Building a brand name in music today is nothing short of an abject shitshow. I should know—not only have I spent some 30 years building brand awareness, but I’ve been building that of my own band, Atomic Junction, for the past four years.
It’s a slog, it’s miserable—and from record executives to bookers, club owners and artists themselves—the industry outside of Nashville is relatively perplexed as to where it goes from here.
This brings us to The Cold Stares, a thundering, exceptionally talented blues rock outfit led by Chris Tapp out of Evansville, Indiana (but originally from western Kentucky). And whether you know it or not, you’ve more than likely heard their music as it’s been featured on ads for Dodge trucks and Monster Energy, on the show “Animal Kingdom,” on ESPN, in the video game Cyberpunk 2077, and yes, on blues rock and outlaw country radio.
For the past decade, the band has toured the world relentlessly, blowing away audiences across the US and Europe with a fierce, blistering live show that belied their bare bones, guitar-and-drums setup. But that was as just a two-piece band, along with founding drummer Brian Mullins.
“It was a nightmare as two people because I was trying to overcompensate with the amp thing,” Tapp told me recently on the Load Out Music Podcast. “The other thing that came as a byproduct is that I didn’t write songs that I cared if anybody liked. If I’d have just been writing songs that I liked all along, we probably would have been more successful earlier.”
There were limitations with two members, and Tapp recalled being coaxed into a Hard Rock Café song contest. The band ended up winning, which added pressure for the two-member outfit to keep up with expectations of its larger-than-life sound.
“You sound like you are three or four pieces,” he recalled being told. But it forced Tapp to innovate, overcomplicate to a degree, and build a custom-designed guitar rig based on octaves. “After seven or eight years of me hauling around three amps…we had the gear of five people as two. I kind of got sick of that, and it was constant Black Keys and White Stripes comparisons.”
More recently, however, the band is embracing an entirely new kind of chemistry as they launch their next chapter, adding a third member—bassist Bryce Klueh—and channeling the classic power trio sound they grew up on with their explosive album, The Southern, released earlier in 2024.
The Southern delves deep into their southern roots for the first time on record. The album embodies a true reflection of their heritage.
“When it came time to record this album, I thought about everybody giving us this southern rock tag, and decided to intentionally write songs that explore that,” said Tapp. “In doing so, I realized that being southern, for me, is more than an accent, and a setlist of songs. It’s about family and tradition.”
Whether you know the band or not, The Cold Stares is worth your attention. Tapp and Co. have been praised by Classic Rock Magazine, No Depression and American Songwriter, among other outlets; reached #1 on Amazon Music’s Blues Rock album chart; and more.
So get to know The Cold Stares and Chris Tapp on the latest episode of Load Out Music Podcast.