Westwood Singer/Songwriter's Music Featured on FX's Rescue Me

Westwood-based singer/songwriter Chris Trapper is no stranger to the business of writing music for motion pictures. With songs in films like "There's Something About Mary," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "August Rush" and television shows such as "Malcolm in the Middle" and "ER," Trapper has developed an extensive Hollywood résumé.

And this summer he can add to that résumé: Two of his songs were featured in season six of FX's original series "Rescue Me," a drama focused on the troubled personal life of a New York City firefighter played by Denis Leary.

Trapper's music can be heard in episode four, which premiered July 20, and episode six, which will premier this Tuesday evening, August 3. The music and lyrics for both songs were written by Brad Hartfield and Crit Harmon, two Boston-area composers and record producers.

This made for a new experience for Trapper, who composes and writes the lyrics for all of his own songs. "I've taken pride in the fact that I'm a writer first and a singer second," he said. But he agreed to lend his voice to the television soundtrack as a favor to Harmon, who mentored him during his early days as a solo musician.

"When I recorded my very first solo record I was kind of in a very weird headspace and I was just — I didn't know what I was doing with my career or anything. And Crit kind of helped me straighten myself out," said Trapper.

"Basically, if he asked me to paint his house I would do it. This is much easier than painting his house. To sing a couple songs."

A resident of the Boston area for more than 15 years now, Trapper moved to Westwood five years ago while working on his solo career. Before that, he lived in Brighton and was the frontman for the Cambridge-based rock trio The Push Stars.

You can read a full interview with Chris Trapper about his experiences in the Boston music scene, his solo career, and the difficulties of working with producers for film and television placements here.