(guitar based rock music) - [Announcer] "Ocean State Sessions" features performances by New England musicians and brings you the stories behind the songs.

Coming up on """Ocean State Sessions""".

Chance Emerson showcases his acoustic sound.

♪ We bring some in and start a fire ♪ ♪ How've you been how ya doing lately ♪ ♪ Your hands against my thigh ♪ ♪ I know I shouldn't miss you ♪ - [Announcer] Chance eagerly waits to jump headfirst into stardom while Northeast Traffic offers up some funky rock jams.

♪ Tell me how can I see the light ♪ ♪ Time's moving fast it's not gonna wait ♪ - [Announcer] Northeast Traffic is content to take things a little slower and savor their friendship instead.

- Hi, this is a song called House We Share.

It's about the first time someone falls in love and moving into a little cabin in the woods.

♪ Three stacks of wood in the cabinet ♪ ♪ So if you want a fire we have it ♪ ♪ Honey this hearth is ours ♪ ♪ and I think we're gonna build something ♪ ♪ I'll set the table with a three course menu ♪ ♪ 'Cause I learned to cook to impress you ♪ ♪ The oven's warm, let's dance by the fire and mean it ♪ ♪ So hand in hand, I wonder where we'll go ♪ ♪ Arms in the air ♪ ♪ We're twirling through our kitchen ♪ ♪ I run my fingers through your hair ♪ ♪ And I don't care ♪ ♪ 'Bout money or the complications ♪ ♪ I live for this house we share ♪ ♪ Hmm, ooh, ♪ ♪ Hmm, ooh, oh ♪ ♪ My toes stay out of the covers ♪ ♪ Your knees up and we're two young lovers ♪ ♪ And we're just sleeping now but we dream of only waking ♪ ♪ We make love on a queen size mattress ♪ ♪ I sink into your patterns and habits ♪ ♪ My body's yours till the second I turn to nothing ♪ ♪ So hand in hand, I wonder where we'll go ♪ ♪ Arms in the air ♪ ♪ We're twirling through our kitchen ♪ ♪ I run my fingers through your hair ♪ ♪ And I don't care ♪ ♪ 'Bout money or the complications ♪ ♪ I live for this house we share ♪ ♪ Hmm, ooh, oh ♪ ♪ Hmm, ooh ♪ ♪ Our house is a million pieces ♪ ♪ Put together in under a season ♪ ♪ I've wanted to start this life ♪ ♪ for longer than I can remember ♪ ♪ In these four walls you light me up with your splendor ♪ ♪ I feel my heartbeat shift ♪ ♪ And my world has you in the center ♪ My mom made me actually learn piano as a kid.

I hated it so much that when I turned 10 I asked for my birthday to quit.

That was all I wanted.

I was like, I don't need any kind of cake or anything.

I don't wanna party, I don't wanna do anything.

I just wanna not do music anymore, like I hate it.

♪ I'm all fired up ♪ ♪ Putting two hands on you now ♪ ♪ This ain't lust ♪ If you told me I would be releasing a song and on tour with Blues Traveler with like, you know my favorite people in the world, my band mates, I think I would've laughed at you and been like, no way.

♪ You may say I'm a dreamer ♪ ♪ But I'm not the only one ♪ - This is a weird double life.

I'm missing the first three weeks of school to be on the road actually.

It's hard to be like a weekend warrior when you're stuck kind of also trying to finish all your assignments on the weekends.

I might be one of the few folks in the world who've had to run off stage after like a big theater show with my band and go backstage and work on a computer science project.

♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I'm not doing fine without you ♪ When I was 19, I went to Newport Folk Fest and I got to watch a bunch of artists and it was the first time I'd ever gone to a music festival and I saw an artist play and I was like, I want to do that.

How do I do that?

I got a little pep talk after their set and they were like, "You should do this, you can do this".

And then I got to play like the open mic there the next day.

And the guy who hosted the open mic, Nick Noble, he was like, "You will play here one day".

- Without further ado, rising from the delightfully obnoxious obscurity of the open mic to the brilliance of a featured appearance here on the foundation stage of the Newport Folk Festival let's hear it up for Chance Emerson.

(crowd cheering and clapping) - And so having that kind of conviction and belief from some people who were like at, you know the first festival I'd ever gone to, some like real, like real musicians, I was like, "Okay, maybe I can do this".

(gentle guitar music) ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ Got you on my mind ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ The fact that I am where I am now speaks more to my parents being really good parents because they were like, I think they saw maybe some kind of like musical talent in me or something that I didn't see at the time.

And they were like, "Don't quit, just switch.

Try and direct your passion for art into a different instrument."

♪ Understand me ♪ ♪ What I can't be ♪ ♪ Know I never was afraid ♪ ♪ I have wandered ♪ ♪ Marching onward ♪ ♪ Through the fog and ice and rain ♪ Really for me it's about trying to write something that feels very real, like very true and very timeless.

I think that, you know, my favorite songs, many of them are from 30, 40, 50 years ago and they ring true to me in this particular moment in my life.

And I'm sure they're gonna ring true to me when I'm like 60 years old.

And I think those are the greatest songs.

Those are the songs that don't fade out of style.

They're not gimmicky, they're not a fad.

They're just real honest pieces of art.

Hi, this is a song called Angela.

It's a song that I wrote with my band actually at the time with Will in his college dorm basement, which was across the street from mine.

And we were in a basement kitchen room.

And so our friend Jack was playing drums on a trash can and we wanted to make a song that we could play that'd be rowdy and raucous and rocky.

And we started out, I think as every band does, playing it only at basement shows and weird, you know, underground parties.

And it kind of followed us as we became, I guess a little bit more professional of a band and we just kept playing the song 'cause the crowds really liked it and we liked playing it.

And I'm excited to play it here today as a more stripped down version.

It's called Angela.

(gentle guitar music) ♪ I toss and turn at seven thirty ♪ ♪ I had that same damn dream again ♪ ♪ We drove back to the wooden cabin ♪ ♪ Moved in to make amends ♪ ♪ There's no wood inside the cabinet ♪ ♪ We bring some in and start a fire ♪ ♪ How've you been how ya doing lately ♪ ♪ Your hands against my thigh ♪ ♪ I know I shouldn't miss you ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I got you on my mind ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I'm not doing fine without you dear ♪ (guitar riff) ♪ There was a storm in New York City ♪ ♪ Your dad said that the roads might close ♪ ♪ So we drove out at three a.m so I could get us home ♪ ♪ All I do is worry, worry ♪ ♪ All I did was over think ♪ ♪ Drag you up, like hurry, hurry ♪ ♪ You have been a saint ♪ ♪ I know I shouldn't miss you ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I got you on my mind ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I'm not doing fine without you dear ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I got you on my mind ♪ ♪ Angela ♪ ♪ I'm not doing fine without you dear ♪ (guitar riff) (guitar riff continues) (audience clapping) - All right, well we are Northeast Traffic.

We're so happy to be here at Big Nice Studio with PVS.

Thank you Dewey for bringing us on.

It's gonna be an awesome, awesome recording today.

We're from Providence, Rhode Island.

We've been together for 11, 12 years, so it's been a while.

We met each other in high school.

I've known Burke since preschool.

So we've been a solid group of friends for a long, long time.

We're happy to still be able to be making music in Rhode Island.

This first one that we're gonna play is called Cowbell 1.

This is a new song.

We're in the process of working on a new record that we're gonna be recording in October, November, somewhere around that time.

So we're looking forward to recording that and getting some music good to go for that time.

So this was one of the first ones on that and it's called Cowbell 1.

I wrote the lyrics.

It's a little bit about how, you know life in general can be encompassing, can really suck you up.

So, you know just taking a step back, even, you know, hobbies and passions and you know, relationships, life, work everything can become overwhelming at times.

So just to take a step back and appreciate it for what it is and enjoy it and not let it go by you, so.

This one's Cowbell 1.

(rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ Hey, hey, hey, tell me how you feel ♪ ♪ Tell me, how can you just still ♪ ♪ Make me feel it in my head ♪ ♪ Bring me to my knees ♪ ♪ But gimme your best babe not your dirty laundry ♪ ♪ I been waiting around for way too long ♪ ♪ Last time I came to town ♪ ♪ Was the best time I've had around, yeah ♪ (keyboard riff) ♪ Well burn, burn, burn make me feel it right ♪ ♪ Tell me how can I see the light ♪ ♪ Time's moving fast ♪ ♪ It's not gonna wait ♪ ♪ But time, once it's gone ♪ ♪ It's not gonna be found ♪ ♪ I've been waiting around for way too long ♪ ♪ Last time I came to town ♪ ♪ Was the best time I've had around, yeah ♪ (guitar riff) (guitar riff continues) (guitar riff continues) (guitar riff continues) ♪ Time is going fast ♪ ♪ It's not going down ♪ ♪ Time, once it's gone ♪ ♪ It's not gonna be found ♪ ♪ I've been waiting around for way too long ♪ ♪ Last time I left town ♪ ♪ Was the best time I've had around ♪ - I started playing music when I was nine.

My dad, he owned a drum set in the eighties that lived at my grandmother's house.

And from the summer of I wanna say like fourth to fifth grade, the drum set came to to my parents' house and I just started kind of whacking away at it.

And my old man one day came downstairs and was like, "All right, like if you're gonna play this, like this is how it goes".

And it was just like, (foot tapping) (hand slapping) And I just kind of like picked it up like right away.

And I think that was it.

I just played drums for like three years.

That's when I started taking lessons, when I was around 12 till about 19.

- [Student] One and two, one and two.

- [Joe] Now I give lessons here at Dan's Music Center.

- And.

- Nice.

Let's see it one more time.

Here I have 12 students.

I also teach at Providence School of Music, The Fall River Arts Academy and Newport Music.

Alex works at Something Fishy.

Sam is an electrician.

Burke works at the VA home and Nick works in music.

All of us have day jobs.

Northeast Traffic is more of a passion.

(rock music) We've been playing together since 2010.

I had just graduated La Salle Academy and Nick, Sam and Alex also went to La Salle, they were two years younger than me.

I had graduated and I was bummed that I wasn't playing with anyone.

Sam called me and was like, "Hey, do you wanna play in a band with us, you know, with Alex, Nick and myself?"

And I was like, "Yeah, but only if we play gigs".

That was like my thing, like I wanna play shows.

And I remember the first time we practiced, it was like around 13 years ago and we were like playing this tune it had like this samba drum feel in it and it had this very like Latiny guitar feel.

And I remember us just jamming and kind of looking at each other like, whoa, this is cool.

We're making this music.

Like, this is like mind blowing, you know?

And I just don't think we've stopped since.

(rock music) (rock music) We definitely have those moments of just like, you know I look up and laugh at each other while we're playing.

You know, recently I remember we were just playing, I remember looking up and being like, man, I can't believe after all these years, like, we're still playing.

And I'm like looking at everybody, and like, we all look so different too.

Like, but still kind of the same, you know?

It's been a long journey and it's, I mean, I don't think many people could say they're doing the same thing they were doing when they were 17 to when they're 30.

So, I mean, I'm grateful for that consistency in my life.

It's been a really big impact in a positive way for me.

And we've grown together not only as band mates, but as friends.

And I think that friendship that we have plays a really important part in the, you know continuing what we do for sure.

- All right, this is Northeast Traffic.

We're just getting ready for next show, 112 with Harsh Armadillo.

- [Band Member] You ready boys?

(instruments crashing) - This next song is called Jazz Bone.

I wrote this song maybe six years ago for our record Riff City.

It's an instrumental piece that I composed, five unique parts for, with the only part that is fun to play being the keyboard part 'cause it fits perfectly under my hands and I don't really care about them.

So I wrote them parts that would be just fun for me.

And this is that.

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