Well, I’ve had two weeks to recover from our recent two week tour of the north east, so aided by Tiger Woods 2010 and tons of Diet Dr Pepper my caffeine levels are back to normal and my thumbs are sore enough for me to start missing the sound of the wheels hitting the pavement.

So with four days to finish up laundry and a freshly empty wallet, The Chapmans will be return to the thing we know best!

If you live in the greater Illinois or Indiana region, get out and see us this weekend, we will be looking for you!
-Grizz

by: The Chapmans

So we just got back into the states after a short tour of NB Canada where we had a great time playing for record crowds and I have to tell you, I don’t think I’ve had that much fun since I was a little girl!
I think this is going to be a big year for The Chapmans!

The 20th anniversary tour is off to a great start, the newest Chapman, Tyler Beckett aka. Tiller the killer aka. Brandon aka. Peanut is a perfect fit!
Not only is he absolutly killing it on stage, he is just like us (he just looks a little different).

So be sure to keep checking the tour schedule and come out to see what some people are calling “the best thing that has happened to anyone, anywhere, ever!” (OK, it was me who said that, but this time I really mean it!)

The Grizz aka. Jason

by: The Chapmans

The Chapmans have stocked up on tons of merch and starbucks gift cards (the merch is for you, the cards are for us) and have set out on the first official stop on the “Chaptacular Sideshow extravaganza!” the official 20th anniversary tour! And It’s gonna be HUGE!

Don’t believe me? Well how’s this for huge.
Were bringing an all new Limited Edition CD with tons of new songs, we also have all new tour tees and limited edition tour posters signed and numbered by the artist Aaron Thweat.
Need more? Well we will be performing the new songs live, dad bought new underpants, Jason has a new shirt, Jeremy just got a haircut, oh I almost forgot… We have a Fiddle Player now!!!

So check the tour schedule and run to the show nearest you, cause your not gonna want to miss this historical tour that’s been 20 years in the making!

You can also follow us all the way on Twitter.com, where we will tweet our every useless thought (it’s the new thing, I hear even Sarah Palin does it).
We will also be posting tons of pics and Chap TV as we go, so be sure to check back often.

by: The Chapmans

Hey ChapFans, as fans of the Chaps, we thought we would fill you in on The Chapmans official Economic Stimulus Package. We hope that with your help this plan will create a crazy amount of new jobs somewhere or at least buy me another month’s supply of Romen Noodles. What is this plan? Well it’s really not all that exciting to the non-economists among you I’m sure. I’ll try to keep it simple and straight ahead. Basically, in laymen’s terms we added a link on the Chap-TV website to our online store. I guess that’s pretty much it in technical terms too.

How does that fix the economy? Think about it… for each CD, T-shirt, Photo, or glowing stick you buy, someone gets a job making a new one. Then there are the Postal workers that bring it to your door. And most importantly I get paid which means I get to buy more Romen Noodles. Yay! Plus, someone has got to be folding those noodles into a delicious dried square which I just add water to. I make it possible for him to eat Tortino’s pizza.
What do you get? Well, on top of the Notes From Home, Follow Me, and Simple Man CD, we have a very limited number of the Live! From New Brunswick limited edition CD featuring:
1. Losing Again 2. Ode To The Simple Man 3. The Photograph 4. Old Kentucky 5. Out Among The Stars 6. Willow Garden 7. Old Man In The Shanty 8. Sometime You Just Can’t Win 9. You Can Run (But You Can’t Hide) 10. Long Black Limousine 11. You Send Me plus 3 never before release studio recordings: 12. Redwood Hill 13. River Of Sorrow 14. I Wanna Be Loved Like That

We also have a limited number of really cool ladies T-Shirts available. If that doesn’t excite you, than I don’t know what will. Be sure to check out the new store even if you’re not in the market for anything. This will be the spot where you can pre-order the new CD that we’re currently tracking, and let me tell you I played some of my best notes on this new CD, so you’re gonna want to pre-order so you can hear them. I put a lot of thought into their selection and I think it paid off. We’ll be getting some new video’s on Chap-TV soon to fill you all in on how that’s coming. So check out the store, and prepare yourself for new videos coming soon.

Thanks,
Jeremy (Fingers) Chapman

by: Jeremy

Chap-TV YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/CHapTVchannel

by: Jeremy

IBMA Video Chap-Blog 10/01/08

by: Jason

I know, you’ve all been checking back every day to see if the new blog was up, and your diligence is now rewarded. So here’s the scoop… The Chap’s have been staying very busy the last few weeks working up new songs for an upcoming CD. It just so happens that 2009 is going to be the 20 year anniversary of The Chapmans. Well, not The Chapmans as in the family name… that’s been around for a while longer; we happen to be descendants of the Great Celebrity Pot-Wearing Agriculturist (celebri-culturist) Johnny Appleseed! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed) No I’m referring to The Chapmans as a world famous bluegrass band. That’s right, 20 years!! And half of the band isn’t yet out of their 20’s. We’ll be talking more about this news as well as the new CD project in future ChapBlogs, but I just thought I would mention it.

I spoke last time about building a new Chap-TV studio (a.k.a. cleaning the garage) and I would like to announce that we have outdone ourselves if I do say so myself, which is exactly what I’m doing. It really did turn out cool. And it’s gonna serve a dual purpose as a Late Night Chap-TV set and a kick butt IBMA booth. That’s right, we’re bringing Chap-TV to the people. Chap-TV along with KOR Management is going to have an awesome 3-D Chap-TV booth, where besides being the coolest booth ever, we’re going to be conducting in-depth interviews with some of the industry’s biggest movers and shakers. Asking the hard-hitting questions you won’t see anywhere else. A No-Twirl-Region if you will. If you have any questions that you would like to ask, we’ll be taking your suggestions. So far we have IBMA President Greg Cahill -also of Special Consensus, Darin Vincent -of Dailey & Vincent, Alan Bartram –of the Del McCoury Band confirmed, and others in the works. A suggestion, before you submit the questions you would like to have answered… watch the Chap-TV episodes again to get an idea of the way in which these interviews will be conducted.

Back to Late Night Chap-TV, we’ve been working out all the technical issues, and we’re about ready to do the first episode. What’s more, we’re going to be webcasting it live. Yeah, I know, more mind blowing information! And all you Skype users can call in, and maybe even get brought into the show. I KNOW! It is pretty sweet. Of course, we’ll be letting you know all the details when we’re ready for our pilot episode.

Well, that about does it… Oh yeah, we have new Chap-TV webisodes… -A special in-depth look into Cadillac Sky’s new single, “Inside Joke” where we went straight to the source and called Brian Simpson to get to the bottom of this vaguely engaging story of a dance. -A killer Jam busted by a Bass player. - A new mandolin instructional video breaking down PFI solo #1. -And a possible new star to the world of World Record Pretzel eating.

There! Digest all that you just read, and then read it again.

by: Jeremy

Who would like to win two VIP tickets to the IBMA Awards show; two weekend passes to IBMA Fan Fest; $500.00 travel/expense money; 3 days/3 nights accommodations for two in Nashville, Tennessee, and a chance to hang out with The Chapmans? Who wouldn’t? Well you could be the lucky winner just by visiting Chap-TV.com and clicking on the IBMA popup entry form. No purchase necessary. I’m not kidding! That’s what you get for being our fans.

And as if that’s not enough to get you to Chap-TV, we have three new webisodes. We have the conclusion to the Gas video that you’ve all been waiting for, another intimate moment with Bill, and a backstage performance of Redwood Hill.

What? You need more incentive? Well, there are new photos on the wall. If that’s not enough, there’s no pleasing you. So check it out, enter the IBMA Sweepstakes, watch a few videos and be sure to send us your comments.

by: Jeremy

Sup? We have new Chap-TV webisodes that’s what is sup? And this time they’re not all a complete waste of your valuable time… just half of them.

On the serious side, Jamie Booher challenged Jason’s pretzel eating world record and may or may not have beaten him. We have footage. It took a lot of guts to try, and is worth a watch to anyone else who may be considering a shot at “Rold Gold Glory.”

On a more serious side, there is a short expose… how do you put that little line over the “e” in expose?… is this it… ê..? no that’s not it. How about… ë..? nope, here it is… ę…. that’s not right, ok… ж… well that’s not even a letter is it? What the heck? Maybe I need a French keyboard. Without that line, it just looks like I’m saying “a short former pose.” I don’t even know what that means. Ah, here it is é. Ok, as I was saying, we have a short exposé on the crazy profits the oil companies have been pulling in, and we’re not afraid to ruffle some feathers to get this footage to the people. All I can say is Shocking! Can you spell Pulitzer? Well spell check can…

On a still more serious side we have a new guitar instructional video and tab of John’s solo to PFI.

And on the most serious side, we have made a video of the early and difficult journey that little Kylie Grace Chapman had to go on in the first few days of her young life. It was a very difficult time to go through, and it’s still a little hard to watch, but thankfully it has a very happy ending. Thanks again to everyone for all the support during that time. She scared all of us a bit, but it made us love her that much more.

In other news, we just got back from Canada where we had the new Chap-TV film crew along to get more reality Chap-TV footage, along with the live show up there. David has been at his desk the last week archiving and editing the film, and we hope to get it up soon. There are even rumors of a Late Night Chap-Talk show being in the works. We’re renovating the new Chap-TV Studio’s (cleaning the garage) to bring that to you soon. Anyway, I’ll let you get to watching Chap-TV. Enjoy….

by: Jeremy

We’ve been spending a bunch of time in the studio lately, with the main purpose of coming up with new song ideas and arrangements. As many of you already know we decided to go ahead and release one of the tunes we recorded to radio, and as a fan exclusive free download. If you haven’t already done so, you can download an MP3 of Redwood Hill by clicking on our radio player. Also be sure and request it often from your local bluegrass radio show. If they didn’t get a copy, tell them to get with the program and download it from our website.

Which reminds me… all you street team members out there need to step it up! If you’re gonna wear the badge and get the local doughnut discount, you gotta start hitting the beat. We didn’t get the follow-up on the last task that we were expecting, and we’re getting ready to launch a new task for the new single that needs all of your help. So if you’re already a ChapManiac Street Teamer we’re asking you step up to the plate, (we don’t officially recommend juicing up as an option, but some of those other street teams have some big players, if you know what I mean). If you’re not a ChapManiac, but like all the analogies to being a cop, or a big league baseball player, we invite you to join the team… or force. Sorry there are no badges or doughnut discounts.

Back to what I was saying… We also put a couple of the other tunes that we worked up on a limited edition CD along with a live show from St. Louis, NB, Canada, that we plan on selling at our concert up there this July 12th. Any copies that we have left after the show we plan on making available on our new E-Store which should be up and running real soon. We’ll keep you updated.

In the meantime tilt back the old recliner, stretch out, and enjoy the latest Chap-TV webisodes. This week on Chap-TV, Bill gives his opinion on the usefulness of Chap-TV or lack thereof, and there’s another nail biting episode of Will It Break?! This one will keep you on the edge of your seat. I don’t want to give anything away, but someone might lose an eye.

by: Jeremy

Hey everybody,

We are excited to announce the release of our first Single in over three years!

As most of you know, after the release of Simple Man and the subsequent tour after, The Chapmans decided to part ways with Pinecastle Records and temporarily slow down to spend a little more time
at home to pursue a family life, (make babies, clean houses, ect.)

But in the mean time we have also been in the studio recording demos for a future release and also a few tracks that we just wanted to record personally.

The first of which is The Redwood Hill, a family favorite.

So make sure to click on the “Radio” link @Chap-TV or go here http://www.thechapmansonline.com/index.php?/pop_ups/radio/ to listen and Download the all new, fan exclusive single, The Redwood Hill.

Also, be sure & request it at your local radio station (if they say they don’t have it, yet tell them to contact us or to download it themselves & if they say they don’t play bluegrass, tell them to start!)

by: The Chapmans

There are three new Webisodes on Chap-TV including part one of a two part look into the price of fuel getting to shows, and the first of many “Will It Break?” shows. Check them out!

by: The Chapmans

We have new pictures uploaded to our photo wall. Be sure to check them out.

by: The Chapmans

Hello Chap-TV faithful,

the waiting has paid off in the form of six new Chap-TV webisodes! (4 full length pointless videos & two new trailers) so check them out in the tv section.

You can also check out all of the official Chap-TV Trailers @ http://www.youtube.com/user/jimmycbrady. So watch them, download them and post them to your myspace page!

by: The Chapmans

540 - Aryabhata, Invention of digit “0” Zero (relevant because binary code requires 0 and 1.)
1492 - Columbus Discovers America (in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue)
1753 - James Lind finds a Cure for Scurvy (not relevant)
1822 - Charles Babbage, invents the Computer (way back then…?)
1879 - Thomas Edison invents the Light bulb (euphemism for having an idea)
1920 - John Logie Baird invented television (little did he know…)
1989 - Tim Berners-Lee invents of The Web (see also Al Gore)
1993 - An international group of six scientists confirmed teleportation is indeed possible in principle, but only if the original is destroyed. (Beam that up, Scotty!)
1993 - Chipotle Mexican Grill Founded by Steve Ells (I just love Chipotle)
1998 - Britney Spears’ first single “...Baby One More Time” was released. (Musical inspiration)
2003 - Dolly, 1st Cloned Mammal (Sheep)

All of these monumental moments in human history have been leading up to this moment… the launch of Chap-TV.com! The greatest thing to happen to the internet since the search engine that let me find the dates for my time-line. What is Chap-TV? Well, the best way to find out is to go to http://www.Chap-TV.com . But if you’re one of those people who like to read the directions before you put your furniture together…

It was an idea that was conceived on one of those really late overnight drives on tour, when Jason decided to pull out his new camcorder and start filming all the excitement. Being dark and all, he put the camera on night mode, and then the light bulb went off in the collective heads of The Chapmans… if millions of people wanted to watch the home video’s of Paris Hilton, maybe they wanted to see some of The Chapmans too. So we started filming every exciting moment out on the road, back stage, riding in the ChapMobile™, in the studio, broke down on the side of the highway. Then we got to thinking how difficult it was gonna be to get all our fans into our living room to watch the footage, and after a failed attempt to get permits to build a 10,000 sq. ft. addition to our house, we decided to build it in cyberspace. Enter Chap-TV.

It’s not your average band website. Sure it has the requisite band website content, Schedules, Music, News, Photo’s, Discography, Links… but wait, there’s more. It also has the revolutionary Chap-TV viewer. A porthole if you will into the everyday happenings of The Chapmans. Some of the footage is funny, some instructional, some serious, some musical, some a complete waste of time, but all of it distinctly The Chapmans. Even the original design of the “Home” page is representative of The Chapmans. That’s our couch, we own that TV, and the Record / 8 Track player… well, that’s a friends, but it has a Flatt and Scruggs 8 Track in the tray so we had to use it. It’s all just another way to make Chap-TV more personal, and we’re going to keep adding content, and expanding the site as The Chapmans evolve as a band.

So check it out, watch some Chap-TV, listen to the radio, contact us, and don’t worry if it gets late and you find yourself getting sleepy, the couch pulls out into a bed. Be sure to invite all your friends for the Chap-TV house warming, we’re even going to be giving away an iPod for the person who invites the most friends. Keep an eye out for details on that…

Jeremy Chapman
The Chapmans

by: Jeremy

News: Welcome to Chap-TV!

Hey everybody,

Welcome to The Chapmans newest venture… Chap-TV.com

For the past year people have been asking us what is up with your web site?, it’s been down for a while. Well perfection comes with age, and boy has developing this new site aged us!

But in the end it was worth it, because at Chap-TV we think you will discover a revolutionary new way of interacting with The Chapmans. When we are driving down the road challenging each other to a eating contest… YOU will be there. When we are warming up backstage… YOU will be there. When Jason is caught with his finger in his nose, YOU WILL BE THERE!

Just think of it as your very own porthole into the crazy world of “America’s Favorite Dysfuntional Family” The Chapmans.

So sit down, take a look around, and watch the evolution of The Chapmans unfold right before your very eyes. Be sure to contact us and let us know what you think.

by: The Chapmans

First of all, I want to express my extreme and heartfelt gratitude for the hundreds of emails, phone calls, and letters of support and encouragement. You never realize how great people are until something rallies them behind a cause. It was absolutely wonderful and we couldn’t have made it through this without it.

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, I am now the father to what is probably the most beautiful baby girl ever born. (Definitely not biased) Our daughter Kylie Grace Chapman was born on March 22nd, and as quick as she was put in our lives, she was temporarily taken away from us. Born with Meconium Aspiration, she was taken on a helicopter ride to Kansas City to the wonderful Mercy Children’s Hospital hours after birth. If you’re wondering what Meconium Aspiration is, I’ll try to explain as good as I know it. (You can also read a little more about it here: http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/lungs/meconium.html)

The way it was explained to me, before Kylie was born she was very distressed inside the womb. When babies get this way, a reaction is to have a bowel movement. Well, these early bowel movements are like a poison to these babies, and with it all around them they breathe it in. In most cases doctors are able to suck this out of their wind pipe before they take their first breath. This was not the case for our little girl. She had breathed it in deep into her lungs. According to one of the nurses her x-ray was the worst they had ever seen. This Meconium filled her lungs and was killing the inside of them making hard for to put oxygen into the blood stream, in turn causing her heart to work so hard she was in danger of it giving out. With fast acting doctors, they made a decision to get her to a hospital that had more technology and specialized care. So they loaded her up and flew to KC with me and Jeremy following behind. They immediately had her hooked up to a High-frequency oscillator, and were providing her with Nitric oxide to help her maintain a healthy oxygen level. We were told that best case scenario she would be off the ventilators in 4 days, but for us to expect 3 to 4 weeks. Our Kylie surprised them all day after day doing what I could only call the impossible. Every time we would come to her bedside we were greeted to another positive report of her progress. Needless to say, 4 days later she was off those ventilators and on her way to learning how to breathe and eat on her own. We still had to stay another 7 days to complete her rehabilitation. Every day I was there, I continued to recognize how amazing our little girl was. With all the help from all the caregivers at the hospital and the continued support from friends sending cards and visiting we were able to leave the hospital with our little girl to be a family.

We are now home, learning how to sleep on Kylie’s schedule. This has been an incredible journey. One I hope no family will ever have to go through. We love our little girl, and can’t wait to learn all the marvelous things she’s gonna teach us. She has wrapped all her grandparents, as well as her uncles around her tiny little fingers. This is one incredible little girl.

by: John

John and Vickie had a beautiful baby girl, Kylie Grace Chapman at 10:43am on March 22 via emergency C-section. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz, and was 19.75” long. Unfortunately due to a severe case of Muconium Asperation, and the complications that come with it, the hospital immediately made the decision to have Kylie taken to Kansas City’s, Children’s Mercy hospital via Life Flight helicopter. She is being well taken care of with a 24 hour nurse dedicated only to her, and the best equipment that can be used. But of course all your prayers and support have been making the biggest difference for Kylie and the family.

While Kylie has been up in KC with John and me, Vickie has had to wait in Springfield until she could recover from her surgery, which as you can all imagine has been hard on her. She hasn’t had a chance to hold Kylie yet, but we’re hoping that she’ll be able to soon.

John wanted a chance to fill everyone in, and thank you all for your support:

“On March 22nd at 10:43am, Vickie and I got to lay eyes on our new little girl, Kylie Grace Chapman. She is every bit as beautiful as either of us could have ever imagined. When we got to the hospital, it was determined that there was something causing the baby distress, and she was going to have to be delivered by C-section. She had wrapped her cord into a true knot and gotten it around her neck. Unfortunately all this stress caused a condition called Meconium Asperation. After delivery she had to be taken by helicopter to Kansas City to a hospital with special machines and treatments not available in Springfield. Since being here she has continued to respond well to treatments. She in not out of the woods by any means, but we are very hopeful. She is still in critical condition and we are watching her minute by minute. Hopefully soon Vickie will be well enough to join me here and be able to spend time with me and our new baby girl. We want to thank all the people who have given their support and thoughts. Thank you all so much.” - John Chapman

We’ll try to keep you all updated on any new developments as much as possible. The doctors think it will probably be a couple weeks before Kylie can return home. She’s got a long ways to go, but she’s surprising everyone with how much of a fighter she is.

by: Jeremy