Born in a cabin in the woods of Bothell, Washington, Chris Riffle has lived in and around the Northwest most of his life. Chris spent a good portion of his childhood learning to live simply, with no electricity or running water. This gave his dad ample time to write and sing his own folk songs around the fire at night, and inspired Chris to pursue a career in music himself. He went on to college at a liberal art school, Fairhaven College, in Bellingham Washington and studied audio recording.
Throughout high school and into college, he was a founding member of Chrysler-Stewart and the Stewartesses-- a lounge pop ensemble borrowing styles from Sergio Mendez and the Brasil 66, the B-52s, Jan & Dean, and Combustible Edison. Chris played guitar, bass, keyboards and sang for the group.
In college, he started branching out on his own and singing and recording his own songs. One of these singles "Wonderboy" made its way to KUGS-FM and became a local favorite... "Evidently, I wasn’t the only one enamored of Chris. Through my incessant phone calls to KUGS to demand they play one or the other of the two songs they had in their rotation, I found out that his songs were among the most requested.” Carey Ross – What’s Up Magazine. . . .
He quickly began opening for acts like Death Cab for Cutie, Mary Lou Lord and Dub Narcotic Sound System and made a substantial splash on the Bellingham, WA music scene. A favorite of Bellingham radio stations, he got signed and recorded his first album but the record label went under before they ever released it.
Chris now lives in the East Village in New York City and just released an album “Introducing...” with producer Jimi Zhivago. They celebrated a January 2010 release to a packed house at The Living Room. Many NYC musicians are featured on the album, including (Antony and the Johnson's cello player) Julia Kent. This album was recorded at The Maid's Room, the NY studio used for Patti Smith, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and many more. It was mixed by Grammy winner Steve Rosenthal at The Magic Shop. Much more to come later this year, including a video debut, national tour dates, and a Q&A session with well-respected music critic, John Norris. WGTB-FM (a reputable D.C. station) recently picked Chris for their Artist of the Week then went on to say, "Catch him before he's a big deal-- he's not even on YouTube yet. Seriously."
Press Contact:
Holly Garman
mhsgarman@earthlink.net
917.532.4551
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