The Early Years
As the son of a professional symphonic violinist, Chris began his classical musical training early. But it was a chance encounter with Van Halen's 1984 at the age of 11 which triggered the start down a rock guitar path. It was quickly obvious that rock was where Chris belonged as middle school performances of songs like Ratt's "Round and Round" and Ozzy's "Crazy Train" made him well known in his hometown in northern Michigan. While continuing his formal music studies throughout the late 80's and early 90's, Chris was playing in rock bands as well as writing and recording music, most often with his brother on bass and cousin on drums, all accomplished musicians and all studying music in college at the time.
As the son of a professional symphonic violinist, Chris began his classical musical training early. But it was a chance encounter with Van Halen's 1984 at the age of 11 which triggered the start down a rock guitar path. It was quickly obvious that rock was where Chris belonged as middle school performances of songs like Ratt's "Round and Round" and Ozzy's "Crazy Train" made him well known in his hometown in northern Michigan. While continuing his formal music studies throughout the late 80's and early 90's, Chris was playing in rock bands as well as writing and recording music, most often with his brother on bass and cousin on drums, all accomplished musicians and all studying music in college at the time.
Jester's Crown
Chris sums up the story of his Michigan band, "In the mid-90's my brother, my cousin, and I decided to formalize, professionally record and promote our melodic prog rock band, Jester's Crown, with the addition of a keyboardist. Our first release was Above the Storm (1995). Based in Ann Arbor, we toured from Madison, WI to Toronto, Canada, with most time spent performing between Detroit and Chicago. An acoustic EP release, Where Daydreams Play (1996) reflected the many in-store acoustic appearances we were doing at the time and led into our final large scale album, Away (1998). The band broke up roughly a year later after Away failed to gain significant traction."
Chris sums up the story of his Michigan band, "In the mid-90's my brother, my cousin, and I decided to formalize, professionally record and promote our melodic prog rock band, Jester's Crown, with the addition of a keyboardist. Our first release was Above the Storm (1995). Based in Ann Arbor, we toured from Madison, WI to Toronto, Canada, with most time spent performing between Detroit and Chicago. An acoustic EP release, Where Daydreams Play (1996) reflected the many in-store acoustic appearances we were doing at the time and led into our final large scale album, Away (1998). The band broke up roughly a year later after Away failed to gain significant traction."
Westward Ho!
Moving to Seattle at the turn of the millennium, Chris continued forward on his own, playing and recording all instruments himself in his home studio for the CD Marooned (2001). His first son was born in October of that year, so it was at this point that he focused on raising a young family and on his career as a producer in the videogames business, including leading the team which created the classic horror game "The Suffering."
Moving to Seattle at the turn of the millennium, Chris continued forward on his own, playing and recording all instruments himself in his home studio for the CD Marooned (2001). His first son was born in October of that year, so it was at this point that he focused on raising a young family and on his career as a producer in the videogames business, including leading the team which created the classic horror game "The Suffering."
Looking for new inspiration and other musicians to collaborate with, in 2007 Chris joined a small local group of musicians called Songwriters in Seattle, whose seemingly random few monthly meeting participants would discuss the current state of the music biz and play a few songs for one another. Sticking with it, bonding with like-minded musicians, and finding motivation in the monthly meeting "deadline," Chris began his return to writing, recording, and performing, albeit at a slow pace. This eventually led to the release of twelve songs recorded between 2007-2009 with a variety of songwriting collaborations entitled Bankrupt Generation (2010).
A Return to Musical Focus
Taking a break from the videogame industry in late 2010 to focus on musical pursuits, Chris officially took over Songwriters in Seattle (now a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with over 500 members and 10 events each month) and at home accomplished a major studio upgrade. These two actions set the trajectory for an explosion of music in 2011-2012, most notably the release of This Journey (2012). "This Journey is the realization of a rock sound I've had in my head the last 20 years!" Chris says, "It is focused, consistent, dynamic, produced and performed to the best of my ability, and represents a vision I am truly proud of." With a professional graphic designer re-inventing Chris's visual presentation as well, This Journey is a spectacular package that Chris hopes will compete and be recognized on a whole new level.
Taking a break from the videogame industry in late 2010 to focus on musical pursuits, Chris officially took over Songwriters in Seattle (now a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with over 500 members and 10 events each month) and at home accomplished a major studio upgrade. These two actions set the trajectory for an explosion of music in 2011-2012, most notably the release of This Journey (2012). "This Journey is the realization of a rock sound I've had in my head the last 20 years!" Chris says, "It is focused, consistent, dynamic, produced and performed to the best of my ability, and represents a vision I am truly proud of." With a professional graphic designer re-inventing Chris's visual presentation as well, This Journey is a spectacular package that Chris hopes will compete and be recognized on a whole new level.
Influences
Chris has a variety of guitar-oriented rock inspirations and influences with a mix of prog rock, classic rock, hard rock, and modern pop rock. Among his favorite bands are Foo Fighters, Switchfoot, Green Day, Collective Soul, Staind, Tonic, Fuel, Breaking Benjamin, Rush, Yes, Genesis, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani.
Chris has a variety of guitar-oriented rock inspirations and influences with a mix of prog rock, classic rock, hard rock, and modern pop rock. Among his favorite bands are Foo Fighters, Switchfoot, Green Day, Collective Soul, Staind, Tonic, Fuel, Breaking Benjamin, Rush, Yes, Genesis, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Vai, and Joe Satriani.
Chris currently resides in Kirkland, Washington with his wife and two children.
Chris Klimecky - All Instruments
Tracklisting:
1) Arrival
2) This Journey
3) Sunshine and Misery
4) The Age Old Story
5) Lap of Luxury
6) Energy
7) Water Colors
8) Not Your Hero
9) Ride the Wind
10) Afterglow
2) This Journey
3) Sunshine and Misery
4) The Age Old Story
5) Lap of Luxury
6) Energy
7) Water Colors
8) Not Your Hero
9) Ride the Wind
10) Afterglow
Progressive Rock & Progressive Metal - E-Zine
