The Choco La’s

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The Choco La’s’ are a trio made up of twins Jake and Luke Andrews and ‘kindred spirit’ Bryony Dunn.

Interview conducted Aug. 03, 2020

By Dan Locke

A love of chocolate and three-part harmonies brought twins Jake & Luke and kindred spirit Bryony, together to form The Choco La’s. Hailing from the same tiny village, they blend folk, pop etc., swapping instruments and all taking lead vocals.

Band Members

Kinder Bueno Bryony
Jaffa Cake Jake
Lindor Lukey

What is your upbringing? How small is your village?

Bryony: Jake and Luke grew up over the hill from me, and we went to the same tiny village first school where there were more year groups than classrooms!! We then went to the same secondary school in the local market town, although we weren’t friends until after we left school. It’s the epitome of a quaint English village. Revolving around the common, the pub and the church. They have a Medieval fair, where the entire town turns out dressed in medieval costumes, the village children dance around the maypole and everyone eats way too much hog roast. I think I peaked in life aged 8 when I was crowned the ‘May Queen’ and arrived to the fair in a horse drawn carriage.

How did you discover music?

Bryony: Our parents are all big music fans and I think we can all cite the music played in the car on long journeys as pretty formative. I have vivid memories of ‘head-banging’ to Nirvana in the backseat with my sisters on the way to Scotland and also listening to ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Sergei Prokofiev on the way to Sunday morning hockey training.
Luke: The first memory of music I have is listening to the Beatles ‘1’ album driving around France.

How did you start to write music?

Luke: The first song Jake and I ever wrote, when we were about 10, was called ‘Home, Sweet Home’. Jake started learning Guitar and I started on drums so it was quite natural that we’d play together.
Bryony: We had a really old out of tune piano in the dining room when I was about 10 or 11, I started learning the chords to songs so I could accompany myself and then started writing my own lyrics using those chords. I’d always written down lyrics in little notepads since I could write, although I never remembered the melodies!

How did you start the band?

Bryony: We had all been pursuing separate music projects for a long time. Jake and Luke had been in various bands and I had been doing solo stuff. We were aware of each-other being at the same schools etc. But it wasn’t until Jake started working in the same shop as me in town, that we ended up doing music together, initially as my backing band and then spending more and more time together until the band became inevitable.

How the band did get its name?

We LOVE chocolate, we also have a bit of a thing for France… hence chocolat = The Choco La’s

What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?

In the band, the first track we worked on, last summer, was a song called ‘Under My Skin’ which we have a video of somewhere…

Tell me about your upcoming recording?

We did a whole bunch of recordings during lockdown in a DIY studio, set up at Bryony’s house. But the next lot of recording isn’t too far in the future! With three songwriters we gather a lot of material very quickly!

Let talk about your latest release, “LOVE Talk” and the story behind it?

Luke: I wrote the basis of what became Love Talk in the summer house at Jake and I’s parents’ house. It was one of the nights where nothing was coming together. I had written a verse and a chorus, but I hadn’t got a buzz from anything. So, I decided to start again but just use the lyrics from what I was working on. All based around a D major chord, fun, happy sounding to contrast with the distressed lyrics. I then was playing it the next few nights and added the ‘Love Talk, Love Talking, Love Talk’ bit which brought it all together.

What is your favorite track on the album?

Bryony: Couldn’t possibly pick a favorite! At the moment the recording of ‘Old Magic’ really gives me a buzz though!

How do you stay healthy while on tour?

We’re actually booking our first ‘The Choco La’s’ tour for January (fingers crossed). We’re all super open with each other about how we’re feeling so we can try to support each other in our mental health and lift each other up. Exercise is so important for all kinds of health so we try to balance our lives so we aren’t too tired to exercise and also not too tired to gig!

What are you’re feeling about streaming music? Digital vs. vinyl?

We all use streaming services pretty avidly, but as musicians we’re so aware that that’s not where the money is. We try to buy physical copies of things we LOVE. This way we can support artists, but also have something to play in the car, hehe.

What are your feelings about the social uprising going on in the United States?

The Black Lives Matter protests have certainly had a massive reaction in the UK. The saturation of content relating to it was a big wake up call for thousands to check their privilege and really evaluate their own behaviors and way of life. It’s hard to comprehend what’s it’s really like over there though.

What is the mental health situation of the United States?

Bryony: I can’t really talk for the United States, as what we see on social media isn’t really enough to formulate an opinion. However, in the UK I feel like there is slow progress to breaking down the stigma around mental illness and talking about it more, but there is still a way to go towards understanding and acceptance. One of the first gigs we did together was in support of a charity called ‘Stick it to the Stigma’ which is a community mental health project aimed at reducing connotations and stigmas that reside around mental illness in today’s society. They have a great program called ‘While You Wait’. Due to lack of funding, overcrowding, and staff cuts, the waiting lists for mental health care can be more than six months. The while you wait service is designed to provide support to people suffering from mental health problems while they wait for professional help!
It’s great to see Mental Health become a more excepted topic of conversation.

How can public help the doctors and nurses on the front line?

As we all know, being conscientious and following the government guidance is so important. Wear a mask, wash your hands, don’t see too many people!

Do you think kids should go back to school his fall?

Bryony: I’m sure that the schools can be trusted to do what is best for the children. We will have to wait and see what the situation is like in September before we can know for sure!

What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?

We have just learnt ‘Complicated’ by Avril Lavigne for a gig tomorrow… and honestly… ‘Why do you have to go and make things so complicated’ *at the entire world*

You recorded your first song “Firebreather” early in the year. Tell me about the making of the music video?

We filmed the music video literally days before Lockdown in the UK, in Jake and Luke’s living room. We moved the furniture out of the way and our pal Willow came over with some lights and made it look all profesh. Then we basically played dress up and pretended we were in a French designer clothes campaign.

Is “Blackbird” your favorite Beatles song?

Bryony: It’s one of my favorites for sure, we used to sing it in the schoolgirls’ choir which brings back a lot of great memories. But my favorite at the moment is probably ‘Something’.
Jake: ‘Fool on the Hill’ – we learned it recently to perform as part of a big band made up of local legends from the village. Recorder ’n’all

How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?

Bryony: I mean, who knows how long until small venues will be able to hold gigs again! I heard that they did a trial socially distanced gig in London and they couldn’t sell enough tickets to even cover running costs whilst still being socially distant. Who the heck knows!

What have you been doing with your self-quarantine? Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?

Bryony: I’ve really indulged in yoga and running. Yoga was something I did casually before lockdown but I’m a converted yogi now for sure! We also discovered a local lake which allows wild swimming and we’ve fallen head over heels for that.
Luke: I really got stuck into learning French which I was doing casually before but has finally stuck during quarantine. I also got into reading again.

Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. I saw you were doing something called Furlough Fest live stream. Who come up with that idea of doing outside of the house?

We actually only did it outside because the WIFI at my house was so bad that we had to go to Jake and Luke’s garden to use their Wi-Fi___33 but couldn’t go into their house because of Lockdown!!!

Who idea was the eating competition?

Jake and Luke have said for a LOOOONG time when eating chocolate cake that they could just keep eating it forever. So, we decided to put it to the test… spoiler alert, we all failed

Live Nations just started Live Nation from Home. Which are concerts from artist homes. An all-new virtual music hub keeping fans connected to their favorite artists featuring daily live streams, performances, new music and more. Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?

Potentially, but with everyone going back to work and leaving home and going out, this content will probably grow old fairly quickly. Also, there is so much similar content completely free people might be hesitant to actually pay for it.

Live Nation is starting to do the first ever U.S. drive-in concert series — LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN — which started on July 10, 2020. Now there are many other Drive-in concerts popping up. Do you think this is something you would be willing to do?

Yeah, a drive-in concert sounds rad. We’d love to live out our American film dreams. People are absolutely craving live music so as and when it’s safe to do so, people will be turning out for sure. It’ll probably be a really good time for new bands because people will be so up for shows.

In addition, at the present time for a band to go on tour from one state to another they may need to self-quarantine for 14 days. How is that going to work?

We won’t be touring the US for some time so we doubt that’ll affect us too much for the time being!

With Social Distance being the norm. Do you feel that it maybe the end of music fest for the next couple of years?

We hope not! We have our fingers crossed for latitude next year… we all transferred our tickets over. Hope it’s safe by next summer.

What about Holographic concerts in our living room?

If you can point us in the direction of that tech, we are well up for it.

How do you see yourself in the next five years?

Bryony: I’m driving a baby blue Cadillac down an open road, (but it’s got a replacement engine which means it’s eco-friendly). I press down on the accelerator with my vintage Gucci heeled loafer clad foot. I’m going to be late for soundcheck to one of three sold-out headline shows at Wembley. I’m shaking my head, thinking to myself, “I never should have let Stevie convince me to stay over last night”. (Stevie Nicks that is, in case you were wondering). I pull up and grab my one of a kind, peach custom fender bass out of the back. Luke spots me and taps his vintage leather watch, he’s carrying a hand-carved marble bust under his arm that he just picked up at auction… the resemblance to himself is quite uncanny. I can hear Jake warming up for the show on the skateboard half-pipe that’s attached to the tour bus. I think to myself “if only 23-year-old me, could see me now”.

Anything you would like to say in closing?