As empty beer bottles shuffle across the counter of PJ's Lager House, a young man by the name of Randolph Chabot Jr. sits at the end of the bar, toying with a tumbler of ice.
Randy, better known as the spastic, electro-pop persona, Deastro, greets me with a smile. Before I can say hello, Randy spouts out, “I’ve just had scotch for the first time.” Not sure how to respond, I ask, “How was it?” Without skipping a beat, he turns to me, still grinning, and replies, “Scary!”
Randy discovered music at the age of 12, while watching his uncle’s punk band, Johnny Respect. “It was my first show…I moshed.” By his 13th birthday, Chabot had begun remixing electronic music and writing his first album. “From then on, I never stopped studying music,” he notes.
Chabot spent his latter teenage years ping-ponging across the country. Moving from his Sterling Heights home to Minneapolis to attend North Central University, Chabot set off with the intention of earning a degree in social work. During a college internship, he became “disturbed by what little progress he saw in the inner city.”
However, there was a positive side to his experience as a youth-group leader; Chabot discovered a focus for his music. “I see music as a social force that can encourage the community. I try to reach as many people as I can through [my] music; that is what motivates me to write songs,” he says.
After a short stint in Arkansas at the age of 19, Chabot again relocated, moving north. The family business was struggling, so the entire household picked up and moved into a small apartment in Baltimore, where Randy Chabot Sr.’s secondary office resided.
“We were only there for about five months, but it was rough,” Chabot says. “My mom, dad, three younger brothers, and I were working 13-hour days [to get the business going again]. I wasn’t able to write music during that time.”
A few months later, the Chabot clan returned to their home in Michigan, where Randy found himself sleeping below his brother, Michael…literally. “Mike and I share a room; I sleep in the bottom bunk. My family is really important to me and we’re all really close, so I don’t mind [the close quarters] temporarily.”
With a homemade studio in the basement, 20-year old Randy began laying the groundwork for two separate musical endeavors: Deastro and Our Brother the Megazord. Although both one-man projects nod to childhood references (Deastro being named after the G.I. Joe character Deastro, whereas Our Brother the Megazord stems from the Transformers super-robot), the bands’ musical styles differ greatly. The mathematically calculated 2/4 and 4/4 new wave beats of Deastro provides a sharp contrast to the indie folk-style outfit known as Our Brother the Megazord.
Now, at the ripe age of 22, Randy may not be able to drink every Lager House veteran under the table, but his knowledge of music, life, and the world around him spans decades.
Between alternating gulps of scotch and ice water, Randy “Deastro” Chabot Jr. caught up with the Metromix to discuss the road ahead.
Since Deastro and Our Brother the Megazord are both “you” -- how do your fans distinguish between the two bands?
I’ve always been into mixing electronic music, so Deastro became the result of experimenting [with different samples]. I recently found out that the word ‘deastro’ means ‘of the stars’ in Portuguese, and I think that’s really fitting. Our Brother the Megazord is what I like to refer to as ‘folktronica.’ [Our Brother] is a folk pop band with a lot of guitar and acoustic instruments, influenced by The Flaming Lips and The Zombies…well, The Zombies with more synthesizers.
Do you ever feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the two projects?
Yeah, for sure! The bands represent different aspects of my personality, so I vary between Deastro and Our Brother the Megazord shows. Our Brother is a way for me to throw weird ideas together. It is happier and less serious than Deastro. Deastro is meant to be over the top.
You’re making a rare appearance as Our Brother the Megazord at the official Chrysler Arts, Beats, and Eats opening night after party with Metromix. What are your expectations for the show?
Zoos of Berlin are also playing the party and I’m most excited about [being on a bill] with them. I think they’re one of the best bands in Detroit, and on top of that, they’re the nicest guys ever. I am really looking forward to it.
I hear you’re an avid reader. What have you been reading lately?
I just finished “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy; it was so good, the ending made me cry. [McCarthy] also wrote “No Country for Old Men” which I haven’t read yet, but plan to. John Knowles’ “A Separate Peace” is one of my all-time favorites. That book really hit me hard as a kid.
What else is coming up for Our Brother the Megazord?
I am currently writing an Our Brother the Megazord album, which will be titled, “Love the Literary Lamp Post.” I’m really into alliteration, it’s fun!
You can witness Our Brother the Megazord in the flesh at the official Chrysler Arts, Beats, and Eats opening night after-party, presented by Metromix and 89X at The Crofoot on Friday, August 29.
