Chris Church’s new record Game Dirt will be released by Big Stir Records on March 27.

Game Dirt sounds different than for example Backwards Compatible or Limitations Of Source Tape, but what else would you expect from a musical chameleon.

Sweet Sweet Music spoke to Chris about how the new record came about.

All song titles consist of one word. There must be an idea behind that?

If you want to call “just being sassy” an idea… Seriously though, I think if one were to put on one’s disbelief suspenders for just a moment, it would be possible for one to excavate at least a chunk of meaning from reading the titles in order. If so, then, yes, you’re absolutely right, it IS a concept album! Or maybe a series of acronyms for the insane.

Every time I hear ‘Learn’ I start singing ‘Breakin’ rocks in the hot sun I fought the law and the law won’. Weird how the mind works or not so weird?

I’m sure I ripped off somebody. Might as well be Marshall Crenshaw’s favorite rock star ever to have been murdered by gangsters.

Your sound changed a bit or quite a bit, didn’t it? I think I hear Nick Lowe might have inspired you every now and then and I haven’t thought I heard that influence before.

I don’t know if I have a “sound”. I guess if I’m doing pop rock I probably am somewhat identifiable. I’ve done music in lots of genres, from progressive metal to goth pop to folky Americana to experimental to pure crap. I don’t know what I will end up doing next. I suppose one of the reasons Game Dirt sounds different than my last few is that I played all the instruments, and I’m not a very good drummer. I had a vibe in mind, and I only worked on the songs that felt elastic enough for me to shape as the mood dictated. There are several different versions of some of them. As for the Nick Lowe comparison, I’ll say two things – thanks, and I wish!

How did this one come about?

I got busy in my studio recording almost daily after my job was ended due to covid. I don’t think any of the subject matter is directly related to the pandemic, though. It’s just a bunch of songs. It was great to not be “on the clock”, though. I felt free about it. I also worked a lot on other things, including an album my friend Ben Gibbs has made in the studio with my wife Lori Franklin producing. It’s fantastic and I can’t wait for people to have a chance to hear it. It will give off a similar vibe perhaps, as it was recorded simultaneously, but it’s a whole other animal. I’ve done quite a few things down in that basement studio over the last 9 months or so, but I have started a new job, so who knows what’s next?

You should be proud Chris, you are writing quality songs and have been writing them for a long time now. Is it harder to get a compliment than it is to give one?

No! (Haha). Seriously, I appreciate that. I want to like stuff, and I still like a lot of my stuff, so that’s pretty much what it’s about for me. I probably should care more about what people think, but I think I have gotten a little better at appreciating positivity. It’s not a big deal.