PRINT

Interview with The Infatuations

May 7, 2014
Jon Berrien
Latest posts by Jon Berrien (see all)

 Detroit neo-soul/funk band The Infatuations have been on the grind! They just walked away with 5 Detroit Music Awards and their highly anticipated album Detroit Block Party, has finally arrived.  

 GroundSounds recently caught up with lead guitar Christian Draheim for an exclusive interview, check it out below, then do your ears a favor and listen to the premiere of “Dancin’ On My Knees” & “Let It Ride.”

 

For those just discovering The Infatuations, how did you guys come together and start making music?

The Infatuations was formed by  songwriting/producer duo DraLo—the collaborative teaming up of the band’s two founding members Christian Draheim and Marco Lowe as an acoustic cover/original duo that quickly turned into a trio in 2009 with the aim of bringing in a few dollars and writing some songs together. Marco and I met through a mutual friend in the mid 90’s while were in different bands. We had briefly collaborated on a couple of song ideas and after 10 years of speaking only occasionally we reconnected due to Janel Stone asking me to put a project together to help bring some traffic into a new ultra lounge she was overseeing. After 2.5 years of searching and playing with a rotating cast of talented Detroit musicians, the lineup was complete featuring Draheim, vocalist Caleb Gutierrez, guitarist Chris Polite, bassist The Wolf, drummer/percussionist Robert Myers, and guitarist Nick Behnan. 

What inspired the name The Infatuations?

A musical vision and a combination of Detroit, Motown and a conversation. Detroit is intriguing and mysterious and people become infatuated with it. Motown had some of the greatest and classiest band names. The Temptations, the Supremes, etc. In reference to a couple’s on again off again relationship the conversation ended with “well there’s a fine line between love and infatuation”. It sort of presented it’s self and by the 2nd or 3rd time we said it out loud we knew we our name.  

What was it like working on your latest album Detroit Block Party? Can you tell us about bringing this LP to fruition?

Detroit Block Party is the fruition of 5 years of songwriting, building the band, developing together as a band and establishing a foundation as band…a musical vision that has lead up to this album.  We started with 23 songs and had to narrow down to 11 for DBP. Working on the album from a producer’s standpoint was a combination of work and fun. Some songs came together fairly quick and we recorded with ease, but there were also times that it was grueling work trying to capture the sound and vision of each song. We found however that when those  magical moments would happen and we knew we had something very special, it made all the writing, re-writing and recording and re-recording and mixing worth it. And the end result came out beyond our wildest expectations. 

 

What do you guys enjoy most about block parties?

I think Block Parties represent the best we can be as communities.  We get together and meet new people and laugh,  eat great food, share drinks, listen to great music and forget about life’s troubles for a short period of time and we hope Detroit Block Party becomes the soundtrack to it all. 

Congrats on winning 5 awards at the Detroit Music Awards, can you tell us about this night and what you guys were feeling?

Thank you, that’s very kind of you. We were feeling shocked, thankful and humbled. I think we’re all still a little overwhelmed to have so much love and support from our brothers and sisters in the Detroit music community. It was great evening full of catching up, networking and of course promoting our up coming release at. Detroit is a great place to have a band, there are lots of folks who help each other out here. It’s really inspiring and the night of the DMA’s we were definitely feeling some positive energy. It’s a beautiful thing. 

What do you guys enjoy most about performing live?

Connecting with people and watching them smiling, dancing, and singing back to you the songs that you wrote. Knowing and seeing that our music and performance is having an impact on people in a positive way. 

Can you tell us about the creative and writing process for your track “Let It Ride?”

 It was one of those magical songs that kind of came very easily.  Once we had the title “Let It Ride” lyrics were written about a couple in a relationship where the girl is worried that the man might be wanting to leave her and because of that she is being distant and putting up a wall so she won’t get hurt. So the song is basically him calming her and reassuring her that he loves her and will be with her for better or worse until the end always.

What is it about Detroit that you guys enjoy most?

 The Spirit.  Detroiters are incredibly resilient and stay very positive in the face of adversity.  For the most part Detroiters have always had a very blue collar “pull yourself up” type of work ethic.   And the rich musical heritage is second to nowhere else on earth and we are very proud to be a small part of that. We practice 3 blocks from where all of those great Motown songs were recorded and it is amazing to drive by “Hitsville U.S.A” and continue with this dream that started there so many years ago.

What is it about the rock/soul combination that intrigues you?

 The feeling you get playing it is infectious and the space to explore creatively with the combination of the two without losing or confusing our identity is a massive space. It’s gotta groove you, it’s gotta hook you, it’s gotta rock too.  

Can you tell us about the inspiration for the track “Dancin’ On My Knees?”

 Dancin’ On My Knees is inspired by a favorite quote about gratitude that I meditate on when life gets tough.. The quote is this..  “Life may not be the party you hoped for, but while you’re here you might as well Dance! ”   Dancin’ On My Knees is about being in a relationship where someone has a really tight grip and is needy and you feel suffocated.  I think a lot of people have felt that way.   You want to enjoy life and be happy, but this person is always weighing your spirit down.  And the person is saying I wanna Dance through this life and be happy but it’s painful because i can’t stand up from all the weight and it hurts when the only dancing you can do is on your knees. It’s about wanting to break free..

After the album release, what’s next for The Infatuations?

 A promising Summer/Fall of 2014  that will be a lot of fun and hard work. Our calendar is filling up with regional dates and a few special events we are looking forward to announcing. We are considering a vinyl release of Detroit Block Party this fall too. 

You may also like