Last week Sports dropped their third single of 2020, “Never Know,” a groovy, gleaming synth-pop number that finds vocalist / songwriter Cale Chronister ruminating on a flopped relationship.
Videos by American Songwriter
“You want it to come naturally, but I can’t find that side of me,” he sings in the bridge, his warbled vocals gliding over luminous synths and a funky bassline. “I wish that I could just go back, back in time / I could be someone else / I could be your type.”
Chronister and Christian Theriot are currently in their native Oklahoma, but Chronister started writing “Never Know” while he was living in California. The music video, featured below, was shot in San Diego.
“This song started as a demo I wrote in my apartment in Los Angeles,” Chronister tells American Songwriter over email. “I had that bass part, some keys, and the chorus idea. That was it. For vocals I just recorded myself singing, and the lyrics and melody came to me on the spot. That first take is what we kept in the final master. I used to feel ashamed of that, but I learned that that’s how Iggy Pop writes lyrics, so… it’s cool to me now to do it that way.”
Eventually the band would record the song at Blackwatch Studios in Norman, OK. “I brought that [initial] idea to the guys, and we jammed on it and were able to come up with some verse melodies,” Chronister recalls. “From there, I labored over lyrics that would fit that melody while we began tracking everything.”
“I remember jamming the demo in the studio together,” says Theriot. “We don’t always write this way but it always yields fresh ideas because we’re just feeding off each other’s ideas on the spot. I love how this song starts. No fading in or long intro. I think we tried to add one but ended up loving the immediacy of hearing the hook.”
“Never Know” comes after Sports’ latest singles “Baby Baby” and “Tell You Something.” The duo are gearing up to release a new album called Get a Good Look Pt. 1, due in February, which will follow their debut full-length (2018’s Everyone’s Invited) and a pair of breakout EPs (2016’s People Can’t Stop Chillin and 2015’s Naked All the Time).
“Generally, I am always writing,” says Chronister. “My experiences in life usually drip into my songwriting from my subconscious. I don’t really have to try too hard to make the lyrics about my life. It’s just what happens anyway.”
“I think it was Bob Dylan who compared [songwriting] to fishing,” he continues, “and I think it perfectly illustrates how I write songs. I just cast my line and hope I catch something big. Sometimes I catch small fish that I’ll just throw back in the pond. Sometimes I catch nothing at all. But I still gotta cast my line, just in case. With ‘Never Know,’ I felt like I caught something pretty good.”
Chronister says he writes at his best when he’s in a positive headspace. “I have to feel happy and confident,” he explains. “Energetic. I’m not one of those guys that can write while sad, or angry. Obviously, I don’t only write happy music. But any song I’ve written that has been released, I was having fun when I was writing it.”
Theriot’s approach to songwriting, meanwhile, is all about being present and keeping an open mind. “For me it’s just showing up,” he says. “If I show up and decide that I’m going to create something I’m going to try and make it my best, but at the same time I know that there’s a chance it’s gonna be terrible. Which is quite freeing in the sense that no idea is too precious.”
Chronister echoes that sentiment when asked what he hopes listeners take away from “Never Know.” “I want people to like it, of course,” he says, “but I don’t ever wanna tell people how to feel about something I made. Once a song is released, it is theirs. I usually don’t even listen to it anymore.”
David Bowie is one of the artists Chronister most admires right now. “I just recently learned about how much he wrote for other artists,” he shares, “and it’s incredible considering how obviously legendary his catalog is.” Chronister’s favorite lyrics, however, come from his “favorite song of all time,” The Rolling Stone’s 1969 hit “Gimme Shelter:” “War, children, it’s just a shot away / It’s just a shot away.”
“I get chills everytime [I hear those lines],” says Chronister. “I only allow myself to listen to this song once every few months because I don’t ever wanna get used to it.”
Chronister moved back to Oklahoma from Los Angeles mid-pandemic—a welcome change, at least for the time being. “It’s been wild,” says Chronister, who’s now based in Tulsa. “I’m living in a house now. It’s a much better pandemic hideout. My apartment in LA was 600 sq ft and twice the price. But mostly [I’ve] just hiding out. Working on music. Getting ready to release our album.”
Like all of us, Theriot is taking things one day at a time. “[I’m] trying my best to not let things that I can’t control take over my daily thoughts,” he says. “Drinking lots of tea and spending too much time scrolling.”
Asked what fans can expect from Get a Good Look Pt. 1, Chronister says “they can expect some rock n roll. Track 1 will be a surprise for Sports fans—it’s my favorite Sports song now.”
“This is a new era for Sports,” adds Theriot. “From the art direction to the sonic elements on each track. I can’t wait until we are able to play these songs live in front of people. I hope that happens sooner than later.”
“Never Know” is out now. Get a Good Look Pt. 1 arrives February 12.
