Chris & Meredith Thompson 

ARTICLES: 



PO BOX 442138 Somerville MA 02144   www.cmthompson.com 

Scott Cullen, Saje Productions/Concerts at the Crossing (609) 406-1424 culcom@voicenet.net 



Seacoast Newspaper - December 2002 - John Swinconeck 

 The Thompson Twins 

Chris & Meredith Thompson with Curt Besette opening, Saturday, 8 p.m. at the 

Kennebunk Coffee House at the First Parish Unitarian Church. For ticket information, 

call 985-3700. 

Chris & Meredith Thompson play a mixture of contemporary folk and world music 

influences and incredible harmonies. At their Kennebunk performance, they will be 

playing some traditional holiday music, as well as original music, including songs

 from their June release, "Clearwater." John Swinconeck spoke with Chris and

 Meredith Thompson about the roots of their music, the importance of 

storytelling, and the harmony and dichotomy of being twins. 

John Swinconeck: Where did your world music influences originate?

Chris Thompson: Meredith and I grew up in Providence, R.I. It is a very 

diverse city. We would go out to the Stone Soup [coffee house] and hear all 

sorts of different music. Irish and contemporary folk. Then, Meredith and I 

went to Cornell University. Ithaca has a great and diverse music scene. After 

graduating,we met members of Rusted Root in Pittsburgh. They have a big world

 music influence. We've always been interested in listening to different types of music. 

Meredith Thompson: We feel that by blending instruments it keeps live 

performances interesting. We use a mix of flutes and drums and other 

instruments, like guitars. A few years ago, I started learning African

 drumming, and Afro?Cuban drumming, and fell in love with those sounds. 

JS: What can we expect at the Kennebunk show?

MT: The Kennebunk show is in a beautiful church in the middle of town as a 

part of a monthly concert series. It'll be a listening experience with a really

 nice concert atmosphere. 

CT: Meredith plays flute. Meredith and me play guitar. We tell stories about

 the songs, and what images sparks a song. 

MT: That's what the difference is between listening to a CD or the radio 

and going to a live convert. You get the Behind The Music thing just by

 going to a concert. 

JS: What do you want your audience to feel after one of your performances? 

CT: A lot say they feel uplifted. I think that's important. The stories we 

mix in that set is something. That [the audience] recognize the music, but

 they learned about something else from the stories is kind of cool. We do 

a lot of storytelling. 

JS: Being that you are twins who have chosen to pursue a music career together,

 I take it you don't grate on each other's .nerves much? 

CT: Meredith and I get along very well. We've always been a team. It's a 

little different for twins. Twins have a very close bond. We don't have 

trouble get ting along. Meredith and I often write songs together. Meredith 

is the organized partner. She keeps us on track, and she's also an excellent 

harmony singer. 

MT: If this was a corporation, Chris would be the Creative Director. 

JS: Why was "Amazing Grace" included on "Clearwater"? What do you bring 

that's new to it? 

CT: Interestingly enough, I didn't want to include "Amazing Grace" on the

 album. What happened was we were at a folk festival back in 1998. Martin 

Sexton was on stage. We had met him, and he was singing "Amazing Grace," 

and he couldn't remember the second verse. He pulled me on stage and I 

sang the second verse and . Meredith joined in. People liked the way we 

sang it so much. What's different about it is Meredith's harmony. 



MT: We've heard from other musicians that really like our arrangement of 

that song. Something that is highlighted is we also sing in unison. Singing 

the same note right on is very difficult. Being twins, we can sing and if 

we hit it right it sounds like one person singing, like having stereo speakers. 

For more information on Chris and Meredith Thompson, visit their web site 

at www.cmthompson.com