Chris was born and
raised in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa a small town in the southeast corner of
the state. His father was an accomplished jazz musician who played
trombone, drums and vibes professionally in dance bands in the Midwest for many years.
Chris had a half sister, Susan, who was 10 years older than he who
played guitar and was also among his big early influences. Susan would
often would play Dylan, Neil Young, and Peter, Paul and Mary on a 1969
Gibson Blue Ridge guitar much to Chris's delight and intrigue. Chris
began his music as he picked up a tenor guitar in the early 70's at
age 15. His father taught him a few chords and Chris took off from
there, learning everything he could from anyone he met who played
guitar and he began writing music almost instantly. Susan died a
tragic death in 1979 and it is her prized 1969 Gibson Blue Ridge
acoustic that is Chris's main axe today.
Today Chris lives in Chandler,
Arizona, is a middle school music teacher and continues to write music
and perform. Chris is widely known among local musicians in the
Phoenix area due to a website he founded in 2002 and
www.azopenmic.com
continues to provide the most comprehensive information available on
the open mic scene in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Chris also hosts
an open mic at The Final Round, a sports bar and restaurant in Tempe.
Chris recently (October 2005)
received the honor of being named Finalist by the Song of the Year (http://www.songoftheyear.com/
) songwriting contest. Song of the Year is an international
songwriting contest supporting VH-1’s Save the Music Foundation. The
Song of the Year judges are some of the biggest names in music
including many Grammy Award winners.
Chris performs many of his
original tunes at gigs as well as classic rock and acoustic rock from
the last 30 years. His style is said to be "folk rock with a humorous
edge". Chris performs solo or in an acoustic group called "Chris and
the Steves" (yes, the other 3 in the group are all named Steve) and
lately has been doing a jazz duo with his father at various venues.
Chris also performs casual professional engagements, sitting in with
various musicians and bands in a variety of styles.
Chris's current love and main
focus is on his songwriting where he has been seeing his skills
develop and get recognized of late.
Upcoming gigs:
The Final Round
You can hear Chris play the opening set at
the Final Round's open mic on any Thursday starting at 8pm.
The Final Round
5030 S Mill Ave, Tempe
480-456-3663 Thursday 8-11
Chris performing "Tom's My Only Friend" at "Into
the Bean". Video by Studio Open Mic. www.studioopenmic.com
