The Chapmans have taken their place among the best and brightest in a new century of American bluegrass by balancing a demanding touring schedule with an award-winning recording career.
Brothers Jeremy, Jason and John, together with their father Bill, have taken their efforts in the studio to new heights of emotion, storytelling and musicianship with “Simple Man,†the band’s third album for Pinecastle Records,(due out in early 2005). “Simple Man†fulfills the promise of 1999’s “Notes From Home†and 2001’s “Follow Me,†which established the Chapmans as rising stars in the genre and earned them the Emerging Artist of the Year award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.The honor meant so much to the Chapmans because IBMA award winners are chosen by the votes of industry professionals: musicians, songwriters, radio programmers and journalists. It meant that a group begun as a way of having some family fun had been accepted by their peers in the bluegrass world as one of their own. With “Simple Man,†the Chapmans prove they are more than worthy of that praise.The band’s musical journey begins in the early 1990s in Colorado where young fiddler John Chapman won a statewide junior division championship in his early teens. Inspired by his son’s interest in music, Bill took up the banjo and the two started a bluegrass band with some family friends. Eventually John would switch to guitar and begin singing lead vocals. When younger brothers Jeremy and Jason took up mandolin and bass respectively, a hobby turned into a full-on family passion.The Chapmans honed their skills through shows at county fairs and bluegrass festivals throughout the 1990s. They moved to the Missouri Ozarks in 1995 to make nationwide travel easier. In 1998 the Chapmans jumped into the national spotlight when they won the International Bluegrass Band Championship held by the Society For the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA). Along with the critical success of the band’s first independent album, “Love’s Gonna Live Here,†the win paved the way for the Chapmans to sign a record contract with independent roots and bluegrass label Pinecastle Records.The band’s first album on Pinecastle, “Notes From Home,†was produced by IIIrd Tyme Out bassist Ray Deaton and became a critical and commercial success. Besides earning rave reviews from Bluegrass Now and Bluegrass Unlimited, the genre’s leading publications, “Notes From Home†landed in the Top 5 of Bluegrass Unlimited’s radio chart and was nominated by SPBGMA for Album of the Year. In 2000, John won the first of three honors as SPBGMA’s Guitar Performer of the Year, and the Chapmans picked up endorsements from several well-known sponsors including Gibson Instruments and GHS Strings.The Chapmans released “Follow Me†in 2001, which included the muscular “Losing Again†and an a cappella version of soul singer Sam Cooke’s classic “You Send Me.†Once again the album reached the Top 5 of Bluegrass Unlimited’s radio chart and was nominated by SPBGMA for Album of the Year. It also led to the Emerging Artist honor from the IBMA voters, an award the Chapmans say they were sure they had no chance of winning right up until the moment their name was called.“Everybody had a grin on their face until about 5 in the morning that night,†John recalls.The hard-won success opened the door for the Chapmans to work with some of their heroes who, it turned out, were just as eager to work with them.“One of the most exciting things about our career is all the support we’ve received from other artists, from our heroes,†Jeremy says.Producer Darren Vincent, brother of fellow Missourian and bluegrass innovator Rhonda Vincent, raised the bar for quality and musical craftsmanship on the recording without compromising the Chapmans’ artistic vision. Union Station guitarist Ron Block, whom John describes as “my personal guitar hero,†plays backing guitar on three songs, “The Photograph,†“Runaway Kind†and “Sometimes You Just Can’t Win.†Singer Sonja Isaacs, guitarist Rob Ickles, and fiddlers Stuart Duncan, Andy Leftwich and Aubrey Haynie also lent their talents to the album.“Simple Man†was mixed by recording engineer Gary Paczosa, who has worked on six Grammy-winning projects, including Nickel Creek’s “This Side,†the Dixie Chicks’ “Home†and Dolly Parton’s “The Grass is Blue.†Although his skills are of the behind-the-scenes variety, the highly sought Paczosa was near the top of the Chapman’s wish list when they began planning the album.The result is an album of stellar musicianship, haunting melodies, tight family harmonies and, most important, great songs. Choosing songs was no easy task given that the Chapmans began the process with some 3,200 songs at their feet. The final set they is anchored by songs like “Ode To A Simple Man†by Kim Fox, one of the band’s favorite songwriters. Originally written as a modern country song, the tale of hard working, everyday people becomes a powerful piece of Americana in the hands of the Chapmans. “Runaway Kind†exhibits the band’s ability to capture the rootsy, lonesome feeling that is the essence of bluegrass, yet it is also the song the Chapmans believe has the greatest potential for crossover into the country radio format. “The Photograph,†a lost-love ballad with a lyrical twist, is nothing short of haunting.With their work in the studio finished, the Chapmans are now on the road, giving their fans across the country a taste of these songs live. Averaging about 140 shows each year, the Chapmans keep a busy schedule that takes them to bluegrass festivals from Maine to Texas and even Europe.Now a group of seasoned performers with a well-respected recording career to their credit, the Chapmans are ready to go wherever the music takes them. To hear them tell it, they’re just getting started.“We feel like this is where we wanted to be all along, and we’re just now getting there,†Jason says.
