Allen Clapp and His Orchestra

about

At the dawn of the 1990s, Allen Clapp set out to change the world with a Radio Shack tie-clip microphone and his Tascam Porta One four-track recorder. The odds were squarely against him. Even to the casual observer, Clapp was barely equipped to record a decent demo tape. But most songwriters with better studios lacked the force that has been Clapp's secret weapon during his recording career: a seemingly limitless supply of optimism. A keen ear for melody didn't hurt, either. At the time, Clapp's first band had just broken up. Half of his Foster City, Calif. bandmates split off to become garage-rock monsters The Mummies, and the other half went on to form a group with a pre-Counting Crows Adam Duritz. Not content to merge onto the garage-rock or classic-rock highways, Clapp set out on the road less traveled. Soon he found himself immersed in the little-known world of Indiepop, listening to artists on homespun labels and communicating through hand-written letters and Xeroxed fanzines. Attracted by the scene's honesty and DIY aesthetic, Clapp poured his heart and soul into recording; making entire worlds occur within the confines of 2-minute pop songs. In the pre-Belle-and-Sebastian pop landscape, Clapp's combination of classic melodies and lyrics that were equally parts fey and clever struck a chord. His delightfully economical first single, "A Change in the Weather" (1991) introduced the world to the breezy melodies and spry rhyming that would become his hallmark. His f

top songs

albums

One Hundred Percent Chance of Rain

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Pop American Style

Mixed Greens

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Summer!

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The Slightly Premature "Fall Is Here!" Mix

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Available Light

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Agony Aunts & Friends 2011 Single Of The Month Club

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A Change in the Weather

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Montecarlo

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I know someone who knows someone: Pop songs about popstars

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A Change In the Weather 7"

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One Too Twee: An Indiepop Retrospective [Disc 3]

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