiest now.
What's your favourite film and why?
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, I love it. it's hilarious, it's smart and it's absurd.
On what occasion do you lie?
Oh, that's a good question. I guess I lie if I'm afraid I'm going to get in trouble.
Have you ever been arrested?
Never!
Do you have a temper? How does it manifest?
I do have a temper, the older I get, the less it shows itself. But like I said, I didn't realize until much older that life is unfair. So, I've always had this very, very idealistic feeling about justice. It is always an injustice or an unkindness or someone being unnecessarily cruel to somebody that can really enrage me.
When did you last cry?
I last cried on the airplane flying from London to LA two days ago. It was embarrassing. I was stuffed in on a full airplane, so I had people very close to me. You know, you're so bored on an 11-hour flight. I was just going through all the 1000s of photos in my iPhone, and it sort of hit me like a ton of bricks just how much life I've lived, and how many people I've lost. How many chapters I've turned the page on - so many chapters. I just felt overcome with sadness because I don't think about this on a daily basis. I'm very much the type of person that lives in the moment. I'm not aware that I'm 61 years old. I think that I'm a very young person. So I looked at these pictures, and it just threw me into the reality that I'm 61 years old, and I have lived a lot of life, and I have lost so many people that I love dearly.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
I think my greatest achievement is my being 61 years old and, having experienced all the ups and downs that I've experienced, I am still a completely optimistic person.