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Two years after Jen Chapin's critically acclaimed CD, Linger , the songstress is back with Ready—11 powerful tracks showing just how far she can stretch her acoustical limbs. The stirring and soothing songs edge from progressive jazz, blues and art-house folk to melodious pop, with insightful messages about politics, love and longing.
The daughter of the late folk icon Harry Chapin, she has carved her own path musically while inheriting her father's songwriting skills and philanthropic ideals. Her poetic prowess leads way to vivid images of a childhood on Long Island “Goodbye”, the anticipated birth of her son “To the New” and the city she calls home, “NYC”. Husband/co-producer and acoustic bassist Stephan Crump adds chord work and rhythmic melodies. Jamie Foxx plays guitar and includes some unconventional ukulele strings on Election Day and Ready.
canvas took the opportunity to speak with Chapin before she began traveling with toddler son Maceo cross-country to promote Ready . Here's what she had to say about her life, her new album and her role as an advocate for World Hunger Year.
Your mom recently sold your childhood home in Huntington. Tell us about growing up there.
We had this 100-year-old house that was built on rambling hills and because the land was so geologically varied it felt like a whole world to discover. I was the fourth of five children. Between my mom and dad's lives and community involvement, there were always lots of people in and out of the house. At the same time, there were lots of places to get lost in as a little kid.
Tell us about your new album, Ready. How did you come to this title?
The title is actually from the fourth track on the album. I like the different resonances that the word “ready” has. It implies the immediacy and rawness of the music itself—the fact that I really wanted to create something more organic. On most of the tracks the band just went in and played live as opposed to being “choreographed.” We rehearsed and knew what we were going to do, but there was a lot of spontaneity and interaction in the recording. The title also implies time—my readiness to start a family and my readiness for a new government.
“Ready”, “NYC” and “ Time” were all written back in the 1990s but you claim you never got the right vibe to record them. What is the difference now?
Confidence, finding an incredible band and experience. All three of those songs are pretty simple in their own way harmonically. Finding people who could just let the songs be what they are instead of trying to change them into something sophisticated was important to me.
What sort of venues do you like to perform in on Long Island?
I love the Performing Arts Center in Dix Hills—we'll be playing there in August. I enjoy the old theaters and I also enjoy the intimacy of unpretentious coffee houses—even house concerts in people's living rooms, but once in a while it's nice to do something big.
Is it harder to play in small venues because you can't hide behind the big sound?
We've gone into towns where we're playing to 12 people, so I'm used to having nowhere to hide. The thing about playing to a small group is you largely have sole responsibility for the energy. There's a real obligation to stay upbeat and keep things moving, otherwise people start feeling uncomfortable. You have to say, ‘It's okay–there's only a few of us here but we're going to have this experience together.' If you're comfortable it gives them permission to feel at ease.
Tell us about your role in World Hunger Year...
We've found there are so many amazing efforts, solutions and creative endeavors going on across the world to help people help themselves. We try and connect people to the solutions so there's more empowerment, more proliferation of good ideas and more self-reliance. Our national program called Reinvesting In America has thousands of grassroots groups. We're doing everything from job training to after-school programs to life-skill training for low-income families. Things that help people who need a hand up, not a handout. We work with those groups to bring funding, and we bring the media to them so policymakers can see what they're doing. That way they can tap in on a larger scale and help even more people.
There is also a toll-free hotline, (888) 3HUNGRY, which people anywhere in the country can call five days a week. If they need emergency food, we tell them where to get the resources and, more importantly, where they can get the help they need to be in control of their own destiny. Whether it's job training or government entitlement programs they might be eligible for, we're there to help them.
So you take the concept of donation one step further.
Absolutely. The premise is that immediate charity, such as food drives and soup kitchens, is vital and key to the American spirit, but hunger in America, as my dad would say, is an obscenity. It shouldn't exist—especially when you find the majority of the people waiting in line at the soup kitchens are making minimum wage and it's not enough.
There are a lot of forces in society telling us, “Oh, no…if you're strong enough, if you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you'll succeed.” It's true that this country is fertile terrain for people who are determined, but the fact is for too many people, it's just too hard—especially with our health care costs. [If] you have one emergency in a family and your savings disappear and you can't pay the rent, then every spare dime and every waking thought you have isn't how you can get ahead, but simply how you can survive.
Any parting thoughts for our readers?
I would love for people to come out to see a show. There's so much [in the form of media] competing for our attention now, but it's not the same as experiencing live music. And music is such a spiritual form of communication and a magical way for a family to interact. I hope that culture stays alive.
