Results tagged “parachute” from J-14 Magazine

Can't get the song "She Is Love" out of your head? Either can we! J-14 caught up with Parachute's lead singer Will Anderson to find out the deets behind the tune, touring with Kelly Clarkson, and Parachute's new EP, Winterlove!

J-14: What's the story behind your hit single, "She Is Love?"
Parachute's Will Anderson: I always try to write clever songs and find the cool angle, but for this song I just wanted to write a simple love song. I was trying to get someone to notice me. It did not work! But in the end I came up with a simple love song that I never really thought anybody else would listen to but then I was proved wrong. It was flattering for. It's a lot of fun to get to hear people sing along to it, but we have a song called "Ghost" which is a little more upbeat, a little more rock that's the bands favorite song to play live off the album.

J-14: What is Kelly Clakrson like to tour with?
Will: We've gotten to know Kelly pretty well -- she's amazing and super nice. She's a lot of fun to hang out, so it's been really cool to get to know her and watch her sing every night. We've been meeting a ton of fans, which is awesome. A lot of the Kelly Clarkson fans know our songs but don't necessarily know who sang them, so it's a lot of fun to get to meet them every night. Kelly's fans are very receptive and a lot of fun to play in front of. It's awesome that Kelly got us the opportunity.

J-14: Which is the most personal track to you off your album Losing Sleep?
Will: "She is Love," as simple as it is and "Under Control" are the most vulnerable -- lyrically, I put myself out there. It's a sensitive side of me, and a lot of guys try to keep that side hidden. "Under Control" is pretty autobiographical -- the person it's about knows it, so that song is very out there, so to speak. [Songs are] a way that I express myself. Rather than going out and telling a girl how I feel, it comes out in a song. It's easier for me to do it that way because it's just more fun.

J-14: What made you guys decide to put out the new EP Winterlove?
Will: I write all the time, and "Winterlove" turned out to be a Christmasy song. I wrote a song that happened to fall at the right time, and it really did work out well. The timing was a really was a coincidental thing -- we decided why not put it out for the fans and try a Christmas cover as well, see if we could do it in a non-cheesy way, and it worked out well.

J-14: What's been your fave place to see on tour?
Will: We got to see quite a few places that we've never seen before -- that's probably one of the coolest parts of our job, getting to see the United States. I love New Orleans -- the French Quarter is really cool. I love Charleston, South Carolina -- it's a cool mix of a beach and a historical place. I also love Chicago and San Francisco -- they're my two favorite big cities. It gets a little cold in Chicago but we just don't go there during the winter months!

Check out Parachute's headlining tour dates after the jump.

Hey J-14ers,

One of my fave bands right now is Parachute -- my friends have been Facebooking about them for months, and I listen to "She Is Love" on repeat. Frequently. So I was psyched to check them out last night at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom! It was Parachute's first show opening for Kelly Clarkson during her All I Ever Wanted Tour, and they rocked the house. If I wasn't obsessed with them before, hearing "She Is Love" live has made me love the band even more. I even got to hang out with the boys after the meet & greet, which is when they made the awesome video above!

The Parachute guys were tired after the big show, but all the boys were so nice and guitarist Nate McFarland was still psyched after the show. "My favorite part of tonight was being able to say, 'Are y'all ready for Kelly Clarkson?" Nate told me. "'Since You Been Gone,' 'I Do Not Hookup,' 'My Life Would Suck Without You,' 'Breakway' -- these are all anthems of my life." Plus Nate and his bandmates, lead singer Will Anderson, drummer Johnny Stubblefield, bassist Alex Hargrave, and saxophonist/keyboard player Kit French all signed an awesome prize just for a lucky J-14 reader -- but you'll have to wait and see what it is in an upcoming issue!

Then Kelly Clarkson came on and she was so good! Can you tell that's my theme for the night? I love music, so seeing someone with a truly natural, amazing voice live is a really cool thing. My jaw even dropped a few times when she hit really high notes! "I really love music," Kelly announced mid-show. "I like all kinds," and she proved it by covering Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight," The Black Keys' ", Alanis Morissette's
"That I Would Be Good," Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," and The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."

But that wasn't her only interaction with the audience -- she talked to her fans between almost every song, and every time she held the mic out for us to sing along with her, she had a huge grin on her face. She was so cute admitting things like how excited she was to do a duet of "Because of You" with Reba McEntire (who was in the audience!) and that she never likes to write happy songs but always winds up falling in love with them, like she did with her tune "I Want You."

She performed classics like the breathtaking "Because of You" and "Never Again" plus lots of songs off All I Ever Wanted, including "Impossible" and an acoustic take on "Already Gone." I completely rocked out to "Since U Been Gone" and loved that she closed her 20-song set with the most energetic version of "All I Ever Wanted" that I could've imagined.

This was the first time I got to see both Parachute and Kelly Clarkson live, and I certainly hope it's not the last -- both acts were amazing.

<3,
Emily, J-14 editor