ifitbeyourwill Podcast
“ifitbeyourwill" Podcasts is on a mission to talk to amazing indie artists from around the world! Join us for cozy, conversational episodes where you'll hear from talented and charismatic singer-songwriters, bands from all walks of life talk about their musical journey. Let's celebrate being music lovers!
Season Four runs from September 2024 to December 2024
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ifitbeyourwill Podcast
ifitbeyourwill S04E20 • Nigel Chapman of Nap Eyes
Nigel Chapman, the creative force behind the band Nap Eyes, unveils the captivating story of his musical evolution, from his early days with The Mighty Northumberland to the latest album "The Neon Gate." Broadcasting from the picturesque landscapes of Nova Scotia, Nigel candidly discusses his transition from science to music and the vibrant, albeit challenging, Halifax music scene. His reflections on collaborating with bandmates Mike and Brad, along with the profound influence of iconic bands such as the Pixies, provide a fascinating glimpse into the unique blend of analytical and artistic elements that define his songwriting journey.
Ever wondered how a silent meditation retreat can unlock new realms of creativity? Nigel shares his transformative experience at a Goenka-style Vipassana retreat, revealing how the discipline and focus of mindfulness unexpectedly fueled his songwriting process. With nothing but gum wrappers to capture ideas, he navigated the challenges of an incomplete song and emerged with fresh verses that redefined the piece. This story highlights the powerful intersection of mindfulness and creativity, offering fresh perspectives on how unconventional environments can inspire artistic breakthroughs.
Excitement fills the air as Nigel shares insights into the collaborative creation and release of "The Neon Gate," reflecting on the emotional rollercoaster of sharing new music after years of uncertainty. The joy of receiving positive fan feedback and the anticipation of upcoming live performances, including a show with MJ Lenderman in Brooklyn, are brought to life through Nigel's vibrant storytelling. As we explore themes of magical realism and musical appreciation, we encourage listeners to support artists by purchasing records, fuelling the shared joy and connection that music brings to both creators and fans.
On the parade ground across the great divide, I saw one thousand candles flickering and through a peasant's eyes I saw a green-clad man ringing blue bells of offering welcome back.
Speaker 1:We're at a season four. Still, if you will podcast today, I don't have to reach very far. I'm reaching to a fellow canadian, um, out east, I imagine is. Is that correct, nigel? Where you're coming in from?
Speaker 3:That's right, I'm here in Nova Scotia.
Speaker 1:Beautiful spot of our country. I have Nigel Chapman from Napa to talk about his newest record, the Neon Gate, plus everything else that he's done, and we're doing it all in 25. Nigel, thanks so much for hopping on here and sharing some time with us oh yeah, glad to be here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for inviting me and just right off the bat, I mean the neon gate. What a great record. Um, I have just been obsessed with it. Um, and we'll get into that a little bit later, but let's, let's just roll time back a little bit. Like I read that you had a band called the Mighty Northumberland when you were first starting off. How did that all come to be? And like, why did you create? What was that first kind of musical creation all about?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I guess that, like in high school I had a band with with my friends, mike and Greg, like many, many years ago, like the first day of our band was pretty much the first day we like picked up our instruments. So, like we were, we were bad in the beginning and loud at the same time, but yeah, then then later, I guess towards like I like I went to school for my undergrad, some schooling, and then I was studying science, but I was also like making music around that time, kind of continuously and probably like still considering it to be the main thing, even though, like, I was enrolled in this other studying, which was good, I did my best and also tried to balance those two things. But I was writing some songs, uh, and I was away from Halifax for the first time, so I kind of missed, like my friends and musicians that I had, uh, collaborated with and been close with over the years. So, yeah, and it's natural for me to to like to write things when I'm on my own. Um, I feel like, yeah, so I was doing some right, my, this is my early songwriting days and feeling like excited, like, oh, yeah, like so, like Whoa, what I've just done is so amazing or whatever, and then later being like, oh no, this kind of a range of emotion but but yeah, like, uh, then bringing those songs back to my friend Mike who who, as I mentioned, played in my first band and also recorded the first two Napias records, and yeah, mike is, mike is awesome and yeah, he really encouraged me like let's work up these songs and make some project out of them pretty much.
Speaker 3:And and then so we did like some of that was like we did it just me and him working together, like kind of solo style recordings. And then we also did like recordings where we made a band like Mike was playing in it and also our friends Caleb Langell, who people might know, fake Buildings Caleb's an amazing songwriter and then also Brad was playing in that band. Brad, we met in like summer rock rock camp in halifax, uh, which is where I think it's where sloan maybe they at least went there. I don't know if they met each other there, but that's where I met brad, mike and I met brad at that time. And then, yeah, and their friend scott was also playing in that band and yeah, it's a real vibrant time around then too.
Speaker 1:You mentioned Sloan Like Halifax scene was like really starting to blossom. At that time as well, some really notable artists were coming out of it. What was that like putting your music out during those kind of like bubbly times in the indie rock scene?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Thanks for saying that about hot bags, because that's true for sure. Like we had a really nice music culture there and I'm sure it still like, continues in its way and has morphed a lot, of course, with changing times. But there's always people living out there that love music and that, like, nobody comes to tour theirs and so like, and there are no economic opportunities for musicians to speak of, so like right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you gotta do it because you love it right, exactly, and it's hard. You're so right too Like I never thought about that that you don't get a lot of visual and sound of other artists coming in that are the big alt and sound of other artists coming in that are the big alt that, like I'm sure like I read that you really liked the Pixies as a as a starting artist, and I'm sure that they never made it to Halifax, or am I wrong?
Speaker 3:Like never in my awareness yeah, I think they never made it there Like sometimes we would get big shows that are, at that time, called the Metro Center and we would get like I bet, tragically, hip would have played there at some point, but like in Canada. But then, certainly, like one time Dylan came and like one time Neil Young came with Wilco oh, and I missed that show, but I think like Josh saw that show, I think Mike and Brad maybe saw that show. So, yeah, it was so. Every once in a while you, but most of the time you get like you know, local, local bands or like indie bands, like or I mean when I say indie I don't mean it, I mean like um, bands that aren't making any money, like that are just cheering to be part of a music community and um yeah, and you, you're, you study like I.
Speaker 1:I read that you're, you're, you're a biochemist, studied, studied science. How do you combine? Is there a thread that runs between your science mindset and your singer-songwriter mind?
Speaker 3:I think so, like yeah, for me in some ways, like if I could go back and do my school differently, like maybe I would have said like, oh, so I'm allowed to go into something that's really interests me, like regardless of like how practical or not practical it is, or something.
Speaker 3:And I didn't really do that because I already had something that really interested me, like my this, this work, making music, and I was like, oh, it's so fun and cool, that's what I really love. So I thought that my school was like I'll just make a practical choice and do something that like everyone will be like, oh, okay, good, she's doing this thing. And I kind of thought a bit naively that like somehow that would make things easy later. But I've never, like it's helped me so much to have studied science, science but I've never like really had a job or career in science to speak of, other than being in grad school and then after grad school, like working with my supervisor for a few years after that, which I loved and learned a lot, but I never like went into the industry or or pursued further studies to become like a, you know, post phd student, then postdoc and so on. So, um, yeah, yeah, I went a bit on attention here.
Speaker 1:I mean yeah so your songwriting process like how do you, how did you start kind of writing songs, and has it evolved over time like your process of how you approach a you know, a series of songs that you're putting together it has yeah, and I'll try to round out the question like about about science as well, like how it informs the writing.
Speaker 3:Like I think that definitely is true that my songwriting continues to evolve and that includes like something as fundamental as like the workflow like when I first started started, it would always be with a guitar and and, and maybe usually guitar and and write the lyrics at the same time, kind of like mouthing some, some words over a groove and then starting to hear like some meaning in that or phrases that that are interesting, and then trying to write something coherent out of that and maybe maybe also start trying intentionally or like thinking there should be a structure, like there should be a verse and a chorus or something. There should be some kind of features of songwriting craft here. That's kind of how I began, just instinctively, and I think that that was good, and then later I started to make songs in a more. I got really into recording, like just recording whatever I was doing, and so then I started to just at a certain point like gradually go into hitting record, like sitting down and just hitting record and then making something like just but kind of start to finish in a way that had like I wouldn't stop to like figure out what each line is, so I would just say a line and another line, another line, another line, another line. And then later I would like listen back to those recordings and like start to write down the lyrics and then sometimes that kind of a more or less complete song would be formed. But a lot of the time there would be a lot of like bad lines in there that needs to be removed or addressed in some way, and I was really avoidant of that for a while.
Speaker 3:So the songs that kind of came out, um, in more or less complete form that were like okay, like kind of weird, but like kind of okay as a song, like we started to work on those as a band, uh, uh. And then, but then more recently, and maybe even most of this is like in in in years, like since, since those recordings we made for neon gate, like I tried to start to get a bit more consciously like crafting the structure of songs again, so which I think is cool, like, cool, like. But yeah, you may notice on the neon gate, like there are, um, there are a bunch of songs that like, if you like, sonically, technically they are the same, like repeating, like chord structure for the entire song, like there's no first chorus or whatever, and so those kinds of things would have come out um, perhaps like this kind of method of like, and I started to use a looper, a little bit like, um, I would record a guitar loop or a, or even like a weird synthesizer loop or something, and then then you can workshop lyric ideas over that and yeah. So these are some.
Speaker 3:Some methods like that ends up leading to a pretty different song, I found, compared to when when you're sitting with the guitar and everything. But now I'm trying to go back more to sitting with the guitar because, like, I noticed my peers and I'm like, oh my gosh, you guys are doing such a good job and it's pretty like, yeah, you can see some of the benefits of intentionally having a structure, for example yeah, exactly, I love the idea though, that stream of consciousness where you just kind of like just get it out and see and then going back and kind of.
Speaker 1:So I mean I'm seeing the scientific process in action, as you're describing this, where you kind of put a hypothesis down and then you go back and reflect on it, tweak it, see what comes out, go back and tweak more.
Speaker 3:So I mean it is very process oriented um songwriting yeah, that's an interesting, that's interesting way to say it and, yeah, I, I agree with that.
Speaker 3:Like process oriented is true and and I think that for me, like process oriented has helped, like psychologically speaking, um, in terms of the aversion that I might have towards like, um, noticing what my songs are actually like as I'm trying to work on them and be like, oh god, like kind of like appalled by them as I'm working on them sometimes, which, uh, it's. Yeah, neil young has some good insights about this that I that I like remember he said he would say things like the more you think, the more you stink. So like, don't, don't get too fixated on it. To him were like little kids or they're like children that are kind of being born in a way and and then growing up and you have to just do your best to like let them be like what they're going to be and not interfere with them, with that process, to use your word, and just let that happen, rather than trying to like force them to be a certain way or demand things of them or get like disappointed in them and so on.
Speaker 1:Like it's like a little kid, like, don't be disappointed in a little kid or something, just let it do what it's gonna give them time to grow you know, other people to experience their joy, and you know I totally love that I totally love that and I mean it's.
Speaker 1:It's interesting that you were saying that the songs on the neon gate, where they more repetitive but the lyrical play, and I mean it always brings me to Passageway because I just think that like it's two chords right, like what FNC threw out, but the lyrics on there are just like, how did those come to you? Like, how did was that song, that process that you were saying, where you would just kind of like stream of consciousness, thought wise of just getting some lyrics out and then going back and kind of assembling together, cause I I did read that that was kind of a different process you approached that song with. Could you elaborate on that a bit?
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure, thanks for saying so and for asking about that. It's fun to talk about. Um, yeah, I think that song is definitely different. That one verse that is that is now the last verse, like uh, is this what I get for listening to iris, uh, etc. That that verse was originally part of like one of these, like, I had composed a loop which is just that guitar, like the two chords of that guitar, and maybe that do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Not quite the melody, but the rhythm is right.
Speaker 3:Uh, the uh, that part of the song, um, existed over this loop and that came maybe at the end of a whole bunch of other, whole bunch of other verses that I was like these verses are bad, uh, and and. But I liked the music of it and I liked that last verse about, like, I like that last verse. So then I was like how could this song be different? And this will happen a lot where a song is just like bothering, it's just bothering me because it's like it feels like maybe there's something there, but actually, like the something that might be there is like not even at all there yet. So you're like it's like, you know, you have this feeling you might be trying to make something out of nothing.
Speaker 1:So you have to push it too hard, or exactly?
Speaker 3:pushing it too hard. It happens so easily. Like so again with orientation, yeah, trying to take some of the like the sense of self out of the process, like blaming yourself for not making a good enough song or whatever might come up for you. I had had this one verse for a while and then I was. It was um is like.
Speaker 3:I haven't done much of much of these before, but I was doing one of these like Goenka style Vipassana retreats. These are just like, they're free and there are centers all over the world. They're these 10 day like Theravada style meditation retreats in the tradition of SN Goenka. So it's just like he teaches a few techniques, but the main he teaches you like some breath. You spend some time with a swift like a not like nostril upper lip kind of breath focus for like a few days and then you're taught like a body scan from like the head, the crown of the head just above the crown head, down to the tips of the toes back up again. You do this for like a bunch of time and then he has some like Dharma talks in the evening where he just explains this like this extremely rigorous scientific system or whatever.
Speaker 3:You know, he's a good, good teacher and it's a cool organization insofar as they they just offer this for free and people can make donna if they want, but it's a residential retreat. They'll feed you some vegetarian food while you're there. Um, you know, conditions may be a little challenging. You may be like, let me get the fuck out of here right now. You may be feeling that as well. So, uh, yeah, that's also part of it but was that?
Speaker 1:did that start to become in like where all the other verses started to make sense to you?
Speaker 3:Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1:I mean, I love the idea of going to this parade and you know there weren't all these people. Why would you put a parade here, right?
Speaker 3:I was like what is this about?
Speaker 1:Those visions and those that imagery that you create and did all that come after this, this retreat that you, or was it happening while you were there?
Speaker 3:yeah, so thanks for that, that follow-up and and yes, it was like like to clarify, like you're also instruct. They're quite strict in some ways, but they're also like, if you were to break this rule, no one will know. So like it's fine, just don't disrupt the others. I think that's important. You're also instruct. They're quite strict in some ways, but they'll also like, if you were to break this rule, no one will know. So like it's fine, just don't disrupt the others. I think that's important. But also there's something to be said for like following instructions to the T and not like having a willful, disobedient attitude, just saying it's not where it's coming from. But sometimes you know you can make a little allowance. You you're not supposed to bring a writing book, but I had some little gum wrappers that I could write on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so anyway, I I was at in this situation and also like mostly following the instructions, doing my best, like definitely not feeling like I'm very good at it is how I mostly feel about this kind of activity and most activities but, um, I was like sitting there and then, and then then I started to, for whatever reason, that last verse came into my head and then there's nothing else going on other than the meditation you're, you you're meant to be doing and that. But then I started to get into this. Like I was just trying to like make up verses and it was just during one one of those sits. So it's like you sit for an hour or something, you think about it. If you'd only do that for an hour, then, yeah, you could probably finish something.
Speaker 3:But that what was scaring me was like, oh gosh, like I'm gonna forget all these verses before I can go write them down. And this is the first time that I've ever done something like this. I've always had like some a recorder or pen or pencil nearby or something. So I was like pretty scared because I was like, oh, these are pretty good, and so I was like repeating them in my head a little bit, or like I would repeat the first verse and repeat the first verse and then try to do the second one, and then try to repeat the first and second one and then try to repeat the first, second and third one.
Speaker 3:As I was making the song. This like it might sound like like I'd never done this before and I've been songwriting for a while and I've never done it again since then. So it's not like, it's not like some and it's like it's pretty laborious. It's not like I was like, oh, just generating all these, I'm coming into me. Yeah, exactly exactly, it's pretty like tinker, although it's like happening mentally like it was a quiet enough situation, not too much distraction.
Speaker 1:So and well, and the lyrics too are like they're complex, like I have to put the lyrics up when I'm listening to song because I want to just follow through with the lyrics and absorb them, like I. I admire you greatly for not only coming up with these lyrics, with no nothing to record them except into your brain, and just the the evolution of the lyrics, how they, how that first verse feeds into the second, to the third, to the fourth and you would think, okay, um, it's a two-chord song, but I mean, it's one of my favorite songs I've listened to in a really, really long time. Thanks for saying that. I think that the lyrics are, and the accompaniment too. Your players really know you Because you can tell when Brad is going. I think that it's almost the second voice that he brings into that song in particular.
Speaker 2:Oh gosh, yeah.
Speaker 1:Because it talks with those lyrics and feeds them so amazingly, and maybe to diverge a little bit off of that, all of the people that you have in NAPWISE are also singer-songwriters in their own right. Is that accurate?
Speaker 3:to say that's very accurate, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it is an assembly of singer-song songwriters, and you're the one that's bringing in most of the song in in this band?
Speaker 3:yeah, exactly yeah. So it was kind of like our foundational model was like this will be a band for not just songs or whatever. Um, not that, not that fundamentally like don't, don't reveal this to them too much that I'm averse to their songs being on our records, you know. Right, no, no Maybe there'll be a time, one day.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's your flavor that they are responding to. I mean, a lot of conversations I've had about bands like it's a relationship at the forefront, right, and if that relationship starts to tarnish or waver, the band is pretty close behind. So to have this amassed, like, you guys released your first album in 2014. I mean, that's a decade of being together. It's pretty amazing for bands nowadays. What do you think the longevity has been Like? Why what's kept not by is going all this, this decade that you guys have been recording together that's a that's so nice.
Speaker 3:That's a great question, partly just to to appreciate, for for us, like I feel, yeah, so grateful, so lucky, it's helped so much that we're doing this together, like there's no way that I could have, uh, stayed the course, I think, on my own, and also like the music would have been worse, but also just emotionally, like it's helped so much to to participate together.
Speaker 3:And yeah, it's, I think, like it's hard to say exactly, or rather like it's mysterious to me, like I don't know what it is about our band that gives us this ability to survive and we survive the pandemic. It's good, you know. Like that that's a nice thing. I think that you could frame it in a couple of ways. I mean, it didn't hurt that like Paradise of bachelors put out those first couple of records and some people actually listened, and so that really helped us a lot, like a lot, uh, and it kind of put this weird curse on us where we were like, oh, we kind of can't give up, because we felt like sufficiently validated, that we knew that like yeah there's, it's you feel something, maybe you're doing something special.
Speaker 3:But then it does help to just have people like, yeah, good job, you guys, that that helped us right, so that even when later, like we stopped making any money, like, and I mean like, yeah, it's like there's some residual royalty payments going into the pandemic and's like there's some residual royalty payments going into the pandemic and then like there's not bye-bye, no, exactly, yeah, yeah, and so like that, yeah, I think the the deeper answer, like because these are circumstantial things, is just that we like we love each other and we value each other, uh, and we're all really different. The four of us are really different I think that compliment.
Speaker 1:You guys compliment one another so beautifully. Um, it was really cool to have to see another artist on stage with you as well at. Montreal that we were talking about before. That was again like he was just so in because I was right by his side and like he was fixated on. Like you could just tell the joy that you guys all were having with such individual characters, but together you just created this um amazing sound.
Speaker 1:together it sounded like you guys had been together a while, you know, even though you said it was your first show in a while it had that feel of electric and like wow.
Speaker 3:That's so nice. Yeah, really nice.
Speaker 1:So, nigel, about the new record, kind of, we'll start to wrap things a bit, I just want to touch on the latest. So it was like a four-ish year period between the last and the Neon Gate. Is that accurate?
Speaker 3:that is accurate. Yeah, and I'll just add to, like just tacking on to your last statement, that that was, that was eve jarvis playing with us. Eve is an amazing musician and like, yeah, check out, check out his stuff on music worlds cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he was on keys he was doing machines. He had a guitar around him the whole time. And not to just point on him. I love what all your other guys were doing there as well. You as well. I just felt that from an outsider he got pulled into this dome of sound so easily.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I think that's a testament to your songwriting and what everyone else brings to it.
Speaker 3:It's beautiful yeah.
Speaker 1:And do you give kind of like carte blanche? For you know, brad, josh, seamus, like to kind of like, here's the song, what do you think, what are you going to do? Or do you approach it more like I kind of want to hear this. Or you know, brad, could you do that? Like, how do you, when you bring a song to them and let's let's focus in on the Neon Gate, like when you brought those songs to them, how much freedom did they have to interpret what your songs were?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it's a great question and it definitely. There's many styles here, many approaches people can take and all super valid, like, but definitely answer is closer in my case, like in our case, closer to carte blanche, I think. I think everyone would agree with that. Compared to say, I've heard like maybe I don't know, maybe I heard like Prince has very had very specific ideas, like hey, you did you do exactly this. Or like I think maybe Smokey Robinson I don't know about Smokey, actually, maybe I'm making that up, but anyway, all kinds of different styles and it's okay for someone to be very or like I think Julian Casablancas did the on those first stroke rankers. Did he make all those parts? That's, that's crazy. Like I, like I could never do.
Speaker 3:That is one reason why, like, I've really just relied on my bandmates, because it's like I hear songs in a simple way, kind of, I think, like I just hear, like I mainly hear like, like, like the lyrics and the melody and then these other things as part of a kind of a gestalt, to use that like old word from Vienna around Freud's time and those other visual artists, but like this sort of collected, like oneness or something, and I don't just easily notice like oh, that's coming from a, like a guitar, like panned in this channel, and these drums are like over here, like listening to visions of johanna. It's kind of obvious like they're mixing techniques. But I remember at a certain point I was like, oh, like that's what the electric guitar, it's where it's placed and what it's doing. But it takes me a while to notice those kinds of like details.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah this is yeah, so like arrangement and so on, yeah, I don't don't feel so, but I enjoy them a lot. I'm not saying like I don't care about them and they're not important. They're so important, you know it's it matters so much. But I just don't have that kind of uh, like natural uh ability or something like that, or I never came to me to focus that much in that way, which I'm not meaning to sound like selfie facing, but just to sound like explain or whatever for the sake of explaining anyway. So the other is, yeah, they're basically like yeah, they should do like, and they do do, mostly like whatever they want, and they contribute all the ideas for arrangement typically. And sometimes I'm like, oh, you guys like don't don't do that, don't do that though, but that's pretty though, but that's pretty occasional, yeah.
Speaker 1:Cool and was the Neon Gate like? Were you guys together creating the record or was it done? You know, through these, you know zeros and ones that we communicate with now, where you're doing it all through online sharing sharing.
Speaker 3:Right, yeah, mostly created together. Um, but in the sense that like I might have made it to the song, and there were a few of these songs that had like a loop, like feline wave race has like a loop of an organ like do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do. So that is like that was the loop that I originally made up on a little my little organ patch, and then I and then I sang over it and then I kind of made up the lyrics and then I kind of sent that recording to everyone. But then, like when we get together, everyone's like they actually start to think about the arrangement and how to actually make it sound good Cause it would usually it would just have like the idea is there, like the meaning of the groove is represented, but the sound is very, very bad. It would be a typical situation, or sometimes it's not cool. It's like simple enough that I like semi nailed it, but not usually.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just saying that's amazing and like a little bit of distance now between the release and and now. How do you feel about it? Looking back on on the neon gate and just the journey like it gets in this juggernaut of music business, right where you create this thing, takes forever. The release date comes and it's like, okay, now what? Like yeah, what what has been the response and like the, the fallout from from the release of this year latest record yeah, thanks for for asking that and and yeah, um, it, do it.
Speaker 3:It is very much, as you described, like stuff takes a long time. So the the earliest of those recordings are from like 2020, december, and we were together, like during COVID. There was like a time where we were isolated together and we made some of those recordings. And then we had another session with our friend Renee in 2021 in the summer and another session by ourselves at our friend Duncan's studio in 2022 in the summer, and so between those three sessions, like all those recordings were kind of uh, gathered like someone has often made live like there or or were built on at that time or whatever.
Speaker 3:Um, and so it's been a while and so and this is normal, but, yeah, so by this time, like I'm more excited, of course, about about songs we're working on now and and trying to like think towards a new record, but but at the same time, it was extremely uh, it just felt very good to finally release music again, like it was validating in the sense of like there was a lot during this pandemic, like there's a lot of like existential dread, like vocational dread and and sense of like you know what?
Speaker 3:What are we doing like I prioritize this thing, which was clearly stupid, like what did I do? Like I could have picked a different path. You know this kind of shit would come up often enough because you're like get it. You're broke and getting broker, but fortunately, like you know, like I've had my family is like they'll like take me in, you know, or whatever. It's okay, so like, but still like in terms of your confidence and in terms of your like you know, all this stuff, it's like everyone else is moving on with their lives and you're like four years ago, like something might have been happening. So so it felt very good to like, yeah, to release music. I think for all of us, we we really that's meant a lot and people have been been really kind about it and yeah, and I like I don't I don't know too much about the details- yeah, are you?
Speaker 1:Are you happy with the end result? I'm sure you're sick of listening to it just because that whole process really drains you of the newness of it all. But hearing from what fans and people that might not have been so intimate with it, are you feeling encouraged that? All right, we intimate with it? Um, are you're feeling encouraged that, all right, we're going, we're doing another one now, like yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like that's, that's for sure. Because, yeah, you, everything, your whole internal world, can become like a bit stale. People may recognize this feeling and so, like sometimes, when someone's like, well, like that thing you did, like that really like was nice, someone's like, well, like that thing you did, like that really like was nice, or that like made me happy or something that's a really helpful, like other frame of reference for you, um, and so that really that has helped us a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's been really nice, yeah really helpful to get that support to, to hear too of what your original ideas after you know, before the saturation of the repeat listens and all right, put that volume up here, turn that out there. Yeah, for sure. So, nigel, just to kind of wrap things up, what, what is the rest of the year look like for nap eyes and and and beyond, that you could share with us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we have, um, it's looking like, uh, well, we have one one North American date that's confirmed and announced which we're really excited about. We're playing with MJ Lenderman in in Brooklyn and April 30th of next year. Yeah, that's going to be so fun. And yeah, like I love that music a lot and so I feel really proud and excited to get to do that performance together and so that's going to be really fun. And that, or like, unless we play super badly and then my life will be ruined. Just kidding, never Impossible, exactly. Yeah, is that too much history under your guys' belts?
Speaker 1:just kidding, never impossible, exactly yeah, history on your guys belts.
Speaker 3:I'm sure you guys would kind of sleepwalk through almost exactly songs together just because of the familiarity of them all yeah, in general in life, like you can kind of rest assured that like everything will be fine, just do your best that Paul Montreal show was.
Speaker 1:I mean, you guys just soared and it was the first time you played.
Speaker 3:So if there's anything close to that, I mean you're gonna blow people's minds, it's uh so nice thanks excited for you guys yeah, yeah, me too, and yeah, so we have that that date and we'll try to play a few other northeastern us states around that time, and then we will uh go to europe to go on our first tour in in a long time we haven't gone on tour since the pandemic, really. So, um, so really excited for that. Those dates are announced and they're on, like our website or other places, and I think we're hopefully going to do some stuff in canada in in january, like I think, um, there's like some a festival called winterruption. Uh, that happens around like saskatoon and edmonton, um, and, uh, winnipeg, and so I think we'll try to play those shows and then maybe one or two other dates around that time.
Speaker 1:That feels good. The writing continues.
Speaker 3:Like you were saying, the, the songs just keep pumping out yeah, sometimes it's more like, um, you feel like you're massaging them out of like, uh, some kind of like dark thing that you don't want to be touching. But yeah, you know, it's like that's. It's not always uh, smooth or or like all that um, gratifying in the moment, but, yes, and sometimes there's like avoidance of the whole process or simply no time for for chunks of time and and so, yeah, but there are there's still, yeah, there's still being written and and so I feel so grateful about that. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, nigel, never stop, please. I love that you put this new record in the world. It's I, for one. I'm a huge fan of it. It was great watching you play these songs too. Check out my Insta. I recorded all of Passageway. Oh cool, nice. It was really cool to see how you guys tweaked it and played around with it a little bit, so that and I wish you a ton of success on this this record in the tour I'd love to have you come back on. This has been such a good conversation with you.
Speaker 3:I've really it's been so fun.
Speaker 1:If ever you want to hop back on. You got something to talk about or we'll just continue this conversation. That'd be great. Yeah, let's do that. So check out this record guys. Go get it. Get it on LP too, because LP is caring. You know, the artists get some money and get some funding from it. And check out some of their tour dates. Nigel Chapman, napa is amazing. Thanks for sharing some time with me today, nigel.
Speaker 2:Thanks for this, bye-bye. On the parade ground across the great divide, I saw one thousand candles flickering and through a peasant's eyes, I saw a green-clad man ringing blue bells of offering, beside him, a stride in neon fuchsia robes and, more beautiful than anything, a woman, the sight of whom changed his mind In a permanent way. Well, as for me, I rode the three miles north Back to old Yorktown, and I lodged my horse in a stable there before walking to the castle grounds. Strange to make a parade so far away where there were so few others around. But I let the thought drop from my head and that night my sleep was sound. When I awoke, I knew not the hour, but it seemed all the people had fled. I returned to my room and where the mirror had been, I found a blue doorway. Instead, from raising myself against a bone chilling wind, I wrap my scarf around my head and enter down a rainbow crystal pathway, strangely compelled to follow where it led.
Speaker 2:Well, ever since then I've been in this gem sea land, where the night is as warm as the day. People talk on phones and they drive down roads to places many miles away. As for me, I remain by my edge of town home watching the ocean's peaceful sway. I've been drifting in and out of a mysterious dream of that old time passageway. Is this what I get for listening to Iris? At nine o'clock on a Monday morning, in the shadow of the foreboding sculpture In the diamond circular, saw rain Far away, the dawn, bright dew On some blue fields sparkling In the deep mind, in the well, in the heart of things.
