Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 59

Music 'Let It Rain' reflects singer's real world Honky Took Jack P. JIulY J) Brent MilesThe Arizona Republic Honky Tonk Jack Fairclough tickles the well-worn Ivories at the Satisfied Frog In Cave Creek. He says he has no plans to retire. From Page 40 months of American dates, including tonight's concert at the Dodge Theatre. Chapman is excited to share the goods because the album is a milestone for her.

"Making this record was a real conscious process," she says. "I worked from home in a local studio and brought in musicians that played with me over the years. I haven't done that since I've been making records. I would usually record in Los Angeles or New York and live in hotels. (Let It Rain) was the product of me trying to combine my life and my business.

The environment had more of a community feel to it. I think it has a lot to do with the intimacy sound of the record." The petite, dreadlocked singer began her venture in the mid '80s by performing at college coffeehouses in Medford, Mass. Word spread about her chilling combination of soulful, quivery vocals and socially conscious lyrics. Soon after, she signed on with Elektra and released her 1988 self-titled debut that kicked off with the hit Fast Car. Chapman has always stayed true to her goal of opening people's hearts and eyes to the ways of the world.

Not to mention those volunteer efforts. In her vision of the world, she'd love to see everyone join in. "There are lots of ways people can be of help to others, and be a part of positive solutions to problems we face," she says. "The first step is deciding what you have to offer. Sometimes it's the spare change from your pocket, sometimes it's writing a letter to a congress- Chicago brothers ment of biting lyrics over droning guitar in Comfortable Liar results in warm waves of sound and emotion.

"Comfortable Liar was written when Pete and I were going through similar types of relationships with girlfriends and breaking up," Sam says. Although singer-guitarist Pete, 26, writes most of the lyrics (Joe, 22, plays bass), he and Sam teamed on The Red. "When I used to get angry when we were younger, I "Let It Rain was the product of me trying to combine my life and my business. The environment had more of a community feel to it. I think it has a lot to do with the intimacy sound of the record." man.

Stand up and walk in a protest. Recycle garbage and don't buy things you don't really need." Chapman says she is touched by the polite way people respond to her work. Some go beyond asking for the usual autograph and leave her handmade gifts. "Someone once gave me a glass sand painting that was made inside a jar to represent one of the songs I had written, Dreaming on a World. Now I have it displayed in my house," she says.

"It's really beautiful." There were times when executives pulled a Jewel on her nudging the earthy folk singer to spice up her threads and change her hair to make her more "commercially viable." She didn't go for it. Chapman has bigger issues to contend with. "Working and touring is always a challenge," she says. "I always approach it like I'm playing everything for the first time and that no one has ever heard my music before. "That's what makes a good show." of Chevelle would break stuff and throw stuff around.

When I got so angry, I would just see red," Sam says. Although success has gotten the brothers out of their van and onto roomy buses and airplanes, Sam says the trio still has a few moments of brotherly confrontation: "Things have been really good lately, but it can blow up at any second. All of a sudden, somebody says the wrong thing and somebody freaks out." keeps it hopping at Satisfied Frog By Brent Miles brent.milesarizonarepublic.com It's a hot, dusty day in Cave Creek, a settlement north of Phoenix where bikers, cops, hippies, artists, tourists and eccentrics coexist. In the center of all the craziness is Jack Fairclough, known as Honky Tonk Jack in these parts. It's Sunday afternoon, and the 65-year-old Fairclough sits and plays piano on the porch at the Satisfied Frog, something he's been doing for decades.

Piano playing is in Fair-clough's blood, and though he's worn many hats over the years, his love of ragtime and honky-tonk music is the common thread that has run through his life. "I've always enjoyed playing that kind of music," he says. Fairclough started playing piano at age 8. "I took lessons for a year until I started playing all by ear, and I just went with that," he recalls. Moving from Morris, 111., Fairclough made his way into the Navy and was stationed in San Diego.

Though his days were filled with the rigors of military life, Fairclough set his nights aside for music. "They had a piano in a couple different places in Ocean Beach, right off of Newport Avenue," he says. "They had an old upright piano, and I Sibling rivalry not From Page 40 the festival visits Phoenix on Wednesday. The melancholy Send the Pain Below which was released after the churning debut single, The Red has spawned a popular video on MTV and has lit up the phones at Pratt's station. "When that song first came out, it was our most requested song.

And it's still in the top five," says Pratt, who thinks listeners appreciate arizona peat Fairclough has been holding court on weekends for 20 years. It's not rare to find spectators huddled around Fairclough as he plays such standards as Camptown Races, Sweet Georgia Brown and Sunny Side of the Street. Onlookers crane their necks get a peek at Fairclough's unique style of playing, with his weathered fingers dancing nimbly across the well-worn piano keys. Fairclough has just released A Little Bit of Nostalgia, a CD of some of his favorite tunes, which he sells for $15. He doesn't plan on retiring anytime soon, for the joy of playing piano for folks three days a week is the fuel that keeps Fairclough going.

"I just enjoy that type of honky-tonk music," he says. "It's a God-given gift, I know. I get a lot of enjoyment out of doing what I'm doing. It makes people happy. I've got my own style, too, and that's the main thing." for chart-climbing by a band called fIREHOSE," recalls Sam, 28.

"I felt they could really rock out, and Pete and I noticed how it would give you a bigger impression of the song when you've got quiet and loud together." Years later, the brothers have put that insight to impressive use on Wonder What's Next, which is nearing platinum status (1 million sold). The layering of Pete's smooth, high-pitched treat If you go Honky Tonk Jack WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. WHERE: Satisfied frog, 6245 E.

Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek. ADMISSION: Free. DETAILS: (480) 488-3317. played right there at the end of Newport Avenue." After leaving the Navy and San Diego, Fairclough followed his parents to the Valley in 1960 and found work at a Shakey's Pizza Parlor, showing off his versatility by playing the banjo and piano, as well as sitting in with a Dixieland band. Soon after that, Ed Chil-leen, known to locals as "Crazy Ed," tapped Fairclough to play at his restaurant, the Satisfied Frog.

Fairclough worked at the restaurant's Deer Valley location for 10 years, then followed the establishment to its new digs in Cave Creek, where a big problem yet the band's mix of melody and attitude. Oldest brother and drummer Sam says he and Pete, who sings and plays guitar, always have tried to build contrast into songs like Family System, which opens the group's major-label debut CD, Wonder What's Next. The song starts with quiet, ringing guitar and chanting vocals before exploding into heavy chords and screaming. "When we were growing up, we were really influenced to.