Chris' perspective is honest, deeply felt, but full of hope. Within his lyrics and soaring melodies one can sense a strong driving passion to tell the story of a generation of young people lost in the transition from adolecence to adulthood. Where do we belong and who do we belong to? Are we willing to fight for our dreams?

It’s not the sound of Billy Joel, U2 or Dave Matthews, all of whom influenced Chris’ music, but something of them found its way in. He’s had opportunity to record a demo and become friends with Portland area engineer Dean Baskerville, who’s previous credits include Sheryl Crowe, Everclear, Smashmouth, and many others. Through Dean, Chris was even fortunate enough to employ the creative talents of Jeff Trott, a long time collaborator with Sheryl Crowe, and other well-known local names.

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StoryTeller

“I want to tell the stories of my generation, who are sitting here in the dark looking for something they can’t put their finger on.” – Chris Tissell

Chris entered into a youth culture where, more often than not, he was on the outside looking in. He grew up moving nearly every three years following his father’s career from one town to the next. Chris discovered music at age six when he started taking piano lessons under the duress of his mother. But unexpectedly, music soon became fuel to his imagination.

Since Chris never stayed connected in one community, the trials of growing up have sometimes been a spectator sport. Each time he moved he watched, listened and learned from what his new friends were going through. When he began to write songs, he found a way to express his own trails and communicate the challenges and triumphs he was seeing in the people around him.

His perspective is honest, deeply felt, but full of hope. Within his lyrics and soaring melodies one can sense a strong driving passion to tell a story. It’s usually the story of a generation of young people lost between the structure of childhood and the ambiguity of adulthood. Where do we belong and who do we belong to? Are we good enough to fight for our dreams, and are we secure enough to not fear our own short comings? Through his songs, one can sense that they’ve been there before, felt those feelings and entertained those fears. There is nothing contrived to be found here, only honest arrangements of thoughts, of feelings and of notes that can fill the soul with a sense of fresh familiarity.

It’s not the sound of Billy Joel, U2 or Dave Matthews, all of whom influenced Chris’ music, but something of them found its way in. He’s had opportunity to record a demo and become friends with Portland area engineer Dean Baskerville, who’s previous credits include Sheryl Crowe, Everclear, Smashmouth, and many others. Through Dean, Chris was even fortunate enough to employ the creative talents of Jeff Trott, long time collaborator with Sheryl Crowe, and other well-known local names.

Now he’s taking his demo and new songs to Northwest coffee shops and restaurants. He fills them up. Audiences are delighted when they have the opportunity to hear his piano-strong ballads and guitar-heavy songs that speak of the fears and hopes of his generation.