Chip & The Charge Ups lead singer/guitarist, Chip Dominick, on the band’s new single, giving fans a party, having his daughter in the band, and being in law school.
If you want to experience a fun show with a party atmosphere, go see Chip & The Charge Ups. The Pittsburgh based pop-rock band have played venues all over the city, from DIY shows to the Rib Cookoff at Acrisure Stadium. Not to mention shows outside of PA.
Their new single “Where I Fit In (Don’t Wanna Go Home),” is a blast of punk rock guitars and a shout-along chorus meant for a Saturday night. Over a phone interview, I talked with lead singer/guitarist and founder of the band, Chip Dominick. We discussed what it means to play live, original songs, having his daughter in the band, and being in law school.
Band members include Chip Dominick (vocals, lead guitar), Maleena Dominick (bass), and Nolan Allen (drums).
Live Shows
Josh: What was it like playing the Millville Music Festival?
Chip: That was a blast. It’s one of our favorite events to play. This was the 4th time we played it. They are so gracious with making sure that new voices in Pittsburgh music are heard. So when we do get the opportunity to play, we just cherish it, and I think our crowd did too.
J: There’s a moment in the show where you and your daughter, Maleena, jump at the same time. Is that a tradition?
C: Yeah, actually, we have been working more and more choreography into our show, depending on our setlist. We try to make it interesting. We like to mix it up and give the audience something new to experience, whether it’s their first time seeing us or their 50th time seeing us.
J: It looks like a party.
C: Absolutely, we want every single person in the crowd, or at least one person in the crowd, to use a three-letter word to describe what they just experienced. FUN. We are so rewarded when someone says, ‘That was a really fun show.’ That’s a better compliment than saying, ‘You guys played well.’
J: That’s refreshing to hear. It’s all about having fun.
C: Yeah, that’s what we aim for. It amazes me to look out into a crowd and think, ‘Wow, this many people could choose to do anything in the world right now, but they chose to be entertained by Chip & The Charge Ups.’ We want to reward them by making it worth their time. We want them to feel like, ‘Yeah, I made the choice to be here over everything else in the world, and I’m glad I made that decision.’
Family Band
J: What’s it like playing on stage with your daughter, Maleena?
C: I didn’t intend on starting a band with my daughter, but, when we were auditioning bass players at the very beginning of Chip and the Charge Ups, we weren’t having any luck. So we’d ask Maleena to sit in with us and have a productive practice. She was just nailing our songs. She was 16 at the time. She had been playing bass for a couple of years by that point. She was just learning our set list over and over and getting better at it. Here we are 7 years later. It’s awesome to play side by side with her and build this band together. It’s a cool musical connection that I think only family members can enjoy, so it’s been pretty awesome.
Musical Influences
J: Did you have any bands growing up that you loved and inspired you to play guitar?
C: Yeah, there’s been so many. I grew up with artists like Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue and then later on, all the various types of eighties metal, from Metallica to Poison. But the thing is, I feel like I never stopped getting inspired. I continue to seek out new artists to listen to today. It’s kind of an endless journey of inspiration and, you know, I’d like to think that that helps keep my songwriting fresh.
Original Songs
J: Your new single, “Where I fit In (Don’t Wanna Go Home),” has a great chorus. Have you played it live yet?
C: Yes, we’ve played it a few times, it’s one of those songs that just has the groove that gets people moving. Seems to be one of those songs that draws people in. And, you know, gets some bop and side to side and so forth. So that’s been pretty cool to watch.
J: The song, “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” really stuck out to me. I believe that Maleena sings on it.
C: Yes, she takes over the lead vocals on that one.
J: Did you guys co-write that together?
C: So that was one where we knew the song had potential. We tried different things. We put it in a different key, we changed the riff, and then, eventually we had Maleena give a shot at singing it, and we’re like, ‘yeah, this is where the song needed to end up.’ And that’s how that song came to be.
J: Are there any songs that just worked out of nowhere?
C: Yeah, “Sideways Middle Finger” and “Ultra-Legendary.”
J: (laughs) I was going to mention “Ultra-Legendary”!
C: (laughs) Yeah, those were two songs that just kind of came to me.
J: I feel like “Ultra-Legendary” is the band motto on just having an amazing night.
C: Yeah. Tonight is our night, you know, that’s kind of a theme. We try to make it the best night in everyone’s lives.
J: Do you go to electric or acoustic guitar when writing songs?
C: I’ve been doing acoustic lately. Just demoing them with my voice, and then seeing what we can build on as a full band.
J: The song “This Bomb Ain’t Gonna Light Itself” feels like I’m listening to it live.
C: I’m very happy to hear that because I think that one of the things that people notice most about us when we play live is our energy. It’s kind of built into the band and is implied with our band name. So it’s very rewarding to hear that energy come through on a recording that wasn’t done live. That’s what we hope to accomplish and capture, that raw energy that we bring to the stage.
Going Viral
J: I have to mention “Black and Gold Christmas.” I remember when this went viral and it was played throughout Pittsburgh. Were you guys expecting that?
C: (laughs) We really didn’t know what to expect. We hope that any song we put out goes viral. We kind of had a special feeling. I remember the day that that video came out. I think we released it at 6am in the morning and at 7am it had 250 views. And we’re like ‘well that’s pretty good for the 6am hour.’ And then you know, 8am, ‘wow, another 250 views’ and then 9am, another 250 views. Every hour would go by, we’d see the view count steadily growing. That was definitely a special experience. It’s hard to recreate. But it sure was fun watching people who had never heard of Chip & The Charge Ups sharing it. These aren’t even people who we consider part of the Pittsburgh music scene that were embracing this, sharing it, loving it. So, yeah, that was a cool experience and something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
Law School
J: You’re in law school, right?
C: I am, yeah.
J: Wow. Congratulations.
C: Thanks!
J: Are people surprised by that?
C: (laughs) Yeah, I definitely think so. I think it breaks the mold for how people think of musicians. I know a lot of highly educated, highly intelligent musicians, and sometimes we get stereotyped as slacker types that just like to play music and not work. I feel that I’m at my happiest when I have a good balance in my life between the creative and the intellectual. Law school is a heck of a lot of work. I’m the type of person that sees the overlaps, and there’s a lot of music business and music law angles. I can lend some expertise to that type of stuff. I hope to bring the two together and leverage that to kind of continue to carve our path in the industry side of things.
Keep Up With The Charge Ups
Chip & The Charge Ups have a few more shows left on their 2025 tour!
- 7/18 Northside Music Festival – Elks Lodge – Pittsburgh, PA
- 8/23 TBD
- 8/24 Band Blast – New Kensington, PA
You can find their music on Spotify and keep up with the band on Facebook and Instagram. Visit their website for more information www.thechargeups.com.
Check out the May Band of the Month here!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
