Northern Exposures

I’m back in Atlanta after a road trip up north to Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.

Inner Harbor - Baltimore, MD

Domino Sugar - Baltimore, MD

“so much depends upon a red wheel barrow…” - William Carlos Williams - Rutherford, NJ

Larry Bell at Dia - Beacon, NY

All That Java - Tivoli, NY

Hiking - Windham, NY

Abby and Elsie - Windham, NY

CDs for Shane and Jesse

I wasn’t planning to press my new EP Songs of Shane, Vol. 2 but Shane wants a copy, so I printed CDs. Limited edition available from Bandcamp link below. I’ll be donating all proceeds to the Jesse Malin Fund through Sweet Relief to help Jesse recover from a rare spinal stroke which has left him paralyzed from the waist down. We've been friends since I played drums with him from 2004-2005. Jesse has a heart of gold and has helped many people throughout the years. Now it's our turn to help him. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

stephenchopek.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-shane-vol-2

1995

Digging through the archives and digitizing old cassettes.

Here’s a gem from a band that I played drums with back in the day growing up in Rutherford, NJ. Matt, Marcos, Steve, and I used to practice in my parents’ basement. Our friend Gabe was working at the world famous Power Station studio in NYC and he let us in after hours to record these five songs.

EP FAQ

SONGS OF SHANE, VOL. 2 was made at my home studio in Atlanta. I played all the instruments, sang, recorded, and mixed; then sent everything to Memphis for mastering by Matt Qualls.

Check out the finished product on my MUSIC page or click HERE for your favorite streaming service.

Thanks for listening!

Abide

Last night I saw The Big Lebowski at the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta. I’ve watched it countless times, but this was my first on the big screen. Better than ever!

Tears of joy

Shane’s songs are so good, they make me want to cry!

As a longtime fan of The Pogues, I've been adding their music to my live set throughout the years. The idea of recording the songs came to me after seeing a mural of Shane MacGowan (made by Tony Mills) while on tour. The painting became a focal point of the cover art for 2019's release 'Songs of Shane, Vol. 1'.

I decided to make Vol. 2 while watching Julien Temple’s 2020 documentary, 'Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan'. When I heard the intro to “Gabrielle” by Shane’s first band The Nips, I was compelled to record an updated version which led to the new EP, 'Songs of Shane, Vol. 2'.

It's out now and available everywhere from the MUSIC page or click HERE to listen on your preferred platform.