MANSFIELD — Chase Beaire was already headlining as the lead singer of Encore at the age of 8.
Over time, his first band turned into Black Hole Gypsy as it collected members. Later he provided the vocals for a band called Cold River Rising.
Black Hole Gypsy moved to Los Angeles, and soon after, Beaire concluded he wanted nothing to do with music.
Now, breaking his six-month hiatus from music, Beaire is ready to come out to the world as a solo singer/songwriter folk-musician — a significant genre change from his previous rock bands — with a debut EP self-titled, “Chase Beaire.”
His hiatus can be explained with a one-word summary: Drama.
After moving to Los Angeles in 2015, drama among his family had an impact on the band, he said.
“We ended up coming back, and there was some bumping of heads in my family,” the 17-year-old said. “There was a lot of stress that led us to come back, and that resulted in us coming back (to Mansfield). That turned out to be for the best.”
Beaire said his tenure in LA felt like a dream-turned-nightmare and when he metaphorically woke up, he told himself, “I’m done doing anything else. I’m just going to be me.”
“That was the most important thing that happened. That made me who I am, doing what I’m doing now.”
After the self-described “six-month silence” — including Beaire pushing music as far away as possible — something clicked.
“I had a self-realization that this is what I want to be doing. I hated music and didn’t want anything to do with it,” he said subconsciously picking strings on his Epiphone guitar in his homemade tour bus. “All of the emotion and stuff that was going on left me confused. And that left everyone else confused. I’m just trying to break that confusion now and come out as who I am, and be bigger and better than anything that I’ve ever done in the past.”
Beaire paralleled his leaving public school to be home-schooled with finding himself through music.
“It’s so much easier; I think one of the things that helped me discover who I was as a musician was leaving public school and being on my own. It’s similar because with music, I left everyone behind who was getting in the way of my goals, and I did my own thing. That’s exactly what I did with music.
“It frees up time, frees up stress. I don’t have to worry about school drama. I can see the world for what it really is.”
With all of his newly-discovered free time, Beaire said he plays guitar a lot, writing songs and trying to get better — with his playing and his musicianship. Beaire said he has focused on playing guitar for about one year, and has considered himself a folk-music singer-songwriter for three months.
“I’m just trying to stay confident in who I am. I think it’s important for people to know what I’m doing with this new approach to the music I am making, I just want to say this is the best thing that I can possibly do.”
“Chase Beaire” will provide an opportunity, he hopes, for the Mansfield music community to see Beaire for who he is and wants to be. His five original songs are carefully and poetically written to describe his emotions and feelings and to let the consumers understand his musical transition.
“This is a test for me,” he said of his album. “It’s a test to my abilities as a musician. I’ve always been comfortable on stage with guys behind me, backing me up. That’s how it’s always been, so taking all the attention all to myself is nerve-wracking. It’s exciting, and it’s great because I don’t have anyone to get in the way of my goals.”
The EP will be released June 4, and will be available on Spotify and iTunes.
Beaire said he wants those who listen to his album to come away feeling inspired.
“I want the people who hear the album to listen. I hope they give the music a chance and try to understand what I‘m trying to say.
“When I said I wanted to make an album, I wanted to make people gain knowledge. I wanted them to go climb a mountain or study, climb a tree. Do something interesting. That’s my goal. So when people listen to the album, I want people to be influenced to change their life, that’s my goal.”
