[CULT TALK] Discussing Social Media With Chad Ubovich Of Chad & The Meatbodies

 

Chad Ubovich has some of the best hair in rock n’ roll. It’s silky and lank and lays perfectly in front of his face while he shreds on guitar (did I use the word “shreds” right? I’m not great with music slang) in his band (Should I have said “rips”? Feeling insecure). Chad might also be one of the busiest men in rock n’ roll (this actually isn’t entirely true as you’ll be able to gather from the social media portion of this interview, but it works for the next bit of info), also beating up the axe  (help me I can’t stop) with both Pangea and Mikal Cronin. He’s also probably the best person to have sit next to you on a scary roller coaster because he has a strong grip and he will yell “2 CHAIIIIIIIINZ” with you when the big drops happen because that’s the only thing that makes you feel less terrified (it should be noted Chad is actually a pretty great friend). I lured him over to my house last week with free food and asked him this series of gripping and arresting questions just before his show with Mac Demarco at the Echoplex.

We laughed, we cried, we talked about Vine. Read the full interview below:

PART 1: Chad is not yet stoned.

Hi Chad

Chad: Hey (laughs).

 

How did you like the dinner that I prepared for you?

C: It was so nice and romantic. And we had a little heart-to-heart, and I needed that. A little TLC.

 

What’s your idea of the perfect date?

C: The perfect date? For Chad? It’s really simple. A perfect date for me is one where we’re in the middle of nowhere, somewhere like in the desert or the mountains something. Somewhere in nature. And we get along. We have like, great conversations. We’re smoking weed, and everything feels great. We’re like, blasting music, and we like the same music. Lots of weird hippie music, like The Grateful Dead, Sabbath, and Love. The two things we would listen to the most would be Grateful Dead and Love. That’s pretty much it, that’s all I need.

 

Sounds like a great time.

C: If it’s a really gnarly good date, then all of a sudden she cooked me a crazy dinner.

 

If you’re in the desert or the mountains, how did she cook this dinner? Over an open flame?

C: No, she’s just kind of like, oh by the way, I brought this. And I’m like, whoa, cool. And we’re there for like three days, in nature, with weed and sex and grooviness.

 

Do you have any advice for people trying to get over heartbreak?

C: Most of it was in your mind. Leave it alone. Move on, dude. Keep truckin’. Life’s a game. Ride the wave. See you on the other side. (Laughs). No, that’s my epitaph. Okay, here it is for real: Most of it was in your mind. Keep on truckin’. There’s always somebody that’s meant to be in your life at a certain time and for a certain duration. And if it’s not now, there’s going to be something better that fits what you’ve learned. You’re going to be a different person that you were four months ago, or four months from now, or even two weeks from now. You’re going to want different things.

 

What’s a meatbody?

C: Well the term meatbody is actually a Scientology term. I’m not a Scientologist, for the record. But, the term meatbody is, from what I know, the little I know about this, what they call the body we are in now. That’s a meatbody. So everybody is a meatbody.

 

So why did you choose that as the name of your band?

C: I needed a new name, and an old friend of mine told me about that term. I was like, oh that sounds cool. It kind of means, like, me and everybody.

 

How do you get your hair to look so lovely? What’s the secret?

C: Okay. You don’t cut it at all. And, you kind of just don’t touch it at all. You let it be what it is. You let it be a monster.

 

Do you shampoo?

C: You shampoo. You don’t condition. But I mean, everybody’s hair is different. My hair is naturally very straight and sleek, so if I condition my hair, it will be very Fabio. But when I don’t, it gets to be alive. But yeah, just treat it like a pair of jeans. Beat it the fuck up. Let it get worn in.

 

Do you think that you would play guitar differently if you had short hair?

C: Uh, yeah. If I had short hair, playing guitar by myself it wouldn’t matter. But like, it’s really weird. I feel like half the reason I can play is because I don’t see anybody. It’s kind of like a big blanket, and I get in the zone hiding behind it. I get really self-conscious when people are watching me. In high school when I played guitar, I wasn’t that guy who would bring an acoustic guitar to school, and sit there during lunch like “Hey have you heard this song? It’s called ‘Blackbird’.” (Laughs) I couldn’t do that.

 

What inspires you to write Meatbodies music?

C: Um, weed. (Laughs). No, no, no. I guess heartbreak, insanity, and anger. Being really aggressive and having anger problems. And other rock n’ roll. Being lonely and listening to a lot of music.

 

Like what?

C: A lot of 60s psych stuff. For some reason I’ve been listening to a lot of Hendrix again. I feel like I’m 16 or something. Okay actually, I’m inspired by heartbreak and anger, but conquering that through world love and grooviness. And just that whole hippie mentality. Which is kind of like, everything sucks but let’s have a party together.

 

If Chad & The Meatbodies was a movie, what movie would it be?

C: Enter The Void. (Laughs). No, it would be a mixture of movies. It would be like if Point Break and They Live came together, and they birthed out Help!. While watching Enter The Void.

What’s coming up next for Chad & The Meatbodies?

C: We did a split 7 inch with Ty Segall, and that’s on Famous Class, and that should be pretty cool. I listened to it, it’s great. There should be a couple 7 inches coming out after that. I can’t talk about the specifics though. Then hopefully an LP soon. Then after that I’m going to buy every child in Africa a guitar, and I’m going to be walking around in a fur coat teaching them.

 

So you’re going to walk around Africa in a fur coat teaching all of the children to play guitar?

C: Yeah. Then they’re going to make a statue of me in Africa.

 

PART 2: Chad is now stoned

 

What do you love the most about social media?

C: It’s SO fun. It’s totally a game. And it’s like, what else do you do when you first wake up?

 

You’re asking me?

C: Yeah. Or America.

 

I have coffee usually.

C: You know what I do? I get up, I look at my phone, and I spend literally like an hour on my phone.

 

One full hour?

C: Something like that! I do everything there.

 

Checking all your social media?

C: Yeah. And you introduced that to me.

 

I did? I did. Because I gave you your first smart phone.

C: Yes, you did Yasi.

 

Okay I want to take this moment to publicly apologize to all of Chad’s friends because I am the reason you get 150 Snapchats a day.

C: You literally came up to me and said “I’m giving you a phone. You NEED Instagram. You need it.”

 

I mean, I didn’t think I was going to create a fucking social media monster.

C: Well, you did baby.

 

What is your favorite form of social media out of the many, many that you use?

C: Dude, Instagram rocks.

 

What do you like so much about it?

C: It’s the best social media. Facebook is way too personal. I don’t add people on Facebook and I sit there for hours deleting all my photos after a few months. But Instagram is so like, fleeting. You don’t have to know a person, you’re just like “Oh, cool pic!”

 

Chad is making the “heart a photo on Instagram” motion with his hand right now.

C: Yup. Thumbs up sign!

 

Are you one of those people who send individual Snapchats or are you just Snapchatting the world? Be honest. Because I know you’re not just Snapchatting me special things. I know you’re sending them to twenty people.

C: This is the process. If I’m talking to a girl, maybe we send individual ones.

 

Nudes?

C: No. It’s more like conversations back and forth through whatever stupid way of communicating that is. But sometimes if I’m sending one to a girl, and it’s like, really funny, then I’ll send it to multiple people. But I’m always like “Is she sending me back individual Snapchats? Or is she sending them to the world?”

 

It’s a valid concern.

C: It’s the question of the century.

 

What are some tips and tricks for making good Vines?

C: Okay, Vine. Everybody is hating on Vine lately. Have you noticed that?

 

Not really. What are they saying?

C: Everywhere I go people are like, “Ugh, Vine.” And they’re so mad at Vine. I don’t really get it. I think it’s cool. People are kind of learning to do in-camera editing. I used to make video art so I think it’s cool. (Laughs).

 

So why do you think people hate on it?

C: I think because it’s loud, and that makes it annoying? And because people don’t want to take the time to watch something? I don’t know.

 

What’s the best Vine you have ever seen?

C: My bass player Riley made it. I made a Vine of our guitarist, my best friend Cory Hanson. He was sitting on the couch with Noonan, and he had put on this R. Kelly song that he loves. I don’t know the name, but the chorus is like “Sex in the morning, sex all dayyy.” So Cory is singing it, and he knows all the words, and I took a Vine of that. And then Riley, who already has the best Vine by the way, you should follow him, it’s EvilRileyRobot. I hope people follow him. This is the funniest thing right now. We’re talking about social media.

 

Well, I know you’re really into it.

C: I am! I’m not going to lie, dude.

You don’t have to lie, it’s fine. You should own up to the things you love. I love drinking pickle  juice. I will sing it from the rooftops, I don’t care what anyone says or if I die alone.

C: I like watching sprinklers on grass. I love that!

 

Great! Good for you. There’s little happiness in the world Chad. We should take it where we can get it.

C: Oh yeah. So, EvilRileyRobot, he texted me and said “I thought your Vine was saying ‘Sex and porn and sex all day.’” And so he had made a Vine with his cat of himself singing “Sex and porn and sex all day” to his cat, and the camera flips to his face and he says “she’s purring” and then flips to the cat and says “he’s purring.” (Laughs and laughs). It’s so weird. You’re going to love it because you love cats.

 

Okay last question. If you could send literally every single person in the world, everybody, one Snapchat, what would this Snapchat be?

C: Oh my god, dude. I feel like it would just be like, a picture of my poo, and then an Emoji of a smiley face with sunglasses, and it just says “hi”.

All right.

C: No, okay. I’d have to sleep on that. My immediate reaction, because I’m so immature, would be doing something like that. “Check out my poo!” and then people would be like “that guy is wacky.” But like, what if one dude is like “if I see one more shit, I’m going to kill myself”, I’d want to send that guy an Emoji of a hug or something.

 

Chad, this is one Snapchat to everyone. That’s the rule of this question.

C: Okay fine. I’ll get mature. This sound so sappy thought. I’m going to get made fun of for this.

 

Lay it on me.

C: I’d probably take a picture of the sun, with like a nice field, and I’d be like “Dudes, love one another.”

 

That’s a good one. It’s very you.

C: But I’d immediately follow it with a selfie, because you know I love selfies, of me on the toilet. Or the poop with the sunglasses smiley face.

 

Fair enough Chad.

You can find Chad & The Meatbodies on and . You can find Chad on , Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, and probably Friendster.