Chris Xefos is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 multi-instrumentalist

Multi-instrumentalist

A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...

 musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

/engineer/producer

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 and former member of band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 King Missile

King Missile

King Missile is an American avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently, Hall performs with a new version of the first incarnation, King Missile ....

. He plays various instruments such as accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

, bass

Bass (instrument)

Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...

, piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, and synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

, among others. He began recording/producing various groups in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 during the 1980s, including indie-rock legends Phantom Tollbooth. In 1989, he joined the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 avant-garde

Experimental music

Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 spoken word/art rock group, King Missile

King Missile

King Missile is an American avant-garde band that has been led in various disparate incarnations by poet/singer John S. Hall since 1986. Currently, Hall performs with a new version of the first incarnation, King Missile ....

. Five years, four albums and a number of alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 “hits” (including “Jesus Was Way Cool

Jesus Was Way Cool

"Jesus Was Way Cool" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It appears on the band's 1990 album Mystical Shit.-Content:In "Jesus Was Way Cool," frontman John S. Hall, over a simple piano figure, delivers a deadpan monologue in which he declares Jesus "way cool" for such skills as healing,...

” and “Detachable Penis

Detachable Penis

"Detachable Penis" is a song by avant-garde band King Missile. It was the first single from the band's 1992 album Happy Hour, and became a modest hit, reaching #25 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.-Lyrical content:...

”) later, King Missile disbanded (this version). Xefos also played with the group When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water

When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water

When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water was an American experimental psychedelic rock band from New York City active from 1986–1996...

 during this time. Following this period, he relocated to San Francisco.

He then went on to work, in various capacities, with a number of local San Francisco singer/songwriters and groups, including Victor Krummenacher

Victor Krummenacher

Victor Krummenacher is an American musician and bass guitarist who is a founding member of alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven. He also helped form CVB offshoots Monks of Doom and Camper Van Chadbourne and has pursued a solo career as a singer-songwriter...

, Jonathan Segel

Jonathan Segel

Jonathan Segel is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed.-Biography:...

, Greg Lisher

Greg Lisher

Greg Lisher is the lead guitar player for Camper Van Beethoven, from 1986 until 1990, and again from 2000 to present.He was the lead guitarist for the Monks of Doom, from 1986 until 1993, and again from 2003 to present....

 (Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...

), Alison Faith Levy (The Loud Family/The Sippy Cups), Pansy Division

Pansy Division

Pansy Division is an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California in 1991. Featuring primarily gay musicians and focusing mostly on gay-related themes, Pansy Division is one of the more melodic-oriented bands to emerge from the "queercore" movement that began in the 1980s.-Early...

, and Doug Hilsinger (Bomb/Enorchestra). He has also kept up on songwriting and recording with two different projects: moth wranglers

Moth wranglers

Moth Wranglers was a musical collaboration formed in 1998 by Chris Xefos , and LD Beghtol...

, a duo featuring himself and LD Beghtol

LD Beghtol

LD Beghtol is an American musician, art director and writer. Beghtol participated in The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs recordings and live shows. Beghtol is a founding member of the band Flare—aka Flare Acoustic Arts League—and the death-pop outfit LD & the New Criticism, and was also in the...

 (Flare/The New Criticism/guest vocalist on The Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields

The Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt...

' 69 Love Songs

69 Love Songs

69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album by The Magnetic Fields released in 1999. As its title indicates, the album is composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.-Conception and live performance:...

) as well as his solo project, Drop Quarters. Between 1998 and 2008, he owned/operated his own project-recording studio, Magnetic Recording. In 2008, he became co-owner/operator of a new recording facility, Dogpatch Recording. He does production/engineer work from this studio, as well as other studios in the San Francisco Bay Area. He continues to perform in local San Francisco music groups, including the Fat Bottom Girls, among others.

Selected discography

Artist	Album	Record Label	Release Year
King Missile	Mystical Shit Mystical Shit Mystical Shit is the third album by avant-garde band King Missile, first released in 1990 and later included on the compilation album Mystical Shit & Fluting on the Hump.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S...	Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...	1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...
King Missile	The Way to Salvation The Way to Salvation The Way to Salvation is the fourth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's first for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 16, 1991.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S...	Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...	1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year...
King Missile	Happy 14½ Happy 14½ Happy 14½ is an EP by avant-garde band King Missile. It was released in 1992, shortly before the band's album Happy Hour. The EP was intended for promotional use only, and not supposed to be sold; nonetheless, copies are sometimes available in "used" sections of record stores because some people... (EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... )	Atlantic	1992 1992 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
King Missile	Happy Hour	Atlantic	1992
King Missile	King Missile King Missile (album) King Missile is the eponymous sixth album by avant-garde band King Missile, and the band's third for Atlantic Records. It was released on April 19, 1994.-Track listing:All lyrics by John S. Hall...	Atlantic	1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....