Derek Chafin Main Page

BIO:

Turning back from the mixing board in the dark control room of his Barn Studio outside Philadelphia, singer-songwriter Derek Chafin flicks his cell phone closed, tuning out the world as he pushes the volume up on his latest CD, The Gladhouse (a|i|r, www.airrecords.com) and turns his attention to the sound pulsing out of the speakers.

Chafin’s voice whispers, then effortlessly soars with a powerful intensity, evoking candlelit warmth. Along with chiming guitar, a delicate chamber orchestra slowly enters your consciousness. Drums and bass morph from a soft glow to a white-hot bolt from the sky. “I just wanted to make something beautiful, something a little deeper than just ‘happy or sad.’” The listening experience touches on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks, Zeppelin III, Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and Rubber Soul.

Swooping, soaring musicianship is contrasted by incisive and insightful lyrics. Ruminations on sorrow, wonder and redemption bend perceptions of truth and reality.

This record, unlike any of his career (one of them, X’s+O’s Alright, was produced by Prince’s longtime engineer, Steve Durkee, at Prince’s studios) had an almost accidental beginning. This album marked many departures. The spontaneous approach to recording, coupled with making his debut without the collaboration of a band, makes The Gladhouse Chafin’s most personal effort.

“As my band’s last record hung in the air waiting on contracts (Superstatic’s Echoplexed), we mutually decided to end the band.” says Chafin. “I suddenly felt free.”

He immediately turned full attention to the solo record he’d sketched out earlier. He needed a quick demo to start hitting the coffeehouse and acoustic club circuit – “just me and a guitar and no fuss,” he says. Time was limited, as Chafin had to juggle recording his record with other commitments – he’s an in-demand producer for such acts as reggae band Riddem Nation and fresh voice Seth Kallen. His range as a producer includes a variety of genres, including work on bossa nova legend Astrud Gilberto’s record.

The first call to help make this “quick demo” was to childhood friend and former collaborator Jon Cooper. Chafin recorded his first songs in Jon’s little studio in Boston. When he formed The Darrows, a seminal force on the national scene, Cooper produced the band’s first record. It was only natural and fitting that Jon played a part.
They brought in two familiar faces for the sake of speed, efficiency and exceptional talent. Drummer Tim Reeder and bass player Chris Seidel are both experienced with Chafin’s style of writing and working.

Recording took place in a house on the remote eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay over a 24-hour period. It’s the same place Chafin and Reeder recorded the stellar “Flinty Loam” with their band Head and producer Durkee. “That house is a magical place, no other way to describe it,” he says. It was familiar, removed from reality and inspiring – it was the perfect choice. With the recording room lit with scores of candles, and the control room set up in adjacent room, the musicians simply walked in and started playing.

“On purpose I didn’t let anyone hear the songs before we were recording. Literally,” he says. “They had to play by instinct and rely on their abilities as musicians, feel the material rather than think it through. “Come With Me” and “Don’t Wait” were the first to be recorded. “Come With Me” a sinuous, sensual tune of longing, is almost a blueprint for the record, a journey waiting to be taken – quiet yet by turns explosive. “Don’t Wait” can be read as a transitional conflict between lovers, but also speaks to the tantalizing and sometimes cruel pull of music on musicians. “Serviced by the things that you want no more”… You hate it when it keeps you coming back for more, what for? Don’t wait ... you’re forever changed.”

This process, in itself, was a departure for Chafin, who admits to occasionally being a control freak. Maybe. Sometimes.“It was such a joyous thing recording those tracks, it almost shocked us,” he says. “Everyone else had gone to bed, and Jon and I were listening to the takes. He looked at me and said, ‘You know this is a record, don’t you?’ I hated that he was absolutely right.”

Derek and Jon went back to the Barn and began polishing. Jon wrote string arrangements – eventually recorded in Madison, WI – just a few overdubs that stay true to the record’s live and in-the-moment feel. Chafin also added several songs where he was unaccompanied, including the beautiful “Send You Love and the fated-to-be classic “Close Your Eyes.”

The resulting record is beautiful, honest and stripped down to it essence, hinging on references to light, dark and dreams that become tangible.

Back in the Barn, what might be his most personal song, “Huntington,” plays. “We got it one take, with everyone kind of shaking at the end. As we were playing, the band realized it was a requiem for my father. Something transforming happened.” The song takes its title from the town in West Virginia where Chafin was born. Derek and his mom left for Philadelphia when he was young. The song ties together the town and his father, their concurrent decline and conflict, and the eternal, indomitable beauty in a goodbye. “There’s no mystery/To what you don’t say…Well I miss you now/But I do not regret…To hate the father/And still love the man.”

As the last note hangs in the air, the door to the studio opens. A bracing rush of outside air enters the space as Jon Cooper ambles in and promptly knocks over a candle. They both jump toward the candle to stomp out the spreading flames. With tragedy averted, Chafin looks at Cooper and asks, “What’s next?”

PRESS:

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Tom Moon
"transforms hooks into radiant musical moments."

The Daily Times: Beth D'Addono
"bound for glory. The music is nothing short of glorious."

WXPN, Spin, Option: Bruce Warren
''Chafin's songs are smart and complex and yield the stuff great rock is made of."

Rockpile: Andre Calilhanna
"Stellar debut album... the ability to connect melody with an edgy, educated writing style...ripe with pop rock hooks while avoiding any premeditated formulaic, generic sound."

The Philadelphia Weekly:
Ramsay Pennypacker
"(Chafin) is a force to be reckoned with...undeniable moments of inspiration."

Philadelphia Welcomat:
Peter Brown
"The album's big sound translates to their live performance. A hard, tough sound."

Big Shout: Joe Del Tufo
"A great band with a bite behind their bark."

City Paper: Frank Blank
"a keen sense of originality."

Philly Rock Guide: Dave Mountain
"Chafin is charismatic, Lenat is inventive, Jacoby and Reeder maintain the pocket beautifully ...

The Times-Union: Michael Eck
"Pop songs that nail you to the wall with no chance of escape."

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Faith Quintavell
''well-executed, brazen, hard rock tunes are worthy of national attention. Keep an eye on them."

MAPP, City Paper:
Carol Schutzbank
''(Superstatic) tackles the 'issue' of commercial rock and comes out the winner, aided in great part by an array of creative influences which keeps things active and intense. The songs are well-crafted and delivered with heartfelt energy."

New CD 2012 - not kidding this time!
I know it's taken me forever to get this finished but I hope it'll be worth your wait. The new CD tentatively titles "Louder Than Red" is a combination of lots of ideas - it isn't acoustic and it isn't just full tilt rock. Let's call is an electro-organic mash up.

Out Live:
Dobbs on 12.22.11 Origivations Holiday party

In The Studio:
- Working on my next release.
- Just produced and mixed the new Charlie Phillips CD "What It Is" which is absolutely amazing.
- Produced and mixed Clashing Plaid's new CD.
- Produced and mixed Airways first tracks for an eventual CD.
- Produced and currently mixing Suzanne Gorman's new CD.
- In pre production with Parsnip Revolt for thier upcoming CD.
- Working on Owen Brown's new CD
- Produced and mixed In The Blonde debut CD.
- Produced and mixied Kenny Markford's follow up CD.
- Produced and mixied Something Kept Hidden's debut CD
- Mixed Post Post's debute EP.
- Produced and mixied Electric Boa's "Candy Coated Cyanide"
- Produced Keith Garner's debute CD - just released.
- Appeared with Pop Is Art for a Squeeze tribute record - our track is Misadventure, which follows up our tune on the Jellyfish tribute record (New Mistake is our track)

Listening to:
Too much going on in the studio to really listen to anything else but what I'm working on but just got these CD's: Black Keys, Darkeness on the Edge of Town, Mark Ronson, and a bunch of others I can't remember right now.

Watching:
Too many computer screens!

Not:
Twittering or Facebooking. Look, I have an ego but I don't begin to think I'm self important enough that my every moment needs recording and distribution. Isn't that what records are for?