djwayne Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Daughter of Harry Chapin, is releasing a cd, the music can be heard at her website. Easy listening jazzy, nice music...here's her story... Damaged Ego Pushed Chapin Into Career (AP, 02/23/2004 4:22 PM) By David Bauder With an Ivy League education and experience as a teacher and hunger activist, a career in music wasn't necessarily Jen Chapin 's first choice. Then the funk-inspired party band that she sang with dumped her, and the rejection stung far more than she anticipated. "I'd always been involved in music as a hobby and I just realized it was more crucial to my life than that," she said. "I didn't want to be that dispensable. It made me dig in and decide to study music a bit more." Chapin, 32, makes her national CD debut Tuesday with "Linger," a singer-songwriter set influenced by jazz and soul. The disc's title comes from "Little Hours," its first song and most memorable melody, about resisting the urge to hurry through life. It's an appropriate philosophical statement for Chapin, said John Scher, veteran concert promoter and co-owner of Chapin's label, Hybrid Recordings. "Reluctant pop star is the wrong word," he said. "But she's taken her time and she's measured what she wants to do with her life more than any other musician I've ever seen." That ultimately gives her songs a depth of experience that younger artists can't match. Chapin has the chance to be the type of songwriter that fans can grow with over time, Scher said. Along with love songs, Chapin sings about soulless teenage boys, a childhood friend who died at the World Trade Center and the vastness of her adopted New York City. In "Passive People," she gently prods a disengaged citizenry to get involved in their country. Chapin's dad, the late folk singer Harry Chapin, would have loved that song. Chapin heads the board of directors for World Hunger Year, a non-profit organization founded by her father. Although Chapin used one of her father's old guitars on "Linger," he had less to do with her musical upbringing than her older brothers' disco records. Harry Chapin died in a car accident in 1981, before his daughter became a teenager. The biggest advantage to growing up in a musical family uncle Tom Chapin is a successful singer of children's songs is an acceptance of being an artist and a certain fearlessness, she said. "There's a small, but significant, group of people across the country and abroad who are sort of rooting for me, fans of my dad's," she said. "I'll do a show in a coffee house before 20 people, and 15 of them will be Harry Chapin fans," she said. "I'm really looking forward to that changing, but that's the way it's been so far. I really can't complain; it's part of who I am." If her dad was still alive, Chapin believes she probably wouldn't be a musician. "He would have been too much in my face," she said with a chuckle. "That was his personality. He would have been like, `Go, Jen!'" Chapin is friendly but guarded. It's only after extensive discussion about the prominent role of the bass guitar in her music does she let slip that the bass player, Stephan Crump, is also her husband. During the years she methodically developed her music, Chapin also created, and taught in Brooklyn, a curriculum about black music and its role in history. Her music marries those interests with a singer-songwriter sensibility. "I've always loved that acoustic thing, where you get to create something out of silence, out of tension," she said. The writing process terrifies her, she said, "because I'm still not completely believing that I'm getting away with it. I haven't done any serious collaborations. I want a song to be totally my own. That's sort of frowned upon in the songwriting world, where there is a high value placed on collaborations and being open to different ideas." That's one key difference between her and a fellow musical traveler, Norah Jones , who uses her own songs, songs from her band and covers. Chapin and Jones come from the same New York music scene, and the same drummer played on both of their debuts. While Jones' music may be a reference point for some fans, Chapin cautions against a comparison. "Her (debut CD) you could put it on, leave it on, have dinner," she said. "I think mine is a little more bumpy, so I don't know if it's going to hit the same sweet spot. I think it's got more claws or something." One of the most personal, and specific, songs on Chapin's CD is "Hurry Up Sky," dedicated to her friend, Kristy Ryan, who worked on the 104th floor of the North tower at the World Trade Center. Chapin spent much of her time the weeks after the terrorist attack with Ryan's family; she played in a high school band with Ryan's widower. Now, she said she feels almost "painfully distant" from the song, largely because the spirit of community the tragedy fostered is gone. "It was a sacred time," she said. "It was a time of possibilities." "I don't think about Kristy every day, like I used to," she said. "When I sing that song, that's my time. That's my prayer. I get to picture her and keep her alive for three and a half minutes." The song, and Chapin's album, may never have happened if it hadn't been for that old band that decided to break up, then reform without her. It was ultimately a motivator. "I pity the people who have never had the blow to the ego, who have never been dumped," she said. ___ On the Net: http://www.jenchapin.com/ http://www.hybridrecordings.com/ Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Thanks! I had no idea Any of Harry's kids were musicians with a musical career of any kind. I'm a huge Harry Chapin fan. Of course, that may not translate to being a Jen Chapin fan, but we'll see... Thanks again. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 You're Welcome. I just found out about her today too, listened to a few tunes and like what she's doing musically. Acoustic guitar and bass mostly. I could even hear a little "Harry" influence in her singing, and writing. I wish her well and hope she does a re-make of "Taxi". If she could write another "Taxi" type song, that would be great. Instead of Harry and Sue, it could be Jen and Lou. Either way, it's new music, from a new artist, and well worth a listen. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I never even knew she existed. Thanks for the info. I'll check. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitefang Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Another Chapin in music can only be good. I'm going to have to chase this CD down. I loved her father's music, and also enjoyed, even though it was a children's show, watching het Uncle Tom Chapin's "Make A Wish" TV show in the early '70's. My sister-in-law took her grandson to one of Tom's children's concerts recently, and said he was "simply great!" Whitefang I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Originally posted by djwayne: ...I wish her well and hope she does a re-make of "Taxi". If she could write another "Taxi" type song, that would be great. Instead of Harry and Sue, it could be Jen and Lou...That would be a stretch! So much of Harry's music was either autobiographical or inspired by stories he heard as a struggling artist. I don't get, from the article you posted, that her life draws many parallels with her father's. That and her young age at his death lead me to believe she'll never be her father. Hopefully being Jen Chapin will mean something unique, as opposed to being Harry Chapin's musical daughter. Besides, I think the expectations on Julian Lennon, for example, and his similarity of vocal style to his father, were too much for him to succeed for long. People expected him to be his father. The two had totally different experiences that formed who they were. I believe the same is true of Jen and Harry. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 It's just a thought, something to do on a rainy day type thing. She already has her own style, just listen to "Gold" a few times, It's no question she has that "Chapin" magic. I'm really looking forward to her next project. I think she's going to do really well with this CD. I'm excited about it. Being Harry Chapin's daughter, isn't going to hurt a thing, but HER music is very good too. Having a famous name will only get you so far, but in this case, I think she'll do fine. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbMB Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Did you know that beside being the daughter of Harry Chapin, her grandfather is the legendary drummer and educator Jim Chapin? Jim, now 84 yrs. young, wrote a book in the '40s that revolutionalized drumming as it was known at that time. Jim Chapin's book, Advanced Techniques For The Modern Drummer, introduced the idea of independence to drummers. It created a stir (outrage) in the drumming community that reminds me of what Stravinsky encountered with The Rite Of Spring. Jen comes from a solid musical lineage. I am looking forward to hearing her music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Knutson Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Did you know that Mary Chapin Carpenter is related to neither Harry Chapin nor the Carpenters? More importantly, did you care? https://bunny.bandcamp.com/ https://theystolemycrayon.bandcamp.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Originally posted by dbMB: Did you know that beside being the daughter of Harry Chapin, her grandfather is the legendary drummer and educator Jim Chapin?I wondered about that. I've got a Jim Chapin instructional video, and he is quite a character to watch. You can tell the guy doesn't know the meaning of 'slow down'. There is supposedly an audio recording of his stories of being on the road. I'd love to hear it. He's a fun guy to listen to. Hell of a player too, as you can imagine. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted February 28, 2004 Author Share Posted February 28, 2004 I also just found out that they have a 5.1 DVD concert video available of Harry, recorded many years ago. I wanna get that too. I've been listen to Jen's song "Gold" many times and I really, really like it !! Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted February 29, 2004 Author Share Posted February 29, 2004 I found Harry's DVD called "Rockpalast Live-25th Anniversary" at a local Best Buy. It's a truly rare concert recorded in Germany on April 12th 1977. Which includes performances of TAXI, W.O.R.L, Cat's In The Cradle, 30,000 Pounds of Banana's, and many others. As you can guess the technology wasn't very good, but it does catch the show, and certainly the music very well. The hair styles, clothes are very accurate of the times. The lighting could have been better, but the show is is still great !! I was always curious on who sang that operaetic voice part on the song "Taxi", it turns out it was his burly bass player. hehehehe...... This dvd really brings back memories for me, as I was also performing with a Martin Guitar at the time. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted March 8, 2004 Author Share Posted March 8, 2004 A bounce for great new and old music. I've been listening to "Gold" about a zillion times. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedro Posted March 8, 2004 Share Posted March 8, 2004 Not bad lookin' either. Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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