Editor’s note: The author, a Vallejo native, each week takes a look at different media personalities. She can be reached at mahoganyunique@gmail.com.
Curt Chambers began his life journey with two fundamental qualities: The desire to help other people and a melodic ear that impelled him into his musical serendipity.
At 11 years old, Chambers had an amplified interest in music when he was surrounded by older musicians at his church that had a unique sound. “Sonically, their music was like a combination of gospel meets blues meets country,” remembers Chambers, “so they all played guitars and still guitars and that caught my ears and attention at a young age.”
He analyzed them and began working on his own craft. “I learned how to play guitar on my own,” Chambers says. “I actually would watch them play at church and I would sit next to them and learn!”
Chambers had full support from his family and was eager to began his musical adventure. “My cousin gave me his old guitar and I just kinda taught myself,” he says, laughing. “I taught myself how to tune it the way I thought it was tuned and it was totally wrong that’s how it started.”
In high school, he decided to take piano lessons. This is when he started officially taking formal guitar lessons. Despite his newfound relationship with the piano, his heart was always nestled in the guitar. “Piano was my first official music lessons but I love the guitar,” says Chambers. “That’s my sword, I would say. When I go to war, that’s my dagger right there. I feel like piano and the other instruments that I play are what I use when I’m creating (music).”
In high school, Chambers dabbled with other instruments to expand his horizon musically. “I played everything in my high school band,” he remembers. “I played every instrument. I play piano, I play saxophone as well. Drums and bass. It was overkill. I definitely tried to put my hands on everything that I could.”
Eventually his diversity with the instruments led him to a life-changing opportunity. Although his first love is guitar, the drums are what introduced him to the professional side of the game. A talent scout heard him play at his high school, and he was immediately drawn to how he played the drums. He invited him to play at his first major gig, The Black Diamond Awards in Philadelphia.
“They had guest like Boyz To Men, Queen Latifah, Gerald Levert, David Hollister and some other major artist,” remembers Chambers. “I had to play for all of those artists and that was my first big gig. It was pretty intense. It was good. I felt good. The show went really well. I was rockin’ with some OG’s and they gave me some great advice. They were like, ‘Yo man, expect something to go wrong. Something always goes wrong but it’s not about what goes wrong, it’s how you recover from it and cover it up.’
“That was some of the greatest advice that they gave me at that time and I still apply that now to everything I do. The object is to win and not really hone into what went wrong. Something can always fail.”
From there, Chambers linked up with some of his musician buddies (Adam Blackstone, Darrell Robinson, Aaron Draper, Dwayne Moore and Ray Ray) and started taking gigs throughout the East Coast and playing for artists such as Chrisette Michelle, Jill Scott, Vivian Greene and more. At that time, the Neo-Soul genre was created, demanding authentic Neo-Soul artists that not only could play but relate. They had so many opportunities come their way, they formed a group called Franklin Bridge and became one of Philadelphia’s in-demand bands.
“I have to credit my friends,” says Chambers. “I made it in the industry because of my friends. We had a unique group and it was one of the best boy bands. We did everything together and I think that allowed a lot of people to look at what we were doing as a unit.”
Franklin Bridge’s buzz lead them to greener pastures in the industry. They were already touring with artists overseas and had a buzz around their name in their hometown, but their first big break (as a unit) in the industry came when they were invited to play for the television show “The Next Great American Band.”
“We got some TV shine and it was dope!” recalls Chambers. “We we were grinding. It wasn’t a grind to get into the industry — we were already working. It was a grind for me because I was in college and working back at home doing rehearsals and driving back down to New York to go to school. It was hard but it had to be done!”
Although Chambers was fortunate enough to discover his purpose at a young age, he still faced challenges and opposition growing up. Some of the same people that inspired him tried to mock and discourage his dreams.
“When I first picked up the guitar, I had some guitar players that were around me that I looked up to that just kinda laughed at me because of the concept of me wanting to pick up the guitar,” he remembers. “People can be mean. I’m sure as a kid, it hurt a lot but when you’re determined to do something and you’re a kid, for me it was water off my back. There was a force that I was kinda rockin’ with and I was like, ‘I’m going to play everything and I’m going to do this and that can be threatening to some of the old heads.’
“At that time I was too young to let it really bother me. You just gotta use that as ammunition to inspire you to do what you want to do. But not in a vindictive way, because you are going to make it if you keep throwing it and you are probably going to surpass those people.”
As a global musician and songwriter, Chambers has definitely surpassed those people. He is now a Grammy-nominated musician/songwriter who travels the world and has played his instruments for some of the world’s biggest artists, like the late B.B. Kng, Eminem, Dr. Dre., Diddy, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, and more. He also was nominated for a Grammy for co-writing the song “Finding My Way Back” by Jaheim. He recently released his first solo album, “One Way Ticket.”
Despite his blaring success in the industry, he remains humble because he realizes his purpose is larger than his ego. Through his music and song writing, he wants to inspire people — mainly children — to follow their dreams regardless of what comes their way.
“It feels good that I have my lane and I have my pocket that people love and that they’re inspired by it,” he says. “Like I said, I don’t have any vindictive approach. I feel like they were just doing what they were supposed to do and that was another way to inspire me to do what I wanted to do. It feels good that I have something that people like because ultimately that’s what I want to be.
“I want everyone who looks up to what I do to just really be inspired so that I can get inspiration from them.”
Although musically, he’s one of the best, he wholeheartedly believes that the purpose of his musical gift from The Lord is to inspire others.
“I definitely credit God,” Chambers says. “I definitely apply my faith to my gift because that’s what’s directing me. It’s funny how some things are just there for you for a reason. There are some things I wanted in my life where I’d tell God, I need this because I want to do this and He made it happen for me because ultimately it was going to make me a better person. I am supposed to have an amazing relationship with God through studying the word, being inspired through proper teaching and then taking that fuel and that knowledge and take that into the studios. I feel like my light, my musical light is just a tool for me to be able to inspire.
“When I’m on stage,” he continues, “I’m hoping to fire up something in somebody. That’s really where my mind is. It’s bigger than being the greatest guitar player. I wanna birth something in the next kid that’s going to think of something none of us were even able to think about in our heads! That’s what I’m passionate about. It’s bigger than music. It’s all about purpose!”
