#bangersnmash

[lordturdnugget]

New track coming soon from @lawriiicraic and @justglnk from @latenitekings 🔥 This is an absolute banger!! #hiphop #rap #irishmusic #lnk #fsm #flowstatemovement #irishhiphop #bangersnmash (at Bray, Ireland) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bochkw8HYDx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=yn1pwzd9lu2

[horrorfan0679]

#nowwatching #radiohead #inrainbows #livefromthebasement #bangersnmash https://www.instagram.com/p/BqjyBxTlvEa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10ry92v5jyhi1

[tabbieshay-blog]

Our St. Patrick’s Day What about yours?? #stpatricksday #capecoral #florida #holidays #beer #family #stpattysday #food #cornbeefandcabbage #bangersnmash #shepardspie #foodie #ilovefood (at Cape Coral, Florida)

[shakespearesheadpub-blog]

🥔MEGA • MASH • MONDAY🥔 Every Monday- Free cask ale with your meal! 4 until 9:30pm 🤤👌🏻 #brighton #sevendials #pub #bangersnmash #kitchen #chill #weekday #deals #drinks #cozy #comfy #bythefire (at Shakespeare's Head)

[theeverydayvegan]

old faithful #sweetpotatomash #bangersnmash

[scotlandyardto-blog]

Bratwurst sausage, Boursin mashed potatoes, sautéed onions & gravy. Enjoy this while watching the Grey Cup at 6:30pm tonight. :) . . . . . . . #sypub #yummy #pubgrub #foodporn #bangersnmash #boursin #sundayfunday #sundaydinner #greycup #greycup2017 #cfl

[bringmesevendaysofnight]

Tonight I am disgusting! Work and then Footy - I deserve this :p #veggie #bangersnmash etc

[sometimesalwaysmusic]

THE CHOCOLATE HOT POCKETS In advance of their gig at the inaugural Bangers & Mash Festival, we caught up with funk band The Chocolate Hot Pockets (CHP). We chatted influences, song-writing, underground music scenes, and their favourite venue in town. Give their tunes a spin (we suggest PG Funk and Holy Smokes from their latest record) and check them out at Black Squirrel Books on March 18!

VITALS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechocolatehotpockets/

Web: http://www.thechocolatehotpockets.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chohopo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ChocolateHotPockets

Latest release: The Feast (Album, Oct 2016)

Upcoming shows: March 18, 2018 - Bangers & Mash Festival. Black Squirrel Books, Ottawa ON

SA: How did the Chocolate Hot Pockets first come together as a band? CHP:  We met in 2011 on a regular gig that the rhythm section (JP, Jamie, and Alex) was playing with a great local sax player. Ed had come to visit Ottawa from London, England and was scoping out the scene, and he sat in with us for a few weeks. He decided he wanted to move here and went back home to get his things together to move to Ottawa. The regular gig came to an end, but we wanted to keep playing and also do something new. The rhythm section was super impressed by Ed’s playing so as soon as he came back we called him up, started rehearsing, writing, performing, etc.

SA: You've spoken to your influences before, but are there any 'surprise' inspirations we might find on your iPods that one might not expect feed into your sound? CHP:  You mean “surprise” stuff aside from all the hip hop, R&B, neo soul, and jazz? Here’s one from each of us: XTC, Beau Dommage, Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Tool.

SA: Thus far in your career, what has been the band’s biggest success? CHP: Our most recent album, The Feast.

SA: On the other hand, what is the biggest challenge you have faced, and how have you dealt with it? CHP: Probably dealing with the intense performance schedules everyone in the band has. We all play a buttload of music with various bands around town, so when it comes to writing and rehearsing new stuff we have to make the best of our time. That means writing immaculate charts and knowing exactly what we want a piece of music to sound like well before we enter the rehearsal room. It’s all very mercenary but we enjoy it. Collectively we get off on the pressure and it also forces us to have all the details on lock, which makes for better music and better performances overall.

SA: How do you guys approach the song-writing process? CHP:  Everything is meticulously arranged and charted. Until the last album Ed and Alex have written all the music, but JP contributed a banger to the most recent album called Shcout (dedicated to his time in the Scouts in Hull when he was a young lad).  All of our most recent music can be found with accompanying videos on our YouTube channel, and here is a link to JP’s tune.  To comment further on our writing process, we feel that in music (and in art in general) co writing leads to compromise. As the old saying goes there can be “too many cooks in the kitchen.” We don’t want to water down the original intent of our compositions so we prefer this solitary approach. It works for us because we’re all on the same page musically and we’re all writing music for each other and each other’s strengths. When you’ve played with the same group of guys as long as we have, you really get to understand each other’s fortes and unique qualities, so we know how to bring out the best in each other with the composer’s pen.

SA: What are your thoughts on the Ottawa music scene? CHP: It’s all underground. There is a lot of talent here and it is on the rise, but you see a lot of the same faces at shows of all stripes. We’re grateful for the warriors who are always out taking it in. Still, more people need to be aware of the wicked bands coming up in Ottawa.

SA: You guys are set to play the inaugural Bangers and Mash Festival. Whats are you most excited for, and what can fans expect from a Chocolate Hot Pockets live show? CHP:  Face melting, funky-as-hell (nerdy) R&B that will liquefy your brain and dance your ass off.

SA: You guys have released The Feast, The Filthy Chapter and Chocolate Dreamz. In terms of new music, what comes next for you guys and when will that be available to fans? CHP:  Secret for now. Fans can find our most recent album the Feast at The Record Centre and on iTunes.

SA: If you had to choose, what is your favourite venue in Ottawa and why? CHP: Irene’s Pub in the Glebe has been and remains our favourite venue. It’s the cat’s ass. Wicked vibe, great staff, love the monthly residencies they have bands to, sounds dope. Best nachos in town.

SA: Post-Bangers and Mash, what can we expect from the Chocolate Hot Pockets moving forward in 2017? All the best this year! CHP:  Lots of shows and collaboration with local artists. Festivals, funk, and fudge.