4Hands2Visions

Having lived in both Arizona and Alaska, this young singer/songwriter could be seen as an extreme on either side of the spectrum. He is not. He is, in fact, Everyman and Anyone who has stopped to ponder the frailty, beauty and randomness of Life.

He bangs out lyrics on an old Corona electric typewriter in his back room because it “gives me confidence”, perhaps because the randomness of Life aforementioned could crash a computer hard drive forever, losing the perfect phrasing and the sweet longing in a cybersecond. When Chris handed me a clutch of his music after one of his shows— typewritten, dog-eared, with obvious fold marks— and then told me these were original documents with no copies, I froze and asked him to promise he’d get Xeroxes made the next day.

He discusses Wal-Mart and Wall Street: “Capitalism views people as numbers and just pulls them… we’re just pieces. There’s a conspiracy to hide information: people are too afraid to ask questions.” His take on popular music: “It’s a trick— a trap. It’s so turned up it pulls you in. I don’t want to seem like a purist, but it’s just… flashy.” His ‘Jesus during adolescence’ was Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes – a folk devotee and a man fascinated with the Eternal. Vonnegut and Ginsberg are his favorite writers; he’s studied the philosophers Plato and Woody Allen, and he’s an avid Carl Sagan fan. In addition to Oberst, he reveres Bob Dylan.

He adds, “I’m not trying to send a message [with my music] but this is why I write long pieces. There’s no attention span at all any more. Look at a symphony! Pop songs last two minutes— everything now is two lines and a chorus.” Elaborating, he says, “Everyone has a set idea of what music is. It’s difficult to draw back if there’s a chorus. Music is mathematics, and you have to know a lot about math.”

Chris’s partner (in music and in Life) is Alicia Jones; they are poets, songwriters and performers, singly and conjoined. What, then, in five years? “People don’t like change, not always, if there’s something they’re comfortable with. Change is the best thing— once you accept it, once you sculpt your reality— if you believe something enough, you can manifest it.” He reads my look and then asserts, “Everything’s a lie, so live your own lies. We all have our own reality. Everything leads to something else.” While he alludes to religion in his life and music— he admires Buddhism and has read the Bible— “I have a lot of beliefs, but all you have is yourself. We’re all part of a community.”

In Globe, Chris drove a Senior Citizen bus and delivered meals to the elderly. “They’re amazing people, and the best part is going into their homes and just talking to them. It’s helped me grow up.” He flicks the hair away from his eyes and smiles. “I think I know other people better than I know myself.”

Chris and Alicia will perform at an Open Mic Night at Sam’s Good Junk Coffee House in Globe, Arizona this Friday, March 16 from approximately 6-9 pm.