 Courtesy of the Artist NYC's Hans Chew may best be known for his keyboard work with artists like D. Charles Speer, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Steve Gunn, but he has also established himself as a versatile singer, songwriter, and performer in his own right. His 2010 debut album Tennessee & Other Stories… was heralded by Uncut as one of the top 25 albums of the year. On December 1, Chew will release his latest full-length, Open Sea, an album that brings to the surface different questions about being a man: equanimity in chaos, permanence of choices, and the meaning of work. In advance of the album's release, Chew answers his Essential 8. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? I usually draw from the well of the self, dropping the proverbial bucket down into the ol' psychic rabbit hole. Often I'm able to get inspiration from some kind of a feeling or memory or idea or experience I've had that I want to share or get across. Unless I'm completely annoyed with my own ego and self-absorption: in that case I'll try to write something totally in the third person from some fictional, biographical, or historical perspective. When/where do you do your best writing? I'm think I'm pretty formal in this regard: I'm usually at the piano or on the guitar in my workspace, in front of a really large 4x8' chalkboard I have to sketch out chordal and lyrical ideas, and also with either my laptop open to a cloud-based word document, and sometimes even still my old Royal typewriter to get the keys clanging and vibe going... What do you love most about being on the road? Maybe it's naive but it still gets me going: the movement of traveling, seeing the different terrain and people and towns as they go by, the subtle changes in climate, accents, architecture, and the feeling of movement and change...I don't like to sit still for long, never have, I'm the antsy type, I don't understand the desire to get mellow, it doesn't compute. To be able to travel and keep moving and play music from town to town, every day and night a new experience, that's what I always dreamed of doing as a musician, besides just the making of the albums. What has been your biggest struggle so far? Probably managing self-expectations. I got a pretty good response from my first album and thought everything I'd touch would turn to gold. Then it was a pretty rude awakening after that debut "shine" wore off and some subsequent work went out like a ship in the night. It's tough to say what people will respond to or expect from you. So just learning to make the work for its own reward with no expectations of results has been a tough but important lesson to learn.  What has been your biggest success?
I suppose having my first album be named as a contender for "Album of the Year" by Uncut Magazine and also have it get accolades from other sources, like four stars from Rolling Stone and stuff like that, critical validation I suppose, that led to being invited to play some festivals around the world and visit many places and meet lots of people who are passionate about music and that who seemed to really enjoy the music that I made, that it meant something to them on an important personal level I imagine, like how music feels to me. I find the experience and feeling I get from the music I enjoy to be deeply spiritual, the closest thing I've ever experienced to that anyway. Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative? For me or for others?! I haven't drank any booze in almost 15 years, but for others I suppose I don't mind it, sometimes it makes things even more interesting: I had a show in London earlier this year where I was opening up for a fairly established, Grammy-nominated songwriter, and one of the people in his crowd that caught my opening act kind of confronted me after my set, in a way that was really fascinating and honest to me, that I don't think he would have done if he hadn't been drinking, at least I wouldn't think so based on the looks his wife was giving him...he didn't get what what I was doing, it wasn't as straight-forward as the person he was there to see and I found it to be a really interesting exchange between he and I, it left me thinking. But, then again, I've also had plenty of the agonizing annoyance of patiently listening to folks after shows drunkenly heap praise or inanities or just simply run their mouths while I'm trying to get packed up and out of there, so that's no fun. At least I haven't experienced any drunken violence! Drunken heckling I've had, that doesn't bother me so much: I'd actually rather have that than some cold "hear a pin drop" crowd...I suppose it goes both ways. Favorite thing to do on a day off? Well, in America if the weather's right we used to have this thing where we'd try to find a swimming hole. That's always fun. In Europe, I used to do this thing where, if I was touring solo, I'd go visit the local football stadium or even catch a game, I used to be quite football (soccer) nuts a bit more than I am now. Do you have a favorite gift from a fan? The simple fact that some people come out to see me repeatedly and continue to buy my records, and some even flying great distances to make a show, is enough of a gift...it's truly incredible to complete the circle like that, for me to make some music and them to come and experience it is the ultimate miracle for me. For more information Website Purchase
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