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Chris - Vocals, Guitars

Addison - Guitar, Vocals, Percussion

Chad - Bass

Ben - Acoustic Guitar, Organ, Wurlitzer, Keyboards, etc. 

Jeffery – Drums

Then (January 2009): To begin, you’ve got Chris - known primarily for his melodic howl and furious guitar riffage in Hot Water Music but also with a hand in lesser-known exploits The Draft, Rumbleseat, The Blacktop Cadence, and Cro(w)s. He’s been working on these songs for over five years, long before Hot Water called it quits or The Draft was even a twinkle in his eye. They weren’t written for a specific purpose, there was no real plan to release a record, no plan to form a band. Chris writes songs because he’s a musician. You can’t really call it a job and it’s much more than a hobby. Some people were just meant to write songs. Originally laid down on an acoustic guitar, these tunes were brought to life in the studio with a fantastic cast of characters. Ben Lovett got his hands on them first, bringing the same experienced touch that brought Matt Skiba’s HEAVENS to life along with a host of film scores. And while Chris and Ben were tracking now and then in California, pretty soon, back home in Florida, long-time friend Addison Burns (The Enablers, Quit) entered the fold. Chris and Addison had started tracking their own “guerilla style” recordings wherever and whenever possible. The songs took shape from there, with Crescendo Sound Studios production wizards Derron and Addison leaving their usual spots behind the mixing board and returning to the Live Room beside HWM drum maestro George Rebelo. Chris’s songs sprung to life, with layers upon layers of instrumentation creating an atmospheric, ethereal record full of eclectic masterpieces. From mid-tempo rockers to somber acoustic tunes, haunting vocals and perfectly placed production, “Chris Wollard & the Ship Thieves” is exactly what a studio album should be.

Now (September 2009): Chris told us they’d never tour. Plans changed. Of course, when plans change, everything else must change as well. So when Wollard decided to take the songs on the road, he recruited new members Chad (of Gainesville shoegazers Averkiou) and Jeffery (of Georgia pop-country darlings Ninja Gun) to fill the vacant slots. Rejuvenated and revitalized, they hit the shed with a replenished vigor, penning a score of new tunes for their forthcoming trip abroad. Afterwards... who knows?

The Story/Recording: In 2003, Chris met Ben, who at the time was running a small studio called Sunny Heights in Los Angeles. Over the following years, Chris would drop in and the two would stay up for days at a time, drinking whiskey, jamming, and recording. You can still hear snippets of these sessions scattered throughout this final version of the record. Track 3, “The Same to You,” was written and recorded in its entirety during one of these whiskey-fueled visits. After years of little direction, they decided to create an album from the bits and pieces they’d been collecting, and set out to finish things. The next two years saw Chris recording sporadically at Goldentone Studios, Crescendo Sound, and even his kitchen, finally finishing enough for Ben to fly to Gainesville in early 2008. They teamed up with Addison and attacking the songs in an unorthodox manner, which Ben described as “more like herding wild horses than tracking music.” Newly focused and relying more on instinct than experience, they chopped, sutured, and strung the songs together, called on some friends, and finally delivered this album.

Future Plans: The Ship Thieves will be releasing a split 7” with Georgia’s Ninja Gun in late 2009, care of New Jersey’s Chunksaah Records.

Kind Words from Kind Folks:

“This solo work is Wollard in a more reflective, intimate mood than his day job. Combining alt-folk and country acoustic songs with shuffling power pop efforts, his vocals are more wistful and crawled than raw and make for a breezy sun-soaked sound.” - Big Cheese

“Ranging from mild rock ‘n’ roll to country to folk, the album shows Wollard as a thoughtful, mature, and skilled singer/songwriter.” - Prick

“The arrangements are prim without being austere, placing Wollard’s diffident, shuffling vocals center stage. The album feels as breezy as it does wistful, and lingers like memories of summer vacation.” - Alternative Press

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