Album Notes

From Folk with a groove to Bluegrass with attitude to Swing with style, The Chaps mold their diverse range of self-penned and cover material into a cohesive musical genre all their own. Sometimes labeled alt cowboy lounge for lack of a better descriptive bin, they certainly have fun playing and singing in their inimitable style, which, along with their tight yet relaxed and amusing performances, has earned them a respected place in the New Zealand folk music scene for over ten years now.

Hiphopalong (generally pronounced hip-hop-along, not high-fop-along but suit yourself) is our second release and first studio recording. Ten years in the making, during which time kids were born, jobs, houses, cars and partners changed, death and illness dealt with and hair lost, we have come to the realisation that the next album really shouldn't take so long.

Prepare for a journey across a wide musical landscape from the "holier than thou" cynicism of "A Believer Like Me" to the intimate adult love ballad "Flow and Ebb"; the Depression era lament of becoming no-one in "Thirty Days or Thirty Dollars" to the honky-tonk rendition of schizophrenia in "Thought of the Longer Days" and all points in between.

Buy this CD (and "Live! In the Club" also available from CDBaby to complete the set) and become part of a warm and welcoming community of fans throughout the world - we're still working on the secret handshake - and if you really like us please lobby your local performance venue to make booking enquiries, no reasonable offer refused.

Thank you for listening, enjoy the music and come to New Zealand and visit, we'd be happy to see you.

Hyram Ballard