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Chase Klyn: Chasing the Dream

Milanny Vazquez |
September 19, 2014 | 12:54 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Chase Kyln's own portrait (via Chase Kyln)
Chase Kyln's own portrait (via Chase Kyln)
A fellow Trojan, Chase Klyn, is on the right track to success in the music industry. Currently, Klyn is a Studio Jazz Guitar Performance major with a minor in Business Finance. Klyn acts as both a stage performer and behind-the-scenes man. Here’s a little taste of how Klyn started, what he’s done so far, and where he’s going.  

NT: How did you start in music?

Klynn: My parents actually forced me to take classical guitar lessons when I was five and I did that up until about eighth grade. Then I realized that girls don’t like classical music, so I switched over to pop and jazz music and I just started practicing a lot throughout high school. So high school’s really when it kicked into gear.

NT: And how was it when you were learning? Did you kind of make it your main focus, like this is what I want to do with my life?

Klynn: When I was younger, there were times when I would be practicing by the fireplace and my mom gave me a really small guitar and, uh, I threw it at her because I didn’t want to practice anymore. Mind you I was seven or eight, but when I switched over in eighth grade into more contemporary stuff, I realized that that’s what I wanted to do. So I practiced all the time. I mean school was always a real strong focus of mine because I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go yet, but I did put a lot of time in music in high school.

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NT: Because you took a summer class here in high school, would you say taking the music class at USC made that definite choice for you? 

Klynn: Oh yeah I did like a summer program in high school and that kind of solidified my choice to come to USC because I just had a really, really great time and met good people.

NT: And is that where you met your friend?

Klynn: Yeah, I met a kid, his name is Alec Benjamin and I met him at the summer program as lame as that story sounds. We did meet at summer camp and back in December we got him signed to Colombia Records. We did a bunch of work together, made videos, did rehearsals together, we do some shows together.

NT: What shows have you guys done that you would think some people would know?

Klynn: We’ve done a couple festivals this past summer in early July. We were at the Wireless Festival and that was two dates: July 4 and July 6 in London and Birmingham, England. That was kind of cool; we got to hang out with some really cool people, got to kick it next to Kanye and see Iggy Azalea’s butt and Pharrell was there so it was a good time. And then on July 5 we were in a town called Arras, France for the Arras Main Square Festival and that was super cool because there was like ten thousand people watching and there was a bunch of cool bands like 1975 and Jack Johnson. We opened for Disclosure. It was fun.

NT: So are you on the stage performing or are you backstage?

Klynn: For right now, for this tour working with him [Alec], I do all the backstage stuff like I was making a lot of videos, making sure the sound guys were not chopping off his sound because we’re still working on developing his stage act. You know eventually when we think we need to bring in more components to what he’s doing, I will be playing guitar and be on the keyboards and singing; just complimenting what he’s doing. But as of right now, I’m doing the behind the scenes stuff.

NT: Who would you say are some of your musical influences?

Klynn: That’s tough. I really like singer-songwriters a lot but I’ve noticed recently now that my songwriting is maturing a little bit. I realized that all the classical guitar lessons I took when I was younger are really informing how I’m writing. With a lot of the guitar parts I play, I use a lot of right hand finger style. It comes from all my classical guitar and I guess my music is sort of introspective; it stems a lot from modern classical notes when I was younger and then the singer-songwriters I listen to now.

NT: Is that how you would describe your music to someone?

Klynn: I think so. I’m still trying to figure that out but I think that’s the best description at this point. It could change tomorrow but I think that’s the description. I guess you can see classical influence but it’s not classical music if that makes any sense.

NT: So far you’re trying to get your basis. Are you trying to promote your name or is it mostly with the work you’re doing now with your friend Alec?

Klynn: I’m going to be doing a little bit of both because I want to do a bunch of different things in music. I want to be a sideman and play guitar and tour with several acts. I’m going to keep working with my friend Alec, making videos and helping him out, touring with him and all that. And at the same time while we’re working together, I’ll be promoting my own music as well, so I can play my own solo shows and what not. And then later in my career, I want to get into management too, get in the management side of things because I think that’d be pretty interesting. Basically, I kind of want to split my career in half and do the touring and all the fun stuff while I’m younger and then get into management as I get older. That’s my plan for now.

Reach Staff Reporter Milanny Vazquez here



 

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