Ahh Los Angeles, sunny and warm on its best and usually worst days. The ground is dirty and cracked, and the air smells of ambition with a hint of alcohol from last nights events. Walking down the Hollywood Blvd star walk is alway an entertaining scene, especially on a Friday afternoon. I asked Chris if he wanted to meet at the local Hollywood & Highland center, but being accustomed (and a bit irritated) of the scene, he prefers to meet at his place a few blocks away. His apartment is every starving musicians fairytale. A shoebox-sized studio complete with posters of “The Doors”, sunflowers and Christmas lights. The music equipment and array of guitars are the first thing to catch your eye, seeing as they are everywhere. Second would be the huge steel sword hanging above the couch where his girlfriend clicks away at her computer listening to…is that Beach House? We sit down and being the gracious host he is, he offers me a pear beer.
V4B: Hi Chris, how are ya?
CM: I’m just fine, thanks! Stoked to be talking to you!
V4B: ( I lift my beer in appreciation) Thanks man, it’s great to here talking to you as well! What’s with the sword?
CM: (laughs) I’m a mega-nerd for “medieval times” stuff. That was a Christmas gift from my girlfriend.
V4B: So I’m assuming you watch Game Of Thrones?
CM: Oh of course, I’ve read all of the books as well!
V4B: Tell us something about yourself that not a lot of people know.
CM: <Long Pause>…..I’m a dedicated member of the Horde…
V4B: Ha! (This is where I clear my throat and move on) ..So we’re just going to jump into this, you were recently in a band right?
CM: Yeah that’s right. I was in a group called “Pictures In Sound”.
V4B: And what happened?
CM: We played together for about a year and half- they found me right after I moved to Los Angeles. But after some time we had to call it quits due to our guitarist getting a great job in San Jose.
V4B: (He seemed pretty optimistic about it) That must have been hard to give that up, are you going to take some time off music now?
CM: It was tough, but there are no hard feelings. And I’m definitely not taking time off. I have a few things on my mind, and at this point it’s all about what direction I want to go in.
V4B: Now you’re not from LA are you?
CM: No actually I’m not. I was born in Boston, but I moved here from the San Francisco Bay area.
V4B: And why did you move here?
CM: To go to school and pursue a career in music.
V4B: Awesome, and how do you like LA now that you’ve been down here a while?
CM: It’s okay. I can see how it appeals to some, but it’s definitely not my favorite place.
V4B: Hah, completely understood. And as an up and coming artist, whats your opinion of the music scene in LA?
CM: It’s definitely its own sort of animal… It’s very much the “little fish in a big pond” metaphor, you know? There are just so many bands (many of which are incredibly talented) that it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. It’s very difficult to stand out here. There’s a large danger of just blending in!
V4B: Do you have any advice to musicians looking to venture down here?
CM: To be honest, I feel like the biggest thing that people need to understand is that….success, for lack of a better word, isn’t going to come over night. A lot of people I’ve met down here seemed to have believed that because they were in LA, where “dreams come true”, it meant that they would get a record deal after the first gig they played. I guess the biggest piece of advice is to not doubt yourself or your abilities just because it takes a while to accomplish what you want!
V4B: What is one of the hardest things in your opinion about being a musician?
CM: There are so many different challenges that it’s hard to pinpoint “the hardest”…. If I had to say what the hardest for me was, it would have to be not having the financial resources to support the project I was in. It may sound kind of lame, but truth be told I really didn’t worry about anything as much as where I was going to get money for our rehearsal space, recording, touring, etc….
V4B: And with all of the hardships and set backs, what keeps you motivated or inspired to keep going?
CM: I don’t really know how to answer this… There are a lot of different things. I’m really lucky to have incredibly great friends, family, and a wonderful girlfriend- all of whom are really supportive of the things I do. And at the end of the day, I’d say it’s really just a sense that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I know I won’t be happy in any other “field of work”, so I don’t really have an option NOT to keep going…
V4B: Musically, who are some of the people that influence you?
CM: It’s a pretty broad scale…. Off the top of my head I’d have to narrow it down to Anthony Green (and the rest of Circa Survive), Jim Morrison, Matthew Bellamy, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and about a hundred others
(A man after my own heart)
V4B: And what can we expect to see from you in the future?
CM: As I said before, I’ve got a few cards up my sleeves and at this point I really don’t know what I’ll be laying on the table. I can, however, assure you that it will be quite grand!
V4B: Well I cant wait man, I’m sure it’s going to be awesome.
With this I bid my goodbyes and walk the 7 blocks back to my car. I will definitley be keeping my eye out for this young musician.
-Jack S.
