Chris Murray
Encyclopedia
Chris Murray is a Canadian
-born singer-songwriter
and guitarist working primarily in the genre of ska
. In Canada, he was a member of the now-defunct ska band King Apparatus
during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He now lives in the Los Angeles
, California
area, where he performs regularly, both solo as well as with the Chris Murray Combo. From 2003 until the venue's closure in 2009, Murray organized a weekly ska/reggae show called "The Bluebeat Lounge" which featured both local and out of town artists every Wednesday at the Knitting Factory
in Hollywood
.
As a child, Murray was exposed to popular ska-influenced songs such as "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
" by The Beatles
, "I Can See Clearly Now
" by Johnny Nash
, and Eric Clapton
's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" on the radio. At the age of 12 he heard Madness
' cover of "One Step Beyond
" for the first time and instantly fell in love with two-tone ska and listened to it through his high school days, during which he also played the trumpet
.
Equally capable as a producer, Murray produced Life of the Party (1999) and Attack of The Planet Smashers
for the Montreal third-wave ska band The Planet Smashers
, as well as Tooth for the eclectic New York City ska/jazz supergroup Da Whole Thing. Murray also appears as a vocalist on several Da Whole Thing songs, including "Graveyard Dance" and "Running for the F Train". More recently, Murray recorded Slackness
, a collaboration with the seminal New York City ska band The Slackers
. The 11-song album features Murray singing lead vocals on new arrangements of his solo material, as well as some entirely new songs and a cover of The Clash
's "Janie Jones" .
Murray has performed throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and South America, sharing the stage with such notable acts as The Specials
, The Slackers
and Laurel Aitken
. He is known for the collegial and informal atmosphere of his live shows, during which his set list is determined almost exclusively by live requests from audience members.
Murray has released three CDs on the Asian Man Records
label: 4-Trackaganza!, Raw, and 4-Track Adventures of Venice Shoreline Chris. His CDs are often recorded with a four-track tape recorder, giving a distinctly lo-fi
sound. Raw is especially lo-fi, as it was recorded on a hand-held walkman
. In late 2009, it was announced that Chris Murray had signed to Sonic Boom Six
's Rebel Alliance
record label for the UK.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitarist working primarily in the genre of ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
. In Canada, he was a member of the now-defunct ska band King Apparatus
King Apparatus
King Apparatus was a Canadian third wave ska band, active in the early 1990s. Formed in 1987 in London, Ontario and later based in Toronto, the band's lineup varied over its lifetime, including vocalist Chris Murray, guitarists Sam Tallo, Paul Ruston, J. C...
during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He now lives in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
area, where he performs regularly, both solo as well as with the Chris Murray Combo. From 2003 until the venue's closure in 2009, Murray organized a weekly ska/reggae show called "The Bluebeat Lounge" which featured both local and out of town artists every Wednesday at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
.
As a child, Murray was exposed to popular ska-influenced songs such as "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song credited to Lennon–McCartney, but written by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on their 1968 album The Beatles...
" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, "I Can See Clearly Now
I Can See Clearly Now
-Certifications:-Charts:-Other covers:The song also appears in various other films, such as Grosse Pointe Blank, The Break-up, Thelma & Louise, Antz, Deep Blue Sea, Envy, Hitch, Shrek 2s Far Far Away Idol, Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man and Jennifer's Body, as well in a 2009 advertisement for Lipton...
" by Johnny Nash
Johnny Nash
John Lester "Johnny" Nash, Jr. is an American pop singer-songwriter, best known in the US for his 1972 hit, "I Can See Clearly Now". He was also the first non-Jamaican to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica.-Life and career:...
, and Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
's cover of "I Shot the Sheriff" on the radio. At the age of 12 he heard Madness
Madness (band)
In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
' cover of "One Step Beyond
One Step Beyond (song)
12" vinyl-Chart performance:-Song appearances:* It is used in the episode "I'm with the Band" of the 2000-2001 show Freaks and Geeks when one of the characters, Sam Weir, streaks around the school while trying to avoid showering after PE....
" for the first time and instantly fell in love with two-tone ska and listened to it through his high school days, during which he also played the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
.
Equally capable as a producer, Murray produced Life of the Party (1999) and Attack of The Planet Smashers
Attack of The Planet Smashers
Attack of The Planet Smashers is the second full-length release from The Planet Smashers. This is the first of three collaborations between the Planet Smashers and producer Chris Murray ....
for the Montreal third-wave ska band The Planet Smashers
The Planet Smashers
The Planet Smashers are a ska punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Since their formation in 1994, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they quickly rose to national, and eventual international fame, with tours in the United States, Europe, and Japan...
, as well as Tooth for the eclectic New York City ska/jazz supergroup Da Whole Thing. Murray also appears as a vocalist on several Da Whole Thing songs, including "Graveyard Dance" and "Running for the F Train". More recently, Murray recorded Slackness
Slackness (album)
Slackness is a collaborative album between acoustic ska vocalist Chris Murray and the New York City ska band The Slackers. Two songs also appear on The Slackers and Friends, as different versions. "Rastaman Rock" is renamed to "I Am a Rasta Man" on The Slackers and Friends...
, a collaboration with the seminal New York City ska band The Slackers
The Slackers
The Slackers are a New York City band, formed in Brooklyn in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz...
. The 11-song album features Murray singing lead vocals on new arrangements of his solo material, as well as some entirely new songs and a cover of The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's "Janie Jones" .
Murray has performed throughout North America, Europe, Japan, and South America, sharing the stage with such notable acts as The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
, The Slackers
The Slackers
The Slackers are a New York City band, formed in Brooklyn in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz...
and Laurel Aitken
Laurel Aitken
Lorenzo Aitken , better known as Laurel Aitken, was a singer and one of the originators of Jamaican ska music. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of ska".-Career:...
. He is known for the collegial and informal atmosphere of his live shows, during which his set list is determined almost exclusively by live requests from audience members.
Murray has released three CDs on the Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
label: 4-Trackaganza!, Raw, and 4-Track Adventures of Venice Shoreline Chris. His CDs are often recorded with a four-track tape recorder, giving a distinctly lo-fi
Low fidelity
Low fidelity or lo-fi describes a sound recording which contains technical flaws such as distortion, hum, or background noise, or limited frequency response...
sound. Raw is especially lo-fi, as it was recorded on a hand-held walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...
. In late 2009, it was announced that Chris Murray had signed to Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six are a five-piece rock band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by Kerrang! as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubstep, punk and metal apart, then rebuilding them as a hyperactive hybrid"...
's Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance Recordings
Rebel Alliance Recordings is a Manchester, UK-based record label set up in 2007 by the members of ska-punk band Sonic Boom Six.-Origins:After leaving Deck Cheese the members of Sonic Boom Six set up Rebel Alliance originally as an outlet for their forthcoming album Arcade Perfect, which was...
record label for the UK.
External links
- Chris Murray official site
- Chris Murray audio and video
- Chris Murray on CBC Radio3
- Chris Murray's page from Asian Man Records site
- The Ruckus - Audio Interview with Chris Murray from March 2009