Colony House, formed in 2009 as the project of Caleb and Will Chapman, comes to St. Louis tomorrow night to perform at the Ready Room a year after performing at LouFest and Blueberry Hill. The band itself consists of Caleb (vocals and guitar), Will (drums), Scott Mills (guitar), and Parke Cottrell (bass).

The group has evolved a lot since it began in 2009, but since the beginning, Colony House has made sure to focus on the songs. Colony House has always attempted to put the heart of the song first. While many of the popular songs today are more simple and accessible, Colony House attempts to make sure that the meaning of their song shines through.

“When we approach music we want to make sure that we put the song first above all the other ‘well we could add this’…We try to first go ‘let’s make sure this song is compelling and moving and is communicating what we want to communicate with just the four of us,’ and then if we want to add tricks to it, later we can,” Caleb Chapman said, when I called him the other day.

Caleb Chapman spoke of the group’s motivations, touring, Nashville, Tenn. and so much more. But first, he had to reach back to their roots.

“We wanted to pursue rock ’n’ roll music, and I think, ultimately, we’re still trying to figure out what that means…There’s a certain passion that comes with rock ’n’ roll  music that is special,” Caleb Chapman said. “What you see a band like U2 or Kings of Leon do on such a massive scale—that’s undeniable and really compelling, and I think that’s what we’ve always been aiming for.”

Soon after forming a different band together, the two brothers met Scott Mills.

“We [brothers] met Scott through my cousin,” Caleb Chapman said. “We asked him if he wanted to come over and play a little bit, and the rest is history with Scott.”

Nowadays, Mills acts as the mediator of the band, guiding the course of the band as the man in the middle. For a while, the group worked together as a three-piece band, until adding Parke Cottrell to the group on bass. Cottrell opened for the brothers at a Knoxville, Tenn. show, leading the pair to ask him to fill in at bass for a bit when he moved to Nashville a couple years later. According to Caleb Chapman, Parke “is an uber-talented musician and vocalist, and adds a great charisma and work ethic to the band.”

Colony House, like many great musical acts, has its roots in Nashville. The Chapmans were born and raised there and took full advantage of the hundreds of bands, writers and artists that make the Tennessee capital their home.

“It was never not normal if you asked someone what they did, and they were like ‘I’m a writer or I’m a singer-songwriter or I’m an artist,’” Caleb Chapman said.

Living in the Music City has had a huge influence on not only the band but Caleb Chapman as well. The community it fosters is collaborative with many artists and groups working together to make music for its own sake.

“I think just being around it so much it gets into your blood and gets into the way that you approach life in general. You start looking through a glass of storytelling, [and] I just think it’s a really inspiring place to be because there’s a lot of comradery in Nashville,” Caleb Chapman said. “I think the reason I chose music was because the whole winning and losing thing got to me; there’s still competition in music unfortunately, but I feel like Nashville has a pretty healthy balance of being driven but also being a cool community to make music together in.”

Caleb Chapmam is not the only band member to write the music in the group. Writing and making music together is central to the group dynamic, and even though he usually starts the process, all of Colony House is integral to it.

“Typically, I write the skeleton of the song, and I bring it to the guys as an idea, and then we mess around with it in rehearsal and sound checks until it feels more like a, less like a solo singer-songwriter song and more like a band song, with everyone’s personal touch on it…Sometimes we’re just messing around together, and it kind of inspires something musically,” Caleb Chapman said.

Colony House is getting closer to this ideal with an upcoming album, “Only The Lonely.” Focusing on the meaning behind the music more than production value, Caleb Chapman describes this upcoming album as more “raw,” production-wise.

The group is also finding their stride together in working on the upcoming album. Over the past seven years the band has grown closer, to the point where Caleb Chapman said that being in the band is like “we’re all best friends, and it feels like we’re just a group of buds that are hanging out.” Through this friendship, they have been able to take more risks while performing and trust each other more.

“Its just like we’re one unit moving forward tonight, and when you can arrive at that place where everyone’s doing their role, and it’s not four individuals onstage—it’s about the one collective band; that’s when a band really figures it out, and I think we’re getting closer to that with each show we play.”

While touring can be an amazing experience, the band has had to deal with a lot of things while on the road and at home, and the band members take their experiences and turn them into the music that they play. Dealing with the stress of being on the road and playing shows can be hard and take a toll on the individual. Being constantly on the move and away from home can create a sense of loneliness—hence “Only The Lonely”—that can take root even when surrounded by your best friends.

“Everything, on the last album—it was more about my family and losing a little sister was a big part of that album and learning how to deal with that. And this album—I think that that will always be in our lyrics—the pain of losing someone you love, but this one is more the experiences of being on the road, being around people all the time,” Caleb Chapman said. “There’s this tension that kind of exists when you’re doing something you love so much, but you’re also missing something you love so much, which can be two different things.”

But the road hasn’t been all hard, and Caleb Chapman wouldn’t choose another career over making music. For him, making music is in his blood. His parents Steven Curtis Chapman and Mary Beth Chapman are both musicians, and he has been making music with his brother for as long as he can remember. Music is his passion.

“I love making new music; I love writing new music and seeing how it changes from record to record. And I think we’re getting better at playing shows and connecting with people,” Caleb Chapman said. “There’s not a limit—you don’t tap out your creative pool. The well—that kind of refills itself without you having to do something about it…Never being satisfied with where we’re at is like learning that dissatisfaction in that way is actually healthy.”

Colony House is currently on tour with the Mowgli’s and DREAMERS and will visit the Ready Room in St. Louis on Sept. 29. Their new record, “Only The Lonely,” will release in mid-January of 2017.