Chris Pierce
Encyclopedia
Early life
Chris Pierce is a soul singer and songwriter born in CaliforniaCalifornia
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...
. As a boy, he pursued acting and singing in local theater presentations, and appearing on notable television shows.
At 15 years old Pierce was playing sets in clubs around Los Angeles and had been a repeat guest on the television show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole. Still in high school, he began playing gigs with Grammy-nominated rock musician Jon Butcher, whom he had met through his girlfriend's mother. At 19 years old he performed on a road tour with Sonia Dada in the U.S., and later continued on to Moscow.
Post Sonia Dada Tour, Pierce came home to Southern California to work on his degree in Jazz studies at USC. He has been recording and doing independent road tours playing up to 150 shows a year. He grew up on classic soul, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel and rock and roll recordings.
Career
Chris Pierce currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. He continues to tour worldwide. He is also co-owner of a wine label called Ledbetter Dry Creek Valley Syrah. Chris is in recording studio production for the follow-up to his 2008 studio album "Walking on the Earth".He has opened for B.B. King, Seal, Colbie Caillat, Al Green, Jamie Cullum, Toots & The Maytals, Robert Cray and Brett Dennen, among others. He has had song placements on the Oscar award winner Crash
Crash (2004 film)
Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video...
and T.V shows like Brothers and Sisters, "In Plain Sight", "Eli Stone", What About Brian, Lincoln Heights, "North Shore", "Half and Half" and Army Wives. His single "Are You Beautiful" has been used in a national Banana Republic ad campaign. Critic Paul Saitowitz of The Press-Enterprise compared his voice to Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, writing that it "fluctuates from delicate falsettos to shrieks reminiscent of Ray Charles". In a concert review, the San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Express-News is the daily newspaper of San Antonio, Texas. It is ranked as the third-largest daily newspaper in the state of Texas in terms of circulation, and is one of the leading news sources of South Texas, with offices in Austin, Brownsville, Laredo, and Mexico City...
wrote that he has "one of the most powerful voices going."
Pierce's songs are currently featured on both Sirius Radio and XM Radio. Pierce has relationships and sponsorships with several music and clothing companies, including Blue Microphones, Taylor Guitars, Horny Toad and Nau Activewear.
Recordings
Other recordings include: Chris Pierce Live At The Hotel Cafe (2009) Walking on the Earth (2007), Static Trampoline (2005), and Intimate Moments (2004).His next studio album titled "I Can Hear You" will be released on October 11, 2011.
Television
Chris Pierce's music has been featured on TV shows like Brothers & Sisters, What About BrianWhat About Brian
What About Brian is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot Productions. The series premiered on April 16, 2006, on ABC, as a midseason replacement and concluded on March 26, 2007...
, "Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
", "Eli Stone
Eli Stone
Eli Stone is an American TV series, and also the name of the title character.San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm...
", "Half and Half
Half and half
Half and half refers to various beverages or liquid foods made of an equal-parts mixture of two substances, including dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and soft drinks...
", "Lincoln Heights
Lincoln Heights
Lincoln Heights may refer to:* Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California* Lincoln Heights, Ohio* Lincoln Heights , Ontario, a neighbourhood* Lincoln Heights, Washington, D.C., a neighbourhood...
", Army Wives
Army Wives
Army Wives is an American drama series that follows the lives of four army wives, their families, and an army husband whose wife is in the army. The series, shot at ABC Studios, premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007...
, In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
, and Sister Act
Sister Act
Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film released by Touchstone Pictures. Directed by Emile Ardolino, it features musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman and stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent and has to pretend to be a...
among others. Pierce also co-wrote "Clap it Out" with Jared Faber
Jared Faber
Jared Faber is an American musician, composer, producer and multi instrumentalist from Colombian descent. He grew up in New York City where he attended High School of Performing Arts, and later continued his music education at Berklee College of Music, studying jazz arranging and...
, Sy Smith
Sy Smith
Sy Olivia Smith is an American Emmy nominated singer-songwriter. Born in New York, New York, Smith rose to fame in the late 1990s when she signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records. Smith released her first studio album Psykosoul in 2000, which spawned the singles "Gladly" and "Good N...
and Deron Johnson which was featured in the film "The Long Shots" starring Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
.
Commercials and Radio
Pierce's music was also featured on a Banana Republic ad campaign that included 6 different commercials during the show "Project RunwayProject Runway
Project Runway is an American reality television series on Lifetime Television, previously on the Bravo network, which focuses on fashion design and is hosted by model Heidi Klum. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted in time, materials and theme...
." Additionally, he was chosen as KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
's Today's Top Tune and he appeared on KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
's Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt
Nic Harcourt
Nic Harcourt was, most recently, the Music Director for Santa Monica, California-based radio station KCRW. Before joining KCRW, Harcourt worked for eight years as a news director and music director at radio station WDST in Woodstock, New York...
, who selected Chris's album, Walking on The Earth, as "Best album of July 08".
Albums
| Album information |
|---|
Static Trampoline
|
| Walking On The Earth
|
| Chris Pierce Live At The Hotel Cafe
|
| I Can Hear You
|