PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELIOT KAMENITZ
WITH A LITTLE HELP
FROM HIS
FRIENDS:
Guitarist
Chip Wilson
Releases
10th CD
By Dean M. Shapiro
Sitting comfortably
on the front porch
of his house in
the Upper Ninth
Ward’s Musicians’ Village on a
pleasant spring day, Chip Wilson
gazes across the street at the Ellis
Marsalis Center for Music and
recounts a recent memory for the
interviewer on the other end of his
cell phone conversation.
“That’s where I recorded my latest
album,” he said proudly.
A virtuosic guitarist, vocalist, songwriter
and two-time nominee for “Best of the
Beat” awards, Chip recently released his
10th CD titled “Stories and Occasional
Lies.” Most of those who worked with
him on the album are his musician
friends, some of whom he has known and
performed with as far back as 30 years.
“I’m really happy with the album
because I’ve got a rockin’ band for some
of it,” Chip commented about the new
10-track, live CD consisting of all original
tunes. “My last several efforts have
been mostly solo albums with maybe some
duets or light accompaniment. I was super
happy to have a full production kind of
thing.”
The album was released on the
ArtistShare label and the CEO is Brian
Camelio, who also produced it. Camelio
was formerly in a band with Chip in the
late 1980s, as was guitarist Sean Harkness
who also performs on the record.
In all, between 10 and 15 musicians
- mostly local - backed up Chip on the
album, including two who regularly
perform with him, Mark Rubin on bass
and Marcello Bennetti on drums.
So how did this former resident of
the New York City suburbs end up in
the Crescent City where he would put
down roots and stay for the next 25 years?
“It was the music,” he replied. He had
been hearing New Orleans music since
childhood, thanks to his father whose
record collection included LPs by Louis
Armstrong, the Dukes of Dixieland and
other legendary New Orleans artists.
“When I first moved to New Orleans
I played funk and blues and I also got
involved in the swing dance movement
when it hit big about 20 years ago,” Chip
recalled. “Charles Neville used to play
gigs with me with a little swing trio. He
recorded on my first album which was
called ‘A Jump in Something’ released
in 2000.”
22 | BREAKTHRU MEDIA | breakthrumediamagazine.com MAY / J U N E 2 0 1 9
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