Chasing Tigers first debut at KTSW’s Third Thursday event

By Ben Middleton

Local Music Journalist 

Chasing Tigers is a groove rock band out of San Marcos. The band is led by Carson Weems on guitar/vocals and Miles Love on keys. The duo is supported by Logan Potter on bass and Colin on drums.  KTSW’s Third Thursday event will be the band’s first show and I got to discuss with them about how excited they are to make their debut in the San Marcos music scene.

Chasing Tigers aims to bring a more calm, psychedelic, indie rock sound to their shows. However, to them, it is crucial to make their music danceable so they can create a more fun environment for the audience.

Weems: “I really like to get a crowd interactive and engaged with the show… I love to see people dancing.”

Weems and Love both believe that the most important element of Chasing Tigers’ music is the groove. A big inspiration for both of them is reggae music and they write their songs thinking about how their audiences will react to the groovy rhythms they create. Many of their tracks are on the slower side, allowing them to still create danceable music while retaining the calmer energy they want to cultivate.

Love: “It [groove] is everything in the music…It’s the backbone of the song and I think, it’s really important to have a great rhythm section.”

Another thing to look out for while watching Chasing Tigers live is their ability for improvisation. Weems and Potter are both Texas State University jazz students. Their experience in jazz has led to Weems incorporating some more complicated chord progressions into the band’s set and emphasizes the importance of the band being able to change elements of the songs every time they play them to make each set unique.

Weems: “It adds a bit of stakes when you’re making something up on the spot.  You don’t want to crumble, but it’s always fun to try and find a way out of a hole that you dug yourself into.”

Weems and Love first started playing with each other when they were both in the seventh grade. Their first band together was named Hazleton Lane which had Weems on vocals/guitar and Love on the drums. Throughout the years, Love switched from the drums to playing the keys. Their sound also morphed from a bluesy, garage rock sound, to that of their current psychedelic-inspired groove rock.

Even though through the years the genres, bassists and even the instruments they played have changed, one constant was Weems and Love’s collaboration with each other. They both consider each other strong musicians. 

Love: “Our system is usually Carson writes all the lyrics and progressions for the most part. He then brings them to me and then we just really work them out to figure out what style the song is going to be and what the feel of the song is.”

Weems and Love hope their set at The Porch this Thursday will be the first of many shows for Chasing Tigers. They are currently planning and booking more shows around San Marcos with the goal of playing shows in Austin in the near future. Through Weems other band, Soma Jerome, they are already quite connected with the San Marcos music scene, but they are excited to connect to the scene through the lens of a different project.

Weems: “Chasing Tigers is a way for us to really express the full and rawest form of what we want to create.” 

To see Chasing Tigers’ debut show, visit KTSW’s Third Thursday event at The Porch, from 10 p.m.- 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 21st.