“Chuck Lichtenberger approaches his creativity with an almost childlike exuberance! He creates music unlike anything heard before, drawing on a vast reservoir of diverse influences. He’s been an inspiration and mentor to me. I can’t say enough about his character and integrity, let alone his musical prowess, both as a composer and a producer!” ~ guitarist Jonathan Pearlman
Born in Atlanta, Charles Clement Lichtenberger mostly grew up in Greensboro, NC. “I studied piano reluctantly until age ten, and enthusiastically after that as I then started writing my own material and understood that the better I got on the piano, the better my writing would become. I started out in the mid 80’s listening to Top 40, moving to rap in middle school, and settling into metal and grunge in high school. Van Halen has been my favorite band since age ten, as Eddie Van Halen is the epitome of virtuosity mixed with accessibility. In high school, my piano teacher turned me on to Thelonious Monk and I didn’t get it at first. I thought all the songs sounded the same. The first jazz album that grabbed me from the beginning was “Miles Smiles” by Miles Davis.”
I asked Chuck who besides Van Halen have been his rock influences. “The Afghan Wigs (musically combining grunge and soul, which shouldn’t work, but in their case does), Anthrax, Megadeth, Radiohead and The Pixies, who are lyrically more concerned with the feeling and sound of individual phrases – the audience then creates their own story. I also like Bjork (How to Make Passionate Electronic Music 101), Wilco, and Jar-e (local soul influenced keyboardist/singer/songwriter who bares his soul while you dance).”
Chuck attended UNCA, studying classical and jazz piano. “In 1996, I started teaching students full time and began playing in area rock and jazz groups. 1998-1999, I toured the Southeast with The Goodies. I was Kat Williams’ piano player and band leader from 2000-2002. My main creative focus since 2002 has been Stephaniesid, a rock band led by my wife Stephanie Morgan.”
Chuck hosted a jazz jam at Tressa’s that ran for 10 years. “That’s where I really learned how to play jazz and I’m now part of Alien Music Club, a collective of musicians that hosts the Thursday night jazz jam at Barley’s. I’m also currently fronting the jazz rock band the Archrivals, co-leading the swing band CryBaby, and playing keyboards in the R&B outfit Ruby Slippers.”
Jazz influences? “Horace Silver is probably my biggest influence on piano. He seems to be creating pop hooks every time he solos. I also love Herbie Hancock – he never lets his virtuosity get in the way of making good music. Ben Folds is another influence.”
I asked Chuck what inspires his writing. “Lately I’ve been composing away from the piano. This keeps my hands from falling into familiar patterns. I seem to get a melody or a riff stuck in my head first, then I go and try to work it out on the piano.”
Chuck’s first CD, “Chuck Lichtenberger”, was a direct result of the now dormant Jazz Composers series put on by Sharon LaMotte. “Some of those songs had their start twelve years before the recording. I spent most of my twenties feeling bad about myself for not being as technically proficient as Herbie Hancock or Chick Corea and thought that there was no point in performing jazz under my own name unless I was a virtuoso. The Jazz Composers series finally banished that ridiculous thought from my brain. There are so many other elements besides virtuosity that go into making an interesting artist.
My second CD, “The Archrivals”, is a rock CD with my vocal tunes, and my third CD, “The Archrivals II”, is an instrumental album that would most easily be classified under jazz fusion. Jonathan Scales and I have talked a lot about the term “fusion”. It’s become a word that conjures up mostly negative images for a good portion of the music-listening public. I think the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra and Archrivals are trying to take that word back, so to speak, and make it okay again.
My future involves playing both music and basketball, and going on walks with Steph and eating. Plus talking to my dad on the phone. And watching movies with Steph. And mowing the lawn. Yeah!”
“Chuck’s on-stage focus is connecting – with the band, with the audience. On stage, he’s laughing and yelling like he’s at a basketball game. He’s an undisputed leader, the glue of any project he takes on.” ~ vocalist Stephanie Morgan
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