Chancellorpink is the solo project of Pittsburgh, PA singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Raymond G. McLaughlin, who is also an attorney. McLaughlin performs all vocals on his albums of original indie pop/rock songs, as well as playing all acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keyboards and percussion, while also handling the drum programming and serving as engineer and producer. His lyrics have particularly been noted as emotional and literate.
McLaughlin started composing songs at age 7 by singing into a tape recorder, and he has written over 1,000 songs in his lifetime. His initial 1980s band, Six Gun Jury, made springy, post-punk, melodic guitar rock, drawing comparisons to The Smiths, R.E.M. and U2.
After receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, and graduating Magna Cum Laude and 3rd in his class from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1991, McLaughlin all but dropped out of the public music scene. He continued writing songs, however, and occasionally performed in Pittsburgh bands with fellow musicians (i.e., Orange Velvet Chairs, Spinning Jenny).
In 2006, McLaughlin, the father of triplet sons, became determined to redefine his musical career, releasing his eponymous solo debut Chancellorpink, a 12-song suite of self-produced music, and vowing to record an album a year until "I die or become boring". Song "AnnaJo" was placed into regular rotation in 2006 on notable indie-rock internet radio station 3WK, out of St. Louis, Missouri.
True to his vow, 2007 brought national radio exposure for the 19-track Darkrazor, which features his most popular underground song, "Like I Never Knew You", and 2008 brought Valentine Parade, which generated radio airplay from Philadelphia to California, and was lauded notably both in the United States, by esteemed sites such as PopMatters.com, and in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe, such as Germany. Chancellorpink's 4th album, Life Like Sad Music was released on March 22, 2009, also receiving favorable press in Europe.
On January 31, 2011, Chancellorpink released Invisible Scissors, a 15-song compilation that contained 3 previously unreleased songs, "Dockers", "Here to Haunt Me" and "Nothing's Wrong (With Insecurity)", and on June 2, 2012, he released The Best of Chancellorpink, the definitive collection of Chancellorpink's 12 best songs, available for free download on the Chancellorpink website.
Chancellorpink's music continues to be played Internationally in places such as Vancouver, Canada, including airplay for his October 2011 single, "Cracking Up", and his February 2012 single, "A Rainbow's Knocking".
