Chalant Takes the Stage at Colgate University

Photo by Maxwell Walker

In the snow globe of a town that is Hamilton, New York, Colgate University has recently experienced a renaissance in its band scene. Perhaps it is Central New York’s half a year of winter that has encouraged students to seek refuge in their instruments, but in this increasingly vibrant musical climate, the band Chalant has established itself as one of the campus’s premier acts. Blending the thoughtful lyricism of lead singer Craig Arquiett with the high energy and technical skill of lead guitarist Andrew Tatela, this four-piece band has developed a pop-rock sound that focuses on good energy, musicality, and variety. As Tatela says, “We try not to bore ourselves.”

In addition to the two lead men, the band includes Katie Bradley on bass and Matt Walinski on drums. Walinski studied abroad in the fall of 2024, while Max Alphonso, a drummer and member of Tatela’s a cappella group, stepped in on drums. Though Walinski returned to his former position in the band this January, Alphonso will play drums on the band’s first EP.

We spoke to the band at the location of their upcoming February 15th show, in the lounge of WRCU, Colgate’s student radio station.

Photo by Stefano Montemagno

Okay, first off, tell me about the formation of the group.

Andrew: So the story goes that the first couple weeks of school, freshman year, I was just walking around campus and saw Craig in a Fender guitar shirt and so I said, hey, man, do you play? And, uh, he did. And so we started jamming in his room, just playing Grateful Dead songs and stuff. But then he showed me a song that he wrote and I loved it. And I said, let me write a lead part to this – like, we should write songs. So then we were doing that, and then Craig said, oh, the girl down the hall plays bass. And then that whole semester we were just jamming in Craig’s dorm. Then we got Matt because I was in the pit band for Be More Chill, the best musical ever made. I met Matt and I was like, this kid rips. Great drummer. 

Craig: Actually, to add a little bit more detail to the story, after me and Andrew wrote “Telescope”, our first song, I was skating back to my dorm room. 

Katie: Yeah. Craig skateboards. 

Craig: I think I was skating with my guitar, which is kind of, you know, there’s something to be said about that. 

Andrew: And everyone on campus, like, turned and fell to the floor. 

[laughter]

Craig: It was actually the dead of night. That would have happened if it was in the day, but it was in the dead of night. So I passed Katie, and I remembered, oh, Katie plays bass. So I was like, Katie, I don’t know you. This is the second time I’ve spoken to you. But you should join us. And that was the first month.

Photo by Holly White

So, why Chalant? Why the name?

Craig: That was Katie

Katie: Okay, because – actually I’m not gonna air that out.

Andrew: We spent so long. We spent so long.

Craig: We had so many good names. We had better names than Chalant.

Andrew: We had the best band name ever, and then we got rid of it.

Craig: It was “For Josh”, was the original band name, for like a month.

Andrew: All of our music was for Josh – we made up this guy named Josh.

Craig: The fake Josh – our Josh – is basically this image of the perfect fan that we’re performing for.

Craig: But I guess the short story of Chalant is that we were pissed at the epidemic of nonchalantism. Kind of as a joke but also seriously.

Andrew: Honestly, I just kind of accepted the name when we picked it. It’s like, oh, we do care. But now it’s a huge part of the culture that everyone talks about. People just aren’t sincere about stuff anymore. So now after we’ve picked the name, I’ve sort of come to appreciate that. You know, you just got to be chalant in a nonchalant world.  

Photo by Maxwell Walker

You guys are really like fish swimming against the current.

Andrew: We’re basically, you know, the essence of counterculture and [laughs].

I’m interested in your roles in the band. So, first of all, tell me what instruments you play. I’m also interested in how you see yourself functioning in your group if that makes sense. 

Andrew: I play lead guitar, and Craig and I are roommates–

Katie: So they say…

[laughter]

Andrew: So we write a lot. We have guitars in the room. So whenever we’re sitting in the room for a while, we just pick up the guitar and then start playing stuff. And we write most of the songs with just the two of us, and then later we bring them to Katie and Matt. One of the roles that I enjoy the most is making the drum and bass parts, honestly, and working with Katie and Matt. Just today we were working on drum parts for a new song, and I kind of know how drums work, but I don’t really know how drums work. So I can just say to Matt, why don’t you try this? And, make weird noises. And then he does it. And I’m like, yeah, that sounds good. 

Craig: And we’re writing new songs right now. So right now we’re just kind of feeding them stuff, but that’s not all he does.

Matt: There’s so many times where I want to just do a Latin beat, but I know that you would kill me.

Andrew: Hey, we’ll write a bossa nova song. I know you want to do it, like [beatboxes].

Matt: I just– I want to, I want to make you proud. 

[laughter]

Craig: So I play rhythm and I do most of the singing. Most. And I think we all had slightly different music tastes and they definitely became more homogenous, just by being around each other. But I think about where I came from and what I like to write. I love Simon and Garfunkel, I love Paul Simon and, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. So when I think about songwriting, a lot of what I do is thinking about that ethos of a song. And that’s where it often starts. But I also am really into rock. My favorite band is The Beatles. So it’s great to make these songs that are very, very rich and where there’s lots of weird stuff going on.

Katie: I want to add that Andrew’s such a good teacher. Andrew teaches, teaches, teaches us constantly. I think I’m hopefully not speaking for anyone. He’s actually so patient. And I literally never remember the bridge. Like never, ever ever. Of any song. But he teaches. Everything that I know – my dad has taught me some about the bass and Andrew has taught me a lot. And Craig is a great listener. But anyway, I play the bass, I try to keep up. That’s my role. Trying to keep up. I’m like, can y’all carry this amp? [laughter] And you’re laughing. It’s real. I can’t lift it on my own. 

Craig: You can lift it on your own.

Katie: But I lose vibe when I do that. Asking for help is very vulnerable. It’s very Chalant.

Photo by Maxwell Walker

So what are some future plans for the band? What’s the dream?

Craig: So starting with the EP. The EP job honestly, well it’s gone through lots of different iterations. Originally we were like, oh, let’s just make an album. But honestly, we just want to get some music out as soon as we can. Um, and although Colgate has some great resources, we’re still all very new to this equipment. Even our producer, who’s a great producer, is very new to the equipment. So it’s a process, but we just want to get a few songs out so that we have something to point to people. But on campus, we want to do a bunch of gigs and basically play as many shows as possible. I feel like we’ve been both lucky and done a good job of having all of our shows be the vibe we want them to be. A lot of it is luck because we do pick up most of what is offered to us, but it just turns out well, you know.

Andrew: And also continue to write. So far we have over a dozen new songs that are at least half done. If Craig and I are in a room together and there’s guitars, we’re going to come up with some shit. Or we’ll be sitting on our phones, not talking, on two separate beds, watching Instagram Reels. 

Craig: So, yeah, that’s our goal is just play shows, make music. 

Andrew: Hope people have fun. Maybe play some of Katie’s songs. 

Katie: I haven’t yet mastered the art of writing songs that aren’t about my own life. And then I’m like, if anyone from home hears this, I’m getting doxxed. [laughter] One day maybe you’ll hear one of my songs.

All right, one last thing. We’re in WRCU right now, which is where you’ll have your show on the 15th. Any comments about that upcoming performance?

Craig: This is what we’ll say. We are excited for WRCU and to play for everybody again this semester… and to debut a couple of new songs.

Andrew: Happy 75th, WRCU.

Katie: I actually told my professor, and he’s no longer my advisor, but he’s a real one. He was like, when are you playing next? And I was like 15th at WRCU. Be there. 

Craig: Do you think we’ll be around for the 300th?

Katie: I hope not.

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