PATRICK Truscott, the man behind Newcastle indie act ChaiChester, has been receiving plenty of glowing feedback since making his live debut last Saturday on the Rogue Scholar rooftop.
He actually came close to pulling the pin on the NTL Landmarks support show altogether.
"At first I was pretty apprehensive because I have a drummer, but he was booked," Truscott said.
"We had this split decision, and the others asked, 'are you gonna cancel?' I was like, 'let's just do it. It's our first gig, let's rip the band aid off and don't over think it'.
"The feedback we received was so positive. I'm still receiving it today. Everyone has been so warm and welcoming and it's making me go, 'what's it gonna be like when we have the drummer?'"
ChaiChester might be a colourful new name (inspired by a mispronunciation of Chichester Dam near Dungog) in the Newcastle music scene, but Truscott is a familiar face.
Truscott used to front alt-rock band The Cavalcade who supported the likes of US bands After The Fall and Lydia and released an EP, The Feeling Of Thought, before breaking up in 2013.
Following The Cavalcade, Truscott became a successful wedding performer and established his own music tuition business, InnerVoice, with his partner and ChaiChester bandmate Jordann Christie.
In the background Truscott kept songwriting, but work took precedence until last January when he made the decision to release ChaiChester's debut single, the chilled indie-pop track Warmer Waters.
It was followed by the brooding dark-Americana of 29, which explored Truscott's melancholy about unfulfilled dreams as he approached 30.
"I'm a hectic over-thinker and I'll change my mind every two seconds," he said. "I've had original projects that were electronic and I had rock stuff I was working on that I was gonna put together.
"With ChaiChester, the reason I've managed to get it across the line by playing a show and getting music up is I've shed a lot of the thinking and I'm just doing it."
With a successful gig behind him and two singles, Truscott has plans to release a ChaiChester EP either before Christmas or early next year.
"I have a very goofy side to my personality and that comes through in the music and I have a pretty serious mental health-driven side as well," he said.
"For me, I put each end of the spectrum up first, hopefully the more songs I put up can fill in the grey in the middle."
