Christopher Leigh & the Boogie Chillens
Christopher Leigh & the Boogie Chillens
Genres: blues, guitar, bluesrock
ARMAND & BLUESOLOGY
About Christopher Leigh & the Boogie Chillens
I. Formerly The Boogie Chillens Band... As of January 2009 we have changed our name to eliminate confusion between our band and another one of the same name but with a slightly different spelling (Warning this other band doesn't even play blues or boogie!). Apparently this other band has been booked a few times in our place. Talk about mistaken identity! We hope that this name change will eliminate this confusion in the future. From January 2009 on we will be known only as the Christopher Leigh Band. Any one booking the Boogie Chilluns, or Boogie Chillens or any other spelling of the name - be warned that this is not our band and doesn't play the kind of show that you are looking for. Even though this confusion was not our fault we still feel the need to apologize to the good people who have fallen victim to this fraud. Sincerely Christopher Leigh & the Boyz http://boogiechillens.tripod.com/ II. Christopher Leigh… A veteran blues and roots artist over 25 years was raised in Smiths Creek MI and is now a Detroit area resident since 1976. Chris mixed roots and blues music to get his Hot Rockin’ Motown Blues & Boogie sound he is known for. He developed this style while playing in his bands the Boogie Chillens and the Alley Katz throughout the 1990’s and still uses this style to excite blues & roots audiences everywhere. You can catch Chris in Roseville MI on Tuesday's @ the Eastgate Pub's MoJo Boogie Acoustical Madness Club jam session from 9pm to 2am and Monday's in Warren MI @ Pepper Bottom's hosting the best blues jam in town... the Stone Jam open mic, from 9:30 till every one jams. On ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/thechristopherleighband For more info on Christopher Leigh go to: http://www.facebook.com/boogiechile2 III. Native to Smith’s Creek Michigan Christopher Leigh now resides in Melvindale MI. He is the band leader of the Christopher Leigh Band, The Boogie Chillens Band, and the MoJo Boogie Musical Madness Clubs. He is currently the lead guitarist/vocalist/song arranger for the Broken Arrow Blues Band which has just released a new independent album entitled “No Time To Waste” Chris is active with the Detroit Blues Society, and the local musical community and hosts numerous jam sessions in and around the Detroit area when not on tour. Chris first became interested in music in 1975 when his 2nd cousin Mark Dolich taught him his first chords on a Crestwood 12 string acoustic guitar that Mark had just given him. It was a very beautiful guitar to Chris with it’s humming bird inlay pick-guard and mother-of-pearl rose vine inlay on the fret board. And even though the 12 strings were slightly tougher to play than the more traditional 6 strings that most guitarists play Chris would beg Mark to keep teaching him more chords all summer long. By fall Chris had mastered all the open and most of the barre chords when his life took him in a different direction temporarily… …The fall of 1975 Chris had to leave the beloved farm he grew up on in Smith’s Creek MI and move to the big city. Moving to Highland Park MI, an island suburb inside of Detroit was a major adjustment for Chris; city life took some getting used to. He enrolled into the Highland Park public schools there and was instantly placed in the classical music program. He was recruited by Mrs. Ann Dodge, the head of the classical music program in Highland Park and she became a huge influence on Chris’ early musical development. Chris wanted to play saxophone when he moved to the city but due to the popularity of the instrument there were no more openings for Chris so he had to settle on taking up the viola. He thrived under Mrs. Dodges tutelage eventually achieving a substitute position with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the age of 19. He also occupied 1st chairs in the Highland Park Chamber Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Youth Symphony, and the Northwestern Activity Center Chamber Orchestra. 11 grade marked Chris’ rediscovery of his love for the guitar again and he played high school shows in first r&b, funk, then rock bands. In 1984 Chris joined the national touring heavy rock band “Life After Death”. Enjoying a few years of success the band was offered a recording contract. Unbeknownst to the band the recording contract was designed to put the band on hold while the record company marketed another band with a similar style. Life After Death was given a large advance to be used for recording their album but the bands leadership blew the whole advance on drugs and partying. With no money to record with the band was stuck & tensions rose. Chris, angry, jaded, bitter of the rock scene, and nothing to show for his efforts, had finally had enough and quit the band, and music altogether. Chris was musically inactive for 2 years after except for producing. He picked up the knack in 1985 while recording with the r&b funk band FBGO in United Sounds studio and working for FE Communication a musical production company. Working with young r&b artists and rappers Chris felt he had found a niche at last when the company fell apart in 1987. Living on savings and feeling let down again Chris fell back on his second love, food preparation! He had worked many restaurant gigs in the past during lean times and decided to try it again. This is when Chris made friends with his then boss Jo Salis. Salis was the head Chef for the 1940 Chop House and also for Jacques Patisserie, Chris started in the kitchen washing dishes, and was eventually promoted to sous chef in 6 months. Jo Salis was a musician of blues and gospel as well and got Chris involved in music again. Reluctant at first Chris was finally convinced to go with Jo to a few jam sessions at the famous Attic Bar, the Home Of The Blues in Hamtramck MI. Impressed with the tight knit community of the blues artists Chris felt comfortable with being in the music business again. This was when he developed his independent artist attitude and finally gave up on the illusive “get a record deal” concept business plan, the holy grail of achievements for most bands that wanted to “make it” back then. Chris played with many blues bands and artists at this time, John Goins and the Motor City Big 4, Niki James And the Flame Throwers, The Light Fingered Four, Mack Collins And The Party Makers, Uncle Jesse White, Mississippi Al, The Blue Collar Blues Band, John Lee Hooker, and James Cloyd Jr. to name a few… James Cloyd Jr was to become Chris’ longest and best of friends. In 1989 Chris formed his first blues band and named it the Boogie Chillens in honor of his his fun times jamming with the great John Lee Hooker, and consequently where his nick-name the “Boogie Chile” came from. 1997 Chris recorded his first independent album with his 3 piece power trio the Boogie Chillens entitled “I Don’t Know”. 2005 Chris records with the Alley Katz Band with his long time friend James Cloyd Jr. They release “Going Alley On Your Mind” the next year under the No Cover recording lable. Chris wrote the title song and 5 other compositions on the CD. The CD did well in sales securing Chris a firm seat in the No Cover records house of musicians. 2006 Chris records the second Christopher Leigh & the Boogie Chillens CD “Gotta Boogie”. All songs are original compositions except for 1 and all were written by Chris. James Cloyd Jr. shares a writing credit with Chris on the title track “Gotta Boogie”. Chicken Heads was written by the great Bobby Rush. Chris sings and plays all guitars, G. Shadowhawk Ellis plays the drums and Rudy Alcala does the bass duties. Gotta Boogie was released in 2007 and did even better in sales than Chris’ 1st solo effort “I Don’t Know”. 2009 The Christopher Leigh band wins the Detroit Blues Challenge preliminary round. 2010 Chris Leigh forms the Mojo Boogie Musical Madness Clubs, the 1st one MoJo Boogie Acoustical Madness Club a duet featuring Chris Leigh on acoustic guitar and vocals and Jo Galvono on vocals. Then the Mojo Boogie Band – a full tilt drug free rock band with Chris on guitar & vocals, Jo Galvano on vocals, Kenny Murphy on drums, Leo Early on keys, and Dan Dekuyper on bass. 2011 during the musical silly season Chris got a call from long time friend and ex band mate G. Shadowhawk Ellis. Ellis’ band the Broken Arrow Blues Band had went through some recent personnel changes making it difficult to finish their summer tour of blues festivals. Shadowhawk asked Chris to help his band with the guitar and singing duties. Chris was happy to comply and helped the band finish their summer tour. At the end of the tour Ellis asked Chris to make his position in the band more permanent and they went into the studio right away. A week and a half later the CD “No Time To Waste” was the result and the release party was planned for late September. The party was a blast and went off without a hitch. CD sales keep climbing for the new release “No Time To Waste”. Chris is now taking time to plan his 3rd solo release “Got Boogie?” with the Christopher Leigh Band, slated for release early in 2012 and is working on another CD for the Broken Arrow band as well. Release date unknown at this time. If u are interested in a free mp3 single by Christopher Leigh with the Broken Arrow band feel free to fill out the info on the right column and u will receive your very own single “The River Is Risin” in thanks for your support. Christopher Leigh Wordpress: http://www.christopherleighmusic.com/wordpress/about-2
Taken from Last.fm
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