New York singer-songwriter Chloe Temtchine (Chloe Temtchine)
Hall had Oates, Simon had Garfunkel, and New York singer-songwriter Chloe Temtchine has Steve Martin — in name, at least.
The funnyman’s moniker is one Temtchine has borrowed for her oxygen tank (“I thought it fit,” she says). Ever since she was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension three years ago, she has to carry it everywhere. But instead of it being her cross to bear, Temtchine has woven it into her life by giving it a name and even dressing it — sometimes “Steve Martin” dons a wig, other times a tie.
“A couple of years ago, I was at a Vanity Fair party and I met the real Steve Martin,” she tells The Post. “He said he was honored to be named after a tank!”
It’s just one of the ways Temtchine, who plays Thursday at The 125 in Midtown (the show, at 125 E. 47th St., is invite-only, but you can contact Temtchine through her Web site for an invite), has changed her life. The 33-year-old grew up on the Upper East Side and started singing when she was 6 years old, and her career seemed promising after the release of her 2009 debut album, “Between Day & Dream.”
But a string of mystery symptoms, which started in 2008 — including shortness of breath and onstage coughing fits — hampered her progress. Doctors were at a loss. “At one point, I was even told to seek psychiatric help,” she says with a laugh.
Finally, in 2013, she was rushed to the hospital with heart failure. While in the ER, she was told she had a rare disorder, pulmonary hypertension — a continuously high level of blood pressure in the heart’s arteries, which leads to an enlargement of the organ itself. Temtchine’s was three times the normal size. Without treatment, sufferers are given an average of less than three years to live.
But with the right diagnosis under her belt, Temtchine set about completely altering her life, adopting a raw vegan diet, exercising regularly in small bursts and, of course, writing music.
Stay up-to-date on the biggest health and wellness news with our weekly recap.