Sabrina Chap has been called many things. A mix between Julie Andrews and Divine. A sexy Tom Lehrer. A post-modern Cirkus MILF. Whatever you call her, this insane sex bomb of hilarity is bringing her whiskey soaked vocals and piano driven tunes to her second studio album, a ridiculous explosion of politics, horns and wit called, ‘We Are the Parade’.
‘We Are the Parade’ was inspired by a failed photo shoot for Chap’s previous album, ‘Oompa!’, an album filled with piano bar ragtime & heartbreak. After the initial shoot, Chap (a former drum major) took a look at the photos and said, “These photos don’t look like piano ragtime tunes. These photos look like my next album.”
Armed with the cover art, Chap turned her inner band geek on high and started writing. She turned her pen to the wildly absurd, matters of the heart and the insanity of American politics. From the Prop 8 inspired anthem, “We are the Parade” to the driving tune, “Everything’s Great”, which touches on America’s obsession with self-denial, this witty, political and personal album catches an artist on the verge of an artistic break-through.
Inspired by the music of Jacques Brel and the incidental music on 30 Rock, Chap took her music compositional skills to the test, orchestrating 10 of the 13 tunes. Drummer Lee Free (MEN) anchored the beats through a range of styles including Dixie, Latin and soul. The girls of Brooklyn post- punk soul band, Ava Luna lent their doo-wop vocal stylings, while Corn Mo (Polyphonic Spree) added accordion behind a Julliard trained string trio on the more orchestral tunes. Three different sets of brass (members from Gato Loco, Red Hook Ramblers, Sonia Leigh) retained their original brass flavors on separate tracks, while joining to create a big band sound. Though the album features over 25 musicians, the orchestral sounds on We Are the Parade were often created by recording an instrument at a time.
Chap is currently hitting the road promoting not only this album, but the second edition of her book, ‘Live Through This- On Creativity and Self-Destruction’. Now including an introduction by Amanda Palmer, Chap will flip-flop between lecturing on how to keep sane while creating art, and performing music from the album in a release tour that hits the Northeast, Midwest and the UK. All in all, 'We are the Parade' is a virulent second studio release from an artist on the brink of receiving major national attention.
released August 16, 2012
Music lyrics & orchestration by Sabrina Chap
except for:
My Poor Heart – (horn arrangement) by David Engelhard, Greg Hammontree, Steve Kortyka & Sabrina Chap
Fly Away & Everything’s Great (horn arrangement by Stefan Zeniuk)
Recorded and Mixed by Mitch Rackin at Seaside Lounge. Additional Recording by Charles Burst and Lee Free. Mastered by Mitch Rackin
Produced by Sabrina Chap
vocals, piano, electric/acoustic guitars (5 & 12), marimba, melodica, strange sounds, hand claps - Sabrina Chap
drums – Lee Free
tuba - TubaJoe Exley
acoustic bass - Adam Roberts
trumpets – Jason Benajamin (1,7, 10), Jason Prover (1, 2, 4, 10), Jesse Selengut (3 & 9 , Greg Hammontree (1, 11)
clarinet – Janelle Reichman (1, 5, 7, 10), David Engelhard (1, 2)
tenor sax – Janelle Reichman (1, 7), David Engelhard (11), Stefan Zeniuk (3)
alto sax, bass sax – Stefan Zeniuk (3, 7, 9) Steve Kortyka (11)
bari sax - Maria Christina Eisen
trombone – Sara Jacovino
French Horn - Mitch Dvoracek
English horn/oboe - Katie Scheele
Bassoon - Lori Brand
Back-Up Vox – Felicia Douglass (6, 8, 9), Becca Kauffman (6, 8, 9), Katie Summerfield (8, 12, 9)
violin – Sabina Torosjan
viola – Jen Herman
cello- Leya Rennert-May
accordion – Corn Mo
fiddle – Melody Allegra Berger
electric bass - Tucker Yaro (3)
guitar - Clifton Hyde (3)
Crowd Singing - Jenny Harder, Lola Bruise, James Higgs, Corn Mo, Sherri Forever, Billy Robinson, Jonathan Altschuler (10)
Clifton Hyde plays Ed Schaefer Electric Guitars.
photos by Dave Sanders –
davesanders.com
cd design by – Stephen Crowe
–invisibledot.net
Thanks to all the wonderful musicians who worked with me on this. Special thanks to Mitch Rackin for his continued patience with me in the studio, his fine ears and opinions. Much love and thanks to everyone who helped me with this album, especially Lee Free, Judy Kow, David Ames, Dave Sanders, Stephen Crowe, Melanie Amaral, Theo, Michael Cadman, & Seaside Lounge. Eternal love and thanks to my family- especially to my sister, Sophia, and my mom for more than words can say. Thank you all for listening.