Hello, it’s a pleasure to have you here at Metal Southern Belles Media. We are excited to share another interview with you. Today, we are joined by Chris Bell, drummer and vocalist of the rockin’ three-piece band, Perceived. This trio has some really big things coming your way. Big, like their home state of Texas…

MSBM: Hi, Chris! Let’s talk about you first. How did you get your start as a drummer?

CB: I guess I owe me being a drummer to my parents. Apparently by age two, I was beating on everything in sight, so they bought me a pair of drumsticks. I remember beating on the carpet along to the drummers on MTV. I was in my first band at age 5 called The Tiggers (pronounced “Tigers”) with my friends that lived next door. I played an old tape case for a drum and sang. We did all the instrument sounds with our mouths. In the beginning, I was influenced by the Hair Metal bands in the 80’s and whatever my parents had in their vinyl collection; mostly Beatles, Monkees, and 70’s Rock. That all changed when Nirvana came out. I remember wanting to start my own band for real.

MSBM: Wow, you practically came out of the womb rockin’ and rollin’! That’s pretty damn cool. So, from my understanding, your three-piece band was formed by close friends. When did you realize that “musical spark” together?

CB: I met Charlie back in high-school while playing baseball. After the game, he came over to my house and saw an acoustic guitar that I had in the corner of my room. He picked it up and started playing “Come As You Are” by Nirvana and I was blown away. I had written my own music but never played anyone else’s, so I thought it was really cool. He came over the next day and we just started jamming. I was beating on buckets and Charlie was on an acoustic guitar. We’d later call ourselves “Decipher”. That was where it all started. I met Kevin years later after the passing of his first wife. We hung out all night jamming and it just clicked. I was getting an old band back together and we needed a bassist and guitarist, so I reached out to Charlie and Kevin to see if they’d be interested in joining the band. That’s when we first started playing together. That band would break up but Charlie, Kevin, and myself would later start jamming again and that would become Perceived.

MSBM: It sounds like the three of you are simply meant to create and play music together. As you said, the band formed by your trio is called “Perceived”. Which of you came up with that name and does it have a particular meaning as to why it was chosen?

CB: I had been searching for band names for about two weeks and every name I came up with that I liked, someone else already had it. So, when I came up with Perceived and nobody had it, I reached out to the guys to see what they thought. They hated it. Kevin actually said, “Name one other good band that begins with the letter P”. To which I responded, “Pantera, Pink Floyd, Primus” and we had a good laugh. The name eventually grew on them and I’m glad it did. It really fits our sound well, I think.

MSBM: Well, that’s a unique story! I’m glad the name caught on and your music meshed with it! Speaking of music, the band’s first EP was released in 2020. Can you talk a little bit about it’s creation?

CB: Yes, and we’re very excited. We have finished the writing process for the next album and we’re planning on beginning pre-production after the holidays. Once that’s completed, we’ll be hitting the studio and hope to have a full length record finished sometime next year.

MSBM: Fantastic! How would you say the new music differs from previous releases? Are there different influences and circumstances playing into it?

CB: I think the new material is just our natural progression as a band. There’s some heavier songs as well as some softer songs on this one. We still have those peaks and valleys in our music. If you’ve been to our live shows recently, you’ve already heard a bunch of the new stuff.

MSBM: Sounds good! I’ll be looking forward to hearing the new tunes! I saw that you guys have a show coming up at Trees Dallas on November 26th. Will there be more to come after that? A tour, possibly?

CB: We are super stoked about our show at Trees on November 26th! That’s gonna be an amazing night! We have a few more shows lined up to finish the year. O’Riley’s (December 3rd) and two shows on the west side of DFW (December 9th and 10th). You can get tickets and more info for all of these shows at Perceivedband.com.

MSBM: I hope you have an awesome time at those shows! Since we are on that topic, what are Perceived shows like?

CB: I’m not sure how to describe our live shows, really. The music definitely takes you on a journey. You just have to come out to a show and see for yourself.

MSBM: I see what you mean. Live music is something that is easier felt than described. There’s truly nothing like the experience. What is your favorite venue/city to play in so far?

CB: There’s a lot really. O’Riley’s in Dallas is probably my personal favorite just because it feels like home. I played one of my very first shows there back in ’05, so it holds a special place. The Haltom Theater in Haltom City, Six Springs Tavern in Richardson, Come and Take It Live in Austin, and of course, Trees in Deep Ellum are all fantastic venues.

MSBM: A couple of those names are familiar to me. They seem to be popular and enjoyed by bands and fans alike. Lastly, can you reiterate what is expected of Perceived for the rest of the year and in the near future? Also, where can the readers find out more information about Perceived and listen to the band’s music?

CB: We’re actually about to release our first music video very soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel if you’d like to catch its world premiere. We do have a few shows left around DFW to finish off the year. After those, we’ll be taking time off from gigging to record the new album. You can get free music as well as purchase tickets to any of our upcoming shows at Perceivedband.com. Thank you so much for the interview and your time.

Follow Perceived on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Perceivedband?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Follow Perceived on Instagram: https://instagram.com/perceivedband?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Check out Perceived on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/777BDlgcr4xgP7z1ojPAeC?si=LaEfpZOSQzG5wjhg39eD-Q

Visit Perceived’s website: https://perceivedband.com

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