THREE DAYS, TEN SONGS
A CONVERSATION WITH CLOSE ENEMIES
Formed in 2023, Close Enemies sound like a lost gem from the bygone era of rock’s golden age. With a distinctly ‘70s vibe, the band consists of Chasen Hampton (The Party), Trace Foster, Peter Stroud (Sheryl Crow, Don Henley), Tony Brock (The Babys, Rod Stewart), and none other than Aerosmith bassist, Tom Hamilton. This year alone, the band has released three singles, “Sound Of A Train”, “Inside Out”, and “Sweet Baby Jesus”, marking an impressive debut with a promise of much more on the way.
Collectively, the resume behind Close Enemies is impressive, featuring a cast of lifelong musicians who have seemingly done it all. When asked how they first got together, Foster quickly joked, “Tinder.” After a few laughs, he continues, “I started writing with Gary Steer, he’s kind of our hidden sixth member of the band. He doesn’t tour with us, but he writes with us…. We’d written some songs and called Peter to see if he was interested and we all got together and started writing”. Initially, the group had a different drummer and bassist, but the band truly came together when Stroud reached out to Brock and Foster connected with Hamilton. While Steer, Foster, and Stroud go back to the ‘80s, the collective clicked instantly, particularly Hamilton and Brock. From there, it took them about a year to find their singer in Hampton. As he recalls, a demo of what would become their debut single, “Sound Of A Train”, was passed along for him to audition over. Hampton reflects. “I sent the track back to them, fingers crossed, and they sent it back saying they really liked it, they asked ‘could you give us a little more?’ So I went for it, dug in a little bit… At the moment, my dad was passing away so it became this very emotional outlet for me… That song can mean a lot of things, whether it be addition, or you have a drinking problem, or relationship issues, but it became something else internally for me with that moment with my dad, almost like her heard the train calling him home.” Impressively, Hampton’s second demo was so strong, that it remains on the song today.
STREAM “SWEET BABY JESUS”
At the time of our conversation, Close Enemies have released three songs, “Sound Of A Train”, “Inside Out”, and “Sweet Baby Jesus”. The former, as Hampton alluded to, is a stomping rocker steeped in the sound of ‘70s blues rock that is led by an escalating vocal melody that grows in excitement and intensity as the song progresses towards a climatic close. “Inside Out”, on the other hand demonstrates a greater level of versatility through a sound that bridges new wave and rock in a way reminiscent of Cheap Trick. Finally, “Sweet Baby Jesus” is a return to the blues in the shape of a southern rocker. Across this trio, the band highlights a highly produced sound, a tight performance, and a greater sense of musicality. Referring to “Inside Out”, Stroud tells me, “That song is a great example of a song born in the basement. You guys had the seed of it, and we got together and hashed it out over a couple of hours and then tracked it. What you’re hearing is one of the batch that was recorded in the basement, live in one take.” In fact, most, if not all the guitars for their upcoming album, were recorded in this basement, as Hamilton says, “We did it all in three days.” “Three days, 10 songs” Foster states, referring to the guitars and much of the bass. When factoring in time for overdubs, the record came together in 10 days. There is a genuine feeling of excitement among the band that can be felt throughout our conversation. Reflecting on their next single, “Rain”, expected in June, Foster explains “’Rain’” was a 20-sec snippet of something I really liked and, in four hours, we had a song. That was when I realised there’s no stopping us, you’ll hear it, its magic.” He continues, “I wish we had wrote six more songs in those sessions, it’s like the muse was just sitting on our shoulders.”
PHOTO CREDIT: EMILY BUTLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Between the rapid writing sessions, and the even shorter recording period, Close Enemies move at an impressive clip, as Foster says, “From the beginning to right about now, you’re looking at two years.” Brock adds on to this sentiment, saying “I’ve never been in a band where I’ve felt so sure.” With their debut album expected to drop this fall, Close Enemies are wasting no time, already promising a Record Store Day 2026 release capturing their upcoming November 15th performance at Hollywood’s Whiskey A Go Go. On top of this, Stroud proudly exclaims, “We have 10 more songs that we’re already working on… We have no shortage of material” with Hampton adding “Tom is sitting on gems.”
Listen to the full, unabridged conversation, including a detailed walkthrough of the band’s songwriting process, their collective Desert Island records, and stories about Aerosmith from Tom Hamilton, including writing “Sweet Emotion”, his thoughts on writing his own book, and his favourite Aerosmith record on episode 45 of Beats By Ger on Spotify and YouTube.
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Main Photo Credit: Rick Diamond | Background Photo Credit: Eduardo Andrade
