The CHAPMAN FILES

Chapman Zane, in real life Chapman Jones,  brings new life to acoustic music in Second Life. Chap's acoustic jangle is a compelling blend of classic folk and folk rock, old time mountain music, red dirt and classic rock. Whether it's Doc Watson or Tom Petty, Old 97's or Gordon Lightfoot, Chap lives and gives the love he has for music to you in every performance.

 

Chap's own songs of family and love mixed with traditional melodies of the mountains takes you back to a simpler time in life. His melodic claw-hammer and frailing style of banjo playing will capture your heart and when coupled with his old time flat picking guitar technique, Chap performs shows like no other in Second Life. With a deep family history built in Appalachia, Chap brings the beautiful sound of the mountains to your auditory senses.  Chap's performances are filled with songs and stories that make you laugh, ballads that make you cry and haunting melodies that resonate throughout your soul.

 

Chap's Tools

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Acoustic  & Electric 6 & 12 String Guitars

Mountain Banjo, Resonator, Dulcimer

Q&A

1. Why are you a singer/songwriter?

 

Song writing allows me to enter the ethereal arts and make something from nothing and then in turn, allows me to give enjoyment to anyone who is willing to listen. That indeed, is worth the effort.

 

2.  What is your musical background? Do you have a musical family or did you just fall into songwriting all on your own?

 

My father was a barbershopper. My mother sang all the t ime. My one brother played drums for years. My other brother is a blues/jazz guitarist and a master sound engineer who gets to pick and choose the concerts he works. He never gets me free tickets. Yes. There's a musical history. I've always been around and played music. Piano, drums, banjo, electric and acoustic guitar, dulcimer and even the penny whistle.  The top instrument on my bucket list are the bagpipes.  Songwriting came later in life but is an integral part of my DNA now.

 

3. What sorts of things have you done to improve your songwriting?

 

I'm constantly learning from the masters. I write what I want. But technique is as much a part of song writing as putting words on paper is. They call it wordsmithing. After many years, I'm still an apprentice.

 

4. Have you written any songs in the last 12 months? What are you working on now and where do you feel your music is headed?

 

I've probably started 50 songs in the last year. I've written a dozen or so. Currently I'm working on an album, The Moonbow River Project. It's taken two years to get to this point. It's an album of jangle-pop and folk-rock tunes. As I play all the instruments on the album it is indeed, slow going. My latest song (12-2012) is titled Come Along. The demo is available here . .  http://www.chapmanjones.com/mp3/Come_Along.mp3

 

As most who know me and my music, I tend to go back and forth between genres. I am indeed,  acoustically oriented. However, as I write more and more songs, I find myself moving toward the jangle pop/folk rock genre made famous by the Byrds and later into the "jangle era" of the late 80's and 90's. Where is my music heading?  Backwards into the future. And for me, it's very bright there.

 

5. And finally, what advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar path to yours?

 

A) Never say I can't and there's no such thing as writers block. Writers block is a chump's cop out. If you're not writing at the moment, all that means is you haven't anything to say at that moment. But you will. Soon enough.

 

B) Play your heart out. Don't just play a show, engage and "give" the audience the gift of your talent. Some days it's going to be a drag. Other days are total enlightenment. But never, ever, no matter what, give up on your audience. Your audience is your key to success.  Let them unlock you. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt  being a good musician. So practice your heart out! Everyday! :)

CHAPMAN LINKS

http://www.chapmanjones.com

http://www.reverbnation.com/chapmanjones

http://www.youtube.com/user/chapjones

http://www.facebook.com/chapmanjonesmusic

The CHAPMAN MP3 Sample from his show on September 14.