Music - The Torchbearer

Chip Houston was born in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was twenty-two he left his job as a teacher to pursue songwriting. He toured the country in a mini-van he bought from a neighbor for ten dollars while living in a friend’s basement. He ran out of money in Winston-Salem where he met his wife while singing in her sister’s wedding.

Always passionate about music and live performance, Chip wrote dozens of songs and tested them on audiences in the legendary listening room at Eddie’s Attic. While at Eddie’s he met Barnes from 99X’s The Morning X radio show. Barnes invited Chip to perform his song Aimless live on the airwaves; giving a boost to his new career.

Looking to record his songs, Chip worked with the remarkable producer and musician, Scott Patton (Sugarland) resulting in the 2003 release 'Chasing the Dark'. Scott fleshed out Chip’s solo acoustic style creating a radio-friendly, full-band sound. While in the recording studio, he met filmmaker Eric Saperston who was promoting his award-winning film, The Journey. Eric created a promotional video of Chip and the two collaborated on several live performances to benefit local charitable organizations. The new album and video led to performances at Hard Rock Cafe, Six Flags, and a George Foreman charity-boxing match in Houston, Texas.

For his second album, 'Daybreak', Chip headed to Nashville, Tennessee to collaborate with producer Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay). Recorded at Sputnik Sound Studio in five days, 'Daybreak' (2005) captured Chip’s solo acoustic style and sold two thousand copies. In support of its independent release, he performed on Fox 5’s Good Day Atlanta and Dave FM, as well as 99X’s Unplugged in the Park series. After performing in venues all over the southeast, including Athens, Auburn, and Decatur, Chip turned his focus towards graduate school, family, and teaching once again.

In 2011, Chip reunited with Scott Patton and Bruce Bennett to produce a five song recording entitled 'Sweet Music'. Chip’s most recent efforts have been on sharpening his craft. He participated in NSAI’s Songwriting Camp (2010) and spent time in Nashville collaborating with several professional writers. He has performed for 55,000 people at the annual Peachtree Road Race each Fourth of July. Chip has continued to write, crafting hundreds of songs (at least sketches and portions) since 2011 during holidays and summers while maintaining a full schedule as an educator, doctoral student, and father of three. He plans to record his fourth album in the near future.

RECORDINGS

Chasing the Dark – 2003
APC Studios – Atlanta, GA
Producer: Scott Patton
10 Tracks