Sports on Self-Production, Vulnerability and Ditching the Safety Net
Sports X FAULT Magazine
A decade on from Naked All The Time, Sports find themselves at a quiet but pivotal crossroads.
Their latest self-titled album drops today, and it’s the band’s first release without long-time studio architect Chad Copelin physically in the room. That decision marks a shift from dynamic duo Cale Chronister and Christian Theriot towards self-production and, with it, a new kind of vulnerability. The result is a record that leans into anxiety, adulthood and creative risk – balancing glitchy synths with live instrumentation, and introspective rumination with flashes of joy.
In conversation with FAULT, Sports frontman Cale reflects on legacy, oversharing in the age of “authenticity”, growing up musically in Tulsa, and why ‘Keep Falling In Love’ feels like the band’s purest moment of happiness yet.
FAULT: After four albums working with Chad Copelin, was it weird to not have him in the studio for this one?
Sports [Cale]: Yes, it was weird. It was weird to not have that brilliance in the room helping you make the songs you’re making any more. It was scary at first. It put more pressure on us, which I think helped us grow as artists. But he was always there when we called with questions and he mixed the record, which made everything feel full circle and whole.
You’ve spoken about “the weight” of having a decade under your belts – so to speak! – as a band (Naked All The Time came out in 2015), so I was struck by the name of your opening track for the new album – ‘Gravestone’. You’ve opted for an eponymous album title too, and there’s literally a track called ‘Don’t Forget About Me’. How much did the notion of legacy come into the making of this album (consciously or otherwise)?
I think we were just experiencing a lot of vulnerability because of our decision to self-produce and even being self-managed for part of the time making this record. I think the lyrics reflect that experience in many ways, though that’s not necessarily the intention behind any of the lyrics. But the anxiety bled into my every day life. It may not sound like that big of a deal, but learning to trust yourself, removing those safety nets… It took some audacity. Some extra belief in yourself. It did feel like a necessary step towards becoming a full blown adult, which is something that needed to happen for me, now that I’m in my 30s.
Cale, in previous interviews you’ve described yourself as “kind of boring”, so I guess that’s already a good reason not to get too into your personal life (!), but it’s hard not to get curious about the relationship(s) you describe in many of the songs on this album (‘Stay Mad’, ‘Keep Falling in Love’, ‘I Can’t Cry’, ‘My Superstar’). To what extent are they shaped/inspired by your own experiences versus being more of a fictional vignette about some other person or character?
None of it is fictional. It is my life. I don’t know how to write fiction. To me, it sounds like the constant dialogue that goes on in my head. How I deal with the challenging things that go on in my life, which is to ruminate like hell. Rumination has been a huge struggle for me. Just worrying my ass off all the time. Exhausting myself. Some of the songs I’m sort of talking to myself. Some of them I’m singing about my wife or other relationships in my life. But I don’t like to get too specific about that, because I like keeping the mystery. I think it serves the audience better that way.
So, at the moment, it seems like everyone creating content right now wants to be seen as a “storyteller”. At the same time, “artistry” and “authenticity” have seemingly become synonymous. You started Sports with a sense of fun, and you’ve said in the past that you quickly moved away from writing songs (“telling stories”) that were overly autobiographical. How do you feel about the current trend of oversharing through art and music?
Yes, I don’t try to make things that are too specific about me. I try to not get in the way of the song. But some artists are really good at that. It’s just a different style of lyric writing. Whether you’re super vague or super specific, it can suck or be great either way.
I do think this new album has some more “storyteller” type songs than other Sports albums. ‘Don’t Forget About Me’ and ‘Stay Mad’ kinda work as country songs, so to speak.
From a production perspective, ‘Drama King’ stands out on the album because of its intentional contrast between glitch-heavy synth effects and live piano recording. It feels like a real vindication of your decision to keep things in-house. Has the process of producing this album made you reflect differently on any of your previous releases? Any thoughts of, “Oh, I wish we could’ve done something else with that one”?
Only with vocals and lyrics. When I listen back, sometimes I’ll come up with a better, more obvious lyric for a chorus, or wish I’d sung something differently. But I hardly ever listen to our old albums. If I do it’s been a long time and it’s actually fun because I’ll forget how we did certain things which kinda brings the magic back to me for that song.. Like I’m listening to it as someone who didn’t make the song. I usually just listen back and feel emotional because of how proud I am of what we’ve done.
Sonically, the new album ranges from ’80s new wave to funk to ballads… do you ever go into writing a song with a specific genre in mind or is it very much a case of starting with the melody and just moving things forward organically after that?
Sometimes I’ll have a melody, or maybe we just find a cool patch on a keyboard, or maybe Christian makes a cool beat.. But we just mess around until something excites us, then follow the bread crumb trail from there. It’s like digging up a fossil.
I’m sure there are worker’s rights laws in place that prevent me from saying you were working together at 13, but you’ve been bouncing ideas for music for 20 years. You’ve basically grown up together working on Sports. Given how well you know one another, do you ever worry about that closeness turning into an echo chamber? How (and from where) do you get external perspective on your creative ideas?
I think the closer we get, the better we get at making music together. The good stuff comes from vulnerability, from not being afraid to look like an idiot.. And the closer we get, the more willing I am to try really dumb stuff. But sometimes we do need outside perspective. We called Chad quite a few times for perspective. We had friends over at the studio to listen. Our friend Costa [Upson] hung out at the studio a lot to breathe some new life into some of the songs we were stuck on.
ChatGPT suggested this question and I quite like it (thank you, future tech overlords): Growing up in Tulsa rather than a major industry hub seems to have shaped your mindset as a band. Do you still feel like outsiders looking in, or has that distance become part of your identity?
I’ve lived in LA a couple times, so that’s also a piece of home for me. But the internet makes me feel connected to everybody. I have friends all over the world.
Do you have a favourite track on the album? Which, and why?
If I had to choose, I’d choose ‘Keep Falling In Love’. It just has such a positive feeling to it. When we’ve been rehearsing it, the energy just changes. Everybody’s smiling. And I don’t think I’ve felt quite this much joy playing a song before.
World Tour kicking off later this year – first time back on the road in a while. How are you feeling about it?
Really excited, to be honest. The last time we toured was really stressful. It was at the height of COVID, we had to cancel some shows, our van violently shook anytime we drove over 50 mph, one of our trailer wheels somehow flew off while we were driving… Our nervous systems just couldn’t regulate.
This time should be a lot easier. I’ve really missed performing and seeing our fans… experiencing the songs together… I can’t wait.
What is your FAULT?
I spend too much time in my head. I’m working on smelling the flowers more.