Boulder-based band Whisper States, led by Chad Molter, joins KGNU’s Indra Raj for a studio session. The band performs a few tracks from their self-titled debut album released in September. Chad shares his journey as a first-time band leader, drawing lyrical inspiration from his 12 years working in homeless services. He highlights influences from ‘60s pop singles and his musical roots in Washington, D.C.’s punk scene (Interview date: 11/13/2024)
Indra Raj: All right, and now we’re going to transition into our studio session for today with Whisper States. This is a band out of Boulder, Colorado, headed up by Chad Molter. I’m really excited to have them in the studio today. Welcome to the show.
Whisper States: Hi, Indra. Thanks for having us.
Indra Raj: Yeah, thanks for coming in. We’re really looking forward to talking with you, hearing music, hearing about the new album. Maybe the first thing we should do is listen to some music.
Whisper States: Let’s do it.
Indra Raj: Whisper States here on KGNU live in the studio. What was the name of that tune?
Whisper States: That was called “Not the Hour”.
Indra Raj: “Not the Hour”, and that’s off of the new album.
Whisper States: Yes, that’s off the new album that just came out in September.
Indra Raj: And it’s a self titled album. So Chad, it would be great to hear a little bit about how we’ve gotten to this point with this new album. This is your first album as Whisper States, correct?
Whisper States: Yeah. And this is my first album as a band leader. It’s the first thing I’ve done where I’ve written everything. Of course I’ve had a lot of help. I’ve been playing in a band since I was 15 and have done a lot of writing collaboratively with others and have written along the way. But for some reason a couple years ago, I was inspired to write, and just wrote a bunch of songs.
I think one of the things that inspired this group of songs lyrically is this process that I was going through where I was winding down some work that I’d been doing. I’d been working for 12 years at a homeless shelter here in town and was moving on to other things.
So I was processing that experience, which was a lot. It’s something that I didn’t really process thoroughly along the way. That was a big inspiration lyrically for this group of songs. And then I was listening to a lot of 60s pop, especially singles, and I was really inspired by the concise nature of that. And this idea that you put everything into a three minute song knowing that it may be your only chance to get music out there. There’s this gentleman named Andrew Sandoval, who has a show on WFMU. I was listening to him a lot. He plays a lot of obscure singles from the 60s. So that was also something that inspired me in writing this music. This type of music is a little bit different for me, but it’s something that I’ve loved my whole life.
Indra Raj: Great. And in the studio today, you have three other musicians with you. Would you introduce them and what they’re playing today?
Whisper States: Absolutely. Lindsey Lee is singing and on keys. Taylor Kaysen on vocals. And David Goodheim on guitar.
Indra Raj: Great. And how did you all come together as a group?
Whisper States: Very unnaturally. No, I’ve known David for a long time. We’ve played together. So it was natural for me to ask him to be involved. Lindsey and Taylor, I’ve met more recently through various means. So they’re new friends to me, but I’m very thankful for their participation in this and their help.
Indra Raj: Wonderful. All right. Why don’t we hear a couple more songs and then we’ll come back and chat.
You’re listening to Whisper States live in the KGNU Studios. New self titled album out in early September. Thank you so much for those two songs from the album. What were they called?
Whisper States: That was “Crystalline Sparks” and the song “Whisper States”.
Indra Raj: Wonderful. And looking back, you said that you have been doing service work for the past 12 years with an organization called Harvest of Hope. I’m curious to hear a little bit about that. And also before that you were in a band called Medications. So what was the trajectory of that band, to this, to now?
Whisper States: So I did 12 years of work with the Boulder Shelter, which is now called All Roads. I currently work at Harvest of Hope. I’ve been there for a couple of years. When I was younger, I lived in Washington, D. C. for about 15 years. There’s a rich history of music. The stuff that I was interested in when I moved there was a lot of punk music. I was fortunate enough to be in a couple of bands that were on the Discord label. One was called Faraquet, one was called Medications. That was from ‘97 to 2010.
I moved to Boulder in 2008 and started doing this work in homeless services, I think as a way to get me outside of my own head initially. I think sometimes when I’m working a lot on music, it can absorb everything. I’m naturally a little, maybe a lot, obsessive and neurotic. Focusing on others was a way that I could do some good and help people, but also help myself in a way. That all just happened by happenstance. When I moved out here, I met somebody who worked at the shelter, got a job on the floor, and then just loved the work and stayed there for 12 years. In the end, I was helping to run the shelter. I think I discovered that having both those things in my life helps me stay balanced.
I’ve tried to do just music. You may know or someone may have told you that there’s no money to be made in music, so it’s hard to make a living. So that’s part of it, but also, as I said, it feeds this other part of me. And that is not to say music doesn’t help people. It has helped me immensely in my life, but I need to feel that I’m practically doing something a little bit more hands-on. So that’s how I came to my current work.
Indra Raj: Yeah, and while we’re here, tell us a little bit about Harvest of Hope since it is an organization you work with and very aligned with community work as we are here at KGNU in general.
Whisper States: Yeah, thanks for asking. Harvest of Hope has been around since 2012, and it is a food pantry. It’s very near the studios here. It’s on Pearl Street, just east of Foothills. But it’s pretty simple. We give away food to anybody who needs it. It’s very low barrier. You don’t have to meet any sort of income threshold. Just come on down when we’re open and you can get food. I think one thing that makes us special too is that we serve unhoused folks, so they can come in and shop on our floor.
We have a shopping floor that resembles a little grocery store. There’s a ton of need here which is a little surprising to me, even having done this kind of work along these same lines for a long time. In 2022, we gave away 325,000 pounds of food. This year in 2024, we’ll give away over a million pounds of food. The need has increased, especially since COVID era benefits have ramped down.
We’re just over there doing our thing. We have one program, it’s really simple, and it’s a great place where people can come and get treated with dignity and have access to food, which is something that we believe everyone should have access to.
Indra Raj: Absolutely. And something that we hear about more during the Thanksgiving season, but is always a need. So thank you for telling us about that. If you are just joining us here on KGNU during the Morning Sound Alternative, we are joined live in the studio by Chad Molter of Whisper States and his band. They have a new album out called Whisper States that came out in early September. And let’s hear one more piece of music.
Thank you all so much for joining me today.
Whisper States: Thanks so much for having us.
Indra Raj: Of course. And if our listeners want to know more about the album or you, any shows coming up or anything like that, where can they find out more?
Whisper States: “Whisper States” on Bandcamp. I’m on Instagram too. I think it’s easy to find. There’s not a lot of Whisper States out there. If you want to know more about Harvest of Hope, it’s harvestofhope.org for that organization. So thank you.
Indra Raj: Yeah. Thank you so much. And we look forward to hearing more about your journey from here.
