Chomp Interviews Mobley

It was a Sunday night and Mobley was a few minutes late as he was taking care of his new baby, but as soon as we started talking he went right into chatting about getting back to performing live music this year. I love that the interview started this way, as it showed Mobley just as I had expected him to be— a multidimensional rock star with a lot of layers.

Chomp: I would love to hear a little about yourself, how everything got started, and a little background? 

Mobley: “I kind’ve fell into music by accident to a certain extent. I had always really cared a lot about music but I didn’t know any professional musicians. I didn’t really picture it as something I could be, but I just kind’ve started writing songs. Towards the end of high school I ended up accidentally starting a band and we couldn’t find a singer, so I ended up becoming the singer for the band and then eventually after a few years, various life changes kind’ve made the rest of the members fall away and then I found myself as a solo artist. When I was flying as a duo with a drummer we had a 3-month tour booked, this was a few years ago, we had a few months booked and my drummer got injured and couldn’t go on tour so I had to decide whether to drop off the tour, play it acoustic, or come up with some kind of way to do a one-man kind of rock show. I picked the latter and put together a show where I was playing drums, guitar, bass, and keys, and singing, looping, and triggering and all sorts of stuff. People really responded positively to it and overnight made it possible for me to do music full time, so that’s what I’ve been doing since.” 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDbUcVJbuP8

Chomp: What do you love about the Austin music scene? What has that meant to you?

Mobley: “I think probably the best thing about being an artist in this city is just the kind of critical mass of other artistic people. You can’t go to the grocery store without running into 5 or 6 different people in bands or whatever, and I think being around that level of creative energy is really inspiring. It’s good soil to grow in I think.”

Chomp:  What song are you looking forward to the most to perform live if you can pick a favorite?

Mobley: “I think the first song in the set is going to be my song “Nobody’s Favorite” and I probably am looking forward to that moment the most. You put a lot of, in terms of like stagecraft and showmanship, you put a lot of thought into what kind of entrance you are going to make and how the first song is going to go, and so I’m looking forward to hopefully the plan that I have working. I think that first song is the one I am looking forward to the most.” 

Follow Mobley here.