Parker Chapin {Singer-Songwriters}
Singer-Songwriters
Words by Jessi Devenyns Photos by Eric Morales
After getting kicked out of the house at the age of 16 and battling substance abuse, Parker moved to Austin and found his way through a mire of self-doubt and depression through writing songs. Last year, his songs catapulted him out of the shadows to a finalist in the 2018 Texas Songwriter contest. But that was never his plan.
“When I moved to Austin, I had no intention of playing music ever,” admits Parker. However, after a successful open mic night at Strange Brew, Parker says he was unable to deny his impulse to express himself through song. “I just liked writing songs because it was the only thing that ever helped.” He goes on, “Writing songs essentially helped me see I’m not a bad person.” With a smile that is nearly permanently creased into his face and a laugh that bounces off the walls, it’s hard to imagine Parker as a sad personality, but his lyrics – which Parker assures are the equivalent of reading his personal diary entries – reflect a troubled story. “My songs are sad,” he shrugs. Still, “I would imagine as much as I do write, something happy would come around. And it has more recently.”
Even as his musical talents have begun to gain recognition, Parker explains that he has had to put aside people’s opinions in order to continue to pursue his raw style of writing songs that chronicle his life. With a home filled with haphazardly scrawled notes on journals, sticky notes, and scraps of paper, it’s incredible to imagine how rhyme and reason come from the chaos. For Parker, though, expending that chaos is what allows him to find the story in the first place. By putting his thoughts down on paper, he observes that he is able to articulate his feelings with more precision and take a step back from the emotions. Yet, he admits that every time he performs a song, the lyrics plunge him back into the moment. To help him stay afloat, Parker says he relies on his guitar. As he tells his story, Parker strums his guitar creating a backdrop for his words that trill and stretch over the background hum. His smile sinks into concentration as he melts into his song. When he stops he remarks, “It’s just like something that happens. It’s like I’m a completely different person [when I sing].” In conversation he shares that he’s a “fragile flower,” but as soon as he starts putting a melody to those spoken words, the world clicks into place and he finds his purpose. Without song, he admits he doesn’t know where he would be today. “I went to rehab… and talked to a lot of different therapists there, but it never did for me what songwriting did. It didn’t even compare.”
Contact:
parkerchapin.com
parkerchapinmusic@gmail.com
