Interview: Chris Mann Makes Noise & Much Viewed Musical Parodies

During these quarantined times, top-selling recording artist Chris Mann has made the ultimate lemonade out of lemons - musical parodies viewed by tens of millions; all while sequestered with his family, and putting the finishing touches on his latest release Noise.

Thank you for taking the time out of your viral hit video making for this interview, Chris! I usually ask what a person's been doing to keep creative in these stay-at-home times, but I and others have clicked on over 70 million times to experience your little creative endeavors, your hysterical quarantine parodies. What is your secret in juggling creating Noise, shooting your own parody videos and home schooling your little one?

There is no secret - it's a lot of work! My son, Hugo, runs the show, so all my creative endeavors revolve around his schedule (and mood). I try to get the bulk of anything done (writing, recording, or filming a video) during his nap time. It's crazy and chaotic for sure. I destroy our house. Then I go back to playing with Hugo or helping my wife in some way. At night, after he's asleep, I dig into editing the videos, which takes the most time. With my original album Noise, I had recorded most of it before COVID hit. So not too much work there. However, I filmed a music video for the newest single, 'Good Days,' during quarantine. I shot that in downtown Los Angeles during the day, and then edited it after the fact. It's all piecemealed together but it works out in the end. I try to keep my head from exploding from multitasking - I keep a lot of lists.

What incident sparked the birth of your first parody video My Corona?

I'd never made a parody video before. Or even recorded a parody song, in general. But after having made that enormous grocery store trip we all made at the beginning of quarantine - major rush to store, no parking, no toilet paper, wearing masks for first time - I came home, put Hugo down for a nap, and recorded My Corona--a spoof on My Sharona. I don't know why I did it. I certainly didn't have any expectations. I put it on Facebook and YouTube and thought my friends might get a kick out of it. It got 20 million views in four days. I was shocked. After that I kept making them for fun and they just kept getting bigger and bigger.

What factored into choosing Noise as the title of your eight-tracked CD? Do we even call a musical release a CD now?

I started writing the songs for Noise a few years ago. I was feeling down, out, not heard, even bullied - and then I felt like we as a society were also not being heard and were being bullied. #MeToo was happening. Then #BLM. Trump was Trumping and people were festering. I felt like now was the time to make noise - not be silent. That's what Noise is all about - speaking up for something, anything you believe in. Now is not the time to be quiet. It was fitting the music matched. It's all elements of music that made me wanna be a musician in the first place - horn stacks, thick harmonies, falsetto singing, beats, programming. It's grown and sexy man pop. The track is like half Beyoncé Homecoming, half techno drop. It's so fun.

What aspects of a song did you consider into choosing 'Good Days' as your lead single of Noise?

'Good Days' was the last song I wrote for the album (with Deanna Walker and Thomas Daniel). I was looking at my own life thinking, "are my glory days really behind me? Did I peak?" Then I looked at society, again. Black Lives Matter had started. I looked at the song in a new light. I thought, "We HAVE to have good days left. This cannot be it because we have too far to go. Things aren't good at all. We have to do better." If I didn't believe good days were left, I'd bury my head in the sand for the rest of time. ha. Making it the lead single was important because of its message. I also feel like it's the most modern of all the tracks. Deanna Walker produced the track in Nashville and I think it's dope. It's minimalistic, synthy, and fresh.

Curious as to how close you were to naming your song 'Grown Things,' instead of its current title 'Gentlemen.'

Oh man! I went back and forth on it forever with my collaborators, Willy Beaman and Cameron Forbes. There's lots of reason to name it "Grown Things," since that's the tag of the chorus. But "Gentleman" is what I think the song represents. Being a gentleman. That being a gentleman is sexy. That I'm in the gentleman phase of my life and not in the player phase of my life. But yeah, it was a debate.

What's the creative process of one of your songs evolving into a video?

I wish I could make them all into videos. I get lots of visuals in my head when I hear my songs. Some I'd love to have full back-up dancers, others I want candles and a theater, others I want a green screen and tons of cool graphics. I guess I pull the trigger on songs that I know are singles. Sometimes it's just a matter timing and scheduling.

You've called the Weird Al of the COVID-19 era. What's your favorite Weird Al Yankovic song?

Ha! Well, I grew up with "Amish Paradise" (and "Gansta's Paradise") so that's for sure my fav. I was lucky enough to speak with Al since all this started and was able to thank him for his massive contribution to pop culture. He's such a nice guy.

In your My Kid Won't Sleep At Night, how fun was it to spoof your role of The Phantom that you played in over 700 performances?

I loved spoofing Phantom. I deserve to after 700 shows - ha! I was really just looking for a genre switch in my parodies so that came to mind. I also wanted to throw the Phantom Phans a bone. Also, my kid wasn't sleeping at night, sooooo it wrote itself.

Besides The Phantom mask you're wearing, what other props or pieces of costumes did you get to keep?

None! I don't get to keep anything at all! That's not even my real mask! They keep things super locked up over in Phantom land.

Can your 600k+ social media followers expect a new quarantine parody soon?

I'm continuing to make parodies - they're not always quarantine related though. I want to make parodies that are in line with what I, and my family, are going through at home. So if it's quarantine, or parenting, or politics, or tennis, or whatever - it's gonna be coming from my real life. I just made one for Halloween - the Ben Stiller Thriller. That was fun. I love making skits as well. I just did a spoof on the Calm meditation app for a very adult "F-Bomb" meditation to get through the election. That one definitely resonated with my fans, ha.

Any other tentative projects on your plate?

I'm currently developing a few TV shows that revolve around my comedy and music. I'm so excited to share those as they develop. Also, my life concerts will happen again when it's safe. I'm stoked to put a new show together that represents my Broadway past with my parody and comedic future. It'll be a great show to perform!

Thank you again, Chris! Here's to great sales for Noise! I look forward to laughing hard at your next quarantine parody.

Check out Chris' latest parodies on his YouTube page

Noise is now available on all streaming platforms.