About
Chill Monkey Chill
John Wicks aka Chill Monkey Chill sets himself apart from other musicians/producers who rely on software to imitate live instruments by using live instrumentation to replicate computer-generated sounds. Wicks blends his futuristic style with the improvisation techniques inspired by Deantoni Parks' Technoself method and decided to play a minimal drum set consisting of a kick, snare, and hi-hat, with only one stick in his left hand, while using a midi controller/sampler in his right hand to produce additional sounds. This unconventional approach allowed Wicks to push his technical abilities to new heights and unleash his creativity, freeing him from the constraints of a traditional drum kit. His first solo album, eponymously titled Chill Monkey Chill, features tracks recorded during live sessions without any overdubs, showcasing his unique and unadulterated live performance.
Although he has mostly played and recorded with groups and artists such as Fitz and The Tantrums, Bruno Mars, CeeLo Green, Chocolate Genius Inc., Meshell Ndegeocello, Money Mark, and RZA, among others, Wicks has recently been composing soundtracks for films, including the Netflix series Under the Banner of Heaven, which he worked on with Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer and work for Dreamworks Animation.
Wicks, an accomplished drummer, left a successful band in search of creative fulfillment and technical challenges. 'People think I'm crazy to have jumped off of the gravy train. It was an amazing 14 year ride and I love them all dearly, yet I'm thankful that I disembarked when I did. If you let it, the business side can eclipse the creativity and can make you forget why you started playing music in the first place. Music is too sacred to me to let that happen.' 'I realize that it’s hard to invest in something without seeing financial returns. I remember a conversation I had with jazz singer Betty Carter where I expressed my fear of moving to New York and not being able to afford food. She responded with, "We all make sacrifices for our art" and walked away, hah!' That hit me deeply. 'In the beginning, money was never my main motivator, but commercial success is a hell of a drug and the business people surrounding you get addicted to it too. 'As of late, I've refocused on improving my skills rather than the monetary gains. I become obsessed with making certain concepts like the Technoself method work, and eventually, success (in whatever form) follows. 'Comfort breeds complacency, and that's not me.'"
Starting from scratch...again.
Having to relearn the instrument, essentially starting from scratch, continues to be a difficult but rewarding process. I feel the need to break away from my established style and explore new creative avenues. It returns me to a childlike state where I can approach the work with a renewed sense of curiosity and openness, allowing me to discover new ideas and techniques. The human brain is a highly complex and dynamic system that is capable of processing information and adapting to new situations in real-time. This ability to think "on the fly" is what separates us from even the most advanced artificial intelligence systems. Unlike AI, the human brain has the capacity to integrate sensory information from the environment, make intuitive judgments, and draw on past experiences and knowledge to make decisions and solve problems. This is due to the brain's ability to rapidly and dynamically reconfigure its neural networks in response to changing circumstances, which is sometimes referred to as neuroplasticity. I'm getting there and it feels great.
Looking to the Future
As I continue to work on my current solo practice, I am delving deeper into the philosophy behind it. The Technoself method, created by Deantoni Parks, allows for reinvention of myself, as he points out creating a new language is often the easiest way to create a new reality.
When it comes to music, Parks approaches it in a unique way which I have adopted. The left side of my body is dedicated to playing drums, analog style but in a hybrid of the programmed and live vernacular. On the other hand, the right side of his body is dedicated to a palette of samples that I can pull from anywhere, incorporating any sound that available. This all happens in a real-time, streaming, state of flow where the lag time between idea and action is next to nothing.. These techniques have produced different results for me than the techniques that he was taught in music school. It's an inspiring new paradigm that I feel is what the future of spontaneous music creation will look like.
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