An Interview with Thomas Chapinby Peter Madden – from KnitZine, 1996

PM: Listening to your music and reading reviews of your stuff, one that which jumps out is the wide range of your playing. People comment that you can play out and in, whatever that means.

TC: Whatever that means.

PM: Do you think of it that way? Is there a division in your mind? How do you approach doing some real blowing with Thurston Moore (KF 11/1/96) as compared to doing some type of straight ahead session?

TC: Well, sometimes it can be a real deliberate thing, but other times…how can I put this…I look at it as just music, so whatever the music that’s being presented is – that’s where I go. So it’s just a question of what I choose to present at any given time or who I’m playing with. If somebody calls me to do something, I bring whatever I have to that situation – whatever seems appropriate to that situation. I mean I probably wouldn’t play bebop on a gig like you just mentioned – although I might! You know for a section or something. It would just depend on the circumstance. I play according to what I feel or what internal dictates exist. I mean you can listen to those records and say “Wow, there’s a big difference there,” but for me it’s all music and I really enjoy playing all different styles of music and different aspects of the language.

PM: Do you feel, in your heart, more closely affiliated with a certain style, or do you not think in those terms?

TC: No, I don’t feel affiliated with any style. In fact, I’d rather not. I’m there to communicate from within to an audience. I’m not going to go out of what I feel is my character – whatever that happens to be at that given time. Or I might try to do that too, depending – you know, I might try to burst the idea of what my character is, at least my own idea of what my character is, in certain situations. And that’s what that situation could be for. There are different occasions in life, so you adapt yourself to different occasions. You’re not generally smiling at funerals! You’re not generally somber at parties. You’re trying to channel the creative spirit and another aspect is that you want to communicate to the people who are there. You don’t want to be out of touch with what’s going on around you – or inside of you. It’s always this kind of…it’s not exactly a balancing act, but I think you know what I mean. It’s a consideration of a lot of different factors.

PM: Are there ever times when you feel like you have to compromise that?

TC: I never feel it as a compromise, because it’s not that I don’t get to do what I totally want to do, I do get to do that. So, it’s not a compromise to me. And above all, the thing that I think comes through in any of the playing is that I love to play. If I’m playing – great! Of course, there are limits to that. I mean, I could play a wedding and enjoy it, but I wouldn’t want to do more than one a year.

PM: Listening to you, there’s a real conviction hearing you talk about music, it seems that it’s more than just a job…

TC: It’s a way of life is what it is and it becomes more so as you focus on it in such a way.

PM: Is music a direct expression of how you’re feeling, do you think, at a given time or is it just another mode of expression beyond talking or beyond other modes of communication?

TC: It can be a lot of different things depending on where you’re playing from at any given moment, what part of yourself you’re playing from. If you’re sad, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to play sad music. Sometimes when you’re sad you’re going to play something to cheer you up. Music is also ia alchemical process. I’ve had experience personally where I’ve been very angry and then play what I think is angry, but somehow it’s disguised…not disguised, it’s transformed. There’s a process going on where energy is put in and it’s transformed and it can become a very positive thing. Then I change, I can change through the music and I’m no longer angry, but I can be exuberant. It’s just energy that’s going into the music and it can be very healing in that way. That’s why you hear that music is a healing force, because it goes through these transformations.

PM: What are some of your inspirations, musical or non – past and present?

TC: Teachers are one thing. Teachers are inspiring. Listening to music is inspiring. Breathing air is inspiring by its very definition and sometimes it’s just as basic as that – the joy of living.

PM: If you’re composing for the trio, for example, is there music you listen to for inspiration?

TC: Not specifically, no. But it can be anything because it comes out in a transformed fashion or transfigured way. If you listen to music, you’re not always sure what inspired you. You might hear it and say “Oh, that inspired me,” but you didn’t know that that’s what was doing it. There are a lot of sources of inspiration all around us. Part of the fun for me, in terms of composing, is to try different approaches – so it’s not all about one method. Methods are interesting, but there’s no one method that interests me over another.