<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Christopher James</title>
    <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315</link>
    <description><![CDATA[One only needs to look beyond his intensely green eyes, mostly hidden behind the dark mirrored shades, to see the driven and road hardened musician that connects with his audience. Raised under the shadow of the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, his parents were performing musicians, so his family lived between the extremes of having money--or not. But through his upbringing in a lower income apartment in Nashville, TN, Chris developed an honest outlook that identifies with the struggles of daily life for the working family. 

Encouraged by his parents, Chris was fueled by his families' love of music. He started training vocally at age 10 and was soon performing with the Nashville Children's Choir at Carnegie Hall in New York of all places. With the restlessness typical of youth, he began searching for something more. Expanding to guitar at age 13, then after attending a local blues jam session at a dive bar with his father, Chris began a new journey of exploration and took to jamming like barbeque sauce on a rib. In spite of his early blues influence, he then left on tour at age 15, becoming the front man/vocalist for a successful regional hard rock group called Against The Grain. He toured the southeast playing live shows for 3 1/2 years, opening for acts such as Revis (Epic), Scatter The Ashes (Epitaph), and Atreyu (Hollywood Records). He was living every kid's American dream--or so he thought at the time. 

A life changing event made Chris to reconsider the path he was on. In August of 2004, his best friend and band mate William Hinds committed suicide. This forced Chris to reconsider what he valued. He took time off to heal and introspect on what matters the most in life: love, family, and friends. Remembering back to his long talks with his Grandparents--the pillars of stability and love in his youth, Chris recalled their lessons of faith, life and love. With this advice and time, and the loving support from his longtime girlfriend Madalyn Jannasch--he has finally come home and is climbing in with both boots on for a pursuit of a career in American blues music--a music that reaches deeper into who he is than ever before. 

Can he sing? Chris is a skilled musician on guitar, bass, and mandolin. However, his raw emotion is best displayed by his vocals, where he connects with his heart, showing the passion that drives him--communicating and working out the pain that still moves him, singing with a brutal honesty that never fails to connect to his audience. Chris is more than simple blues--like a good Cajun spice, he is flavored with many complex flavors from the best performing icons such as Albert King, Johnny Cash, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hank Sr., ZZ-Top, John Lee Hooker, and Ray Charles. 

Not afraid to risk it all, Chris still works out angst as an amateur boxer in his spare time. He laughingly boasts that he has already broken his nose twice. Working at everything from construction worker, pizza maker, and janitor, it all makes Chris who he is. Chris James realizes that music expresses life's common threads, so "singing about what is real is the most important part of my style." "The songs I write or perform have to connect to me at the deepest level--whether it be about wasting time during the summer with your best friend, or even lost love; ...what matters is that you sing what is close to your heart." Chris James is now in production for his latest recording and we expect to hear more from Chris in a big way. 

By: David Herrera

]]></description>
    <generator>Virb 2.0 (@1756063810302315)</generator>
    <language>en</language>
    <item>
      <title>I Cant Wear Black</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/audio/267162</link>
      <description><![CDATA[]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:18:35 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/audio/267162</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>n34102395_31144548_7257</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567884</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567884"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178918-n34102395_31144548_7257.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:29:32 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567884</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>n34102395_31144538_8495</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567883</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567883"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178917-n34102395_31144538_8495.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:29:30 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567883</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>kennedy9.309.31 044</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567882</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567882"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178916-kennedy930931044.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:29:27 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567882</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>kennedy9.309.31 024</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567881</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567881"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178915-kennedy930931024.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:29:24 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567881</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>CFTurn</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567880</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567880"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178914-CFTurn.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:28:05 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567880</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>CFSmile</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567879</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567879"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178913-CFSmile.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:28:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567879</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>CFSideSmall</title>
      <link>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567878</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<a href="http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567878"><img src="http://g.virbcdn.com/i/resize_575x575/Image-218686-1178912-CFSideSmall.jpg" /></a>]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Mar 2008 10:27:55 -0700</pubDate>
      <guid>http://virb.com/1756063810302315/photos/1567878</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
