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Chester French
Chester French was an American indie pop band consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach, and multi-instrumentalist Maxwell Drummey. They met as college students at Harvard University, naming their band after sculptor Daniel Chester French, who designed the statue at the Lincoln Memorial, the John Harvard statue, as well as the Minuteman statue at the Lexington/Concord battlegrounds in Massachusetts.
Milwaukee-raised Wallach and Boston native Drummey formed the band with three other classmates, playing various campus functions, and ultimately moved in a direction influenced by classic British Northern Soul. Wallach handled most of the vocals, while Drummey performed much of the composition with instruments, supplemented with an occasional special guest.
Chester French was originally a five-piece band that formed in 2003 in their freshman year in Harvard University. In addition to lead vocalist David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach and multi-instrumentalist Maxwell Drummey, the band's lineup also included Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe-winning pianist and percussionist Justin Gabriel Hurwitz, bassist Michael William Judge and drummer Damien Sayre Chazelle, who went on to become a successful film director. Wallach originally auditioned as the group's drummer, but decided to become the lead vocalist due to his rapping ability. The band released their first extended play (EP), First Love, in 2004. The band described their music as "Gentlemen Rock", which combined elements of jazz and classical music.
The band played out and sold numerous copies of their independently released CD on the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts. As Wallach tells "The Improper Bostonian" when asked if they busk in Harvard Square:
"We did. The summer after our freshman year we created a little EP, and we sold it on the street. If people were reluctant to buy it, we'd offer to play them something live, with the agreement that if they liked our performance, they'd buy the CD for five bucks."
After paring down the group, its current lineup set out to learn how to record and produce music. They took on jobs at Harvard's Quad Studios, where R&B producer and fellow Harvard Alum Ryan Leslie also got his start.
It was at the school's studio (and through its numerous clients) that the duo's sound came together.
"The studio we had at school wasn’t actually affiliated with the music program there. That’s sort of an independent student group that Max and I were actually kind [of] running too. We were actually engineering there as commercial engineers so even when we were getting the record deal, we were still recording weird a cappella groups and viola players to pick up some cash on the side. It was good too because we were able to learn how to record all kinds of different music and instruments and all that knowledge ends up being a resource when you’re working out your own project."
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Chester French
Chester French was an American indie pop band consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach, and multi-instrumentalist Maxwell Drummey. They met as college students at Harvard University, naming their band after sculptor Daniel Chester French, who designed the statue at the Lincoln Memorial, the John Harvard statue, as well as the Minuteman statue at the Lexington/Concord battlegrounds in Massachusetts.
Milwaukee-raised Wallach and Boston native Drummey formed the band with three other classmates, playing various campus functions, and ultimately moved in a direction influenced by classic British Northern Soul. Wallach handled most of the vocals, while Drummey performed much of the composition with instruments, supplemented with an occasional special guest.
Chester French was originally a five-piece band that formed in 2003 in their freshman year in Harvard University. In addition to lead vocalist David-Andrew 'D.A.' Wallach and multi-instrumentalist Maxwell Drummey, the band's lineup also included Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe-winning pianist and percussionist Justin Gabriel Hurwitz, bassist Michael William Judge and drummer Damien Sayre Chazelle, who went on to become a successful film director. Wallach originally auditioned as the group's drummer, but decided to become the lead vocalist due to his rapping ability. The band released their first extended play (EP), First Love, in 2004. The band described their music as "Gentlemen Rock", which combined elements of jazz and classical music.
The band played out and sold numerous copies of their independently released CD on the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts. As Wallach tells "The Improper Bostonian" when asked if they busk in Harvard Square:
"We did. The summer after our freshman year we created a little EP, and we sold it on the street. If people were reluctant to buy it, we'd offer to play them something live, with the agreement that if they liked our performance, they'd buy the CD for five bucks."
After paring down the group, its current lineup set out to learn how to record and produce music. They took on jobs at Harvard's Quad Studios, where R&B producer and fellow Harvard Alum Ryan Leslie also got his start.
It was at the school's studio (and through its numerous clients) that the duo's sound came together.
"The studio we had at school wasn’t actually affiliated with the music program there. That’s sort of an independent student group that Max and I were actually kind [of] running too. We were actually engineering there as commercial engineers so even when we were getting the record deal, we were still recording weird a cappella groups and viola players to pick up some cash on the side. It was good too because we were able to learn how to record all kinds of different music and instruments and all that knowledge ends up being a resource when you’re working out your own project."