WAVE is available on CDBaby, iTunes, Amazon, and just about anywhere music is sold or streamed online.
EARLY ONLINE FEEDBACK:
“Heard you on 'Mark and Brian' this morning. You made a new fan today and I will tell my friends about you. Keep rockin!” – Justin
“Where did this come from? A fantastic record and I’m a full on music snob.” – Kid Kilowatt
“You have a really great voice and you write great songs!” – The Brazen Heads
“Phantom Love! Amazing Song! And your voice is awesome...” – Kiki Girl
“OK so definitely Blow Away is pretty amazing.” – Brad the Great
“Loved the video... Even my 14 month old daughter was in awe, she hopped right on my lap to listen!” – Katillac
“Damn u have such an amazing voice!” – Rachel
“I'm absolutely in love with your music.” – HeelsOverHead
“Chris Blake rules!!! Love ur music!” – Luuuckie Darling Res
“Wow! Your music is AMAZING!” – Cameron Anetsky
“Hey... That Phantom Love song… OMG… Love it.” – Fiz Rahim
“Great music and killer vocals.” – John Ray Carter
MORE ABOUT CB:
Chris Blake writes alternative pop/rock songs about relationships, global warming and Steve Perry.
Listen.com once wrote, ”Blake doesn't hit you over the head with his acute emotional awareness. Like a good artist, he waits by the door, strumming his guitar faithfully and hoping you'll hear what a sweet, insightful guy he really is.”
Stubborn in its moodiness but unshakably melodic, Chris Blake’s new album WAVE was named to evoke a number of things—a sudden rush of feeling, a disturbance, a movement. While the album spans many genres of popular music—from country and progressive rock to folksy hip hop and 80s pop—each song retains a familiar feel, adding to the album’s overall sense of yearning and powerlessness.
The album kicks off with “Phantom Love,” a Depeche Mode-injected Kurt Cobain anthem for the dispossessed, followed by the apocalyptic “Party on the Last Iceberg.” With its eerie tremolo guitar-and-concertina combo anchored by a "We Will Rock You-ish" hip hop beat, the song is already catching on with club DJs in Southern California—suggesting there may be a few partiers on that last iceberg after all. Featured songs also include “How Journey Saved My Life,” a nostalgic look back on the days when the princes of pop ruled the airwaves, and “Trains,” which evokes the haunting urgency of Springsteen’s “Candy’s Room” or the Spinto Band’s “Oh Mandy.” But the album’s most mournful moment is when Blake drifts into Dixie Chicks territory with “Mean It Now,” a mandolin-and-guitar driven ballad that laments how global turmoil renders even the strongest of relationships a little less reliable.
In college, he penned "Burning Houses," which became the official song for USC’s presentation of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. As a music student he was also privileged to glean songwriting tips from his hero Jackson Browne.
Blake’s previous effort APARTMENT, which garnered the interest of A&M Records and Arista Records, also lent songs to several independent films, including "Silent Hearts" starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste from the hit show "Without a Trace." But the closest Blake has come to stardom (or infamy) was when he almost got into a car accident with who he swears was Bono in Westwood Village one foggy night.
Blake has played some of the most storied clubs in Los Angeles and New York, including Whisky A Go Go, Coconut Teazer, Molly Malone’s, Cafe Figaro, Cafe Sine and Sidewalk Cafe.
movies
Anything Woody Allen, Royal Tenenbaums, Sideways, Fargo, Godfather, Gattaca, Casablanca, Memento, Glengarry Glen Ross, Ordinary People, Harold & Maude, Ed Wood, Toy Story, The Fugitive, Pulp Fiction, Matrix, Snatch, It's a Wonderful Life
tv shows
30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords, Biography, SNL
actors
Spencer Tracy, Paul Giamatti, Harrison Ford, Laura Linney, Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Depp, Jack Lemmon, Meryl Streep, Cary Grant, William H. Macy, De Niro, Michael Caine, Hanks, Hackman, Jack
Band Members
The performers on WAVE are: Chris Blake: Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, harmonicaDave Chamberlin: Electric guitars, bass, percussion, keyboards, drum programming, mandolin, backing vocals, and tambourineHeather Senner: Backing vocalsWAVE was produced by David Chamberlin and Chris Blake.
Influences
10,000 Maniacs, Aimee Mann, Ani DiFranco, Beatles, Beck, Belle & Sebastian, Ben Folds, Ben Harper, Bjork, Bob Dylan, Boston, Bruce Springsteen, Built to Spill, Cake, Cars, Cat Stevens, Catherine Wheel, Chris Isaak, Counting Crows, Cranberries, Crowded House/Neil Finn, Damien Rice, Dar Williams, David Gray, Dave Matthews, David Wilcox, Dido, Don McLean, Edie Brickell, Ednaswap, Eels, Egil Olsen, Elliot Smith, Elvis Costello, Emma Pollack, Everclear, Fall Out Boy, Fiona Apple, Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters, Frank Black/Pixies, Get Up Kids, Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Hole, Howie Day, Indigo Girls, Innocence Mission, Jack Johnson, Jackson Browne, James, Jeff Buckley, JET, John Mellencamp, John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Journey/Steve Perry, Juanes, Jump Little Children, Keane, Kent, Killers, Kings of Leon, Led Zepplin, Lemonheads, Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, Loudon Wainwright III, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Magnetic Fields, Mana, Marc Cohn, Marie Digby, Matthew Sweet, Men at Work, Michael Penn, Moody Blues, Morrissey/The Smiths, Muffs, My Chemical Romance, New Frontiers, New Pornographers, Nick Drake, NIN, Nirvana, Oliver Mtukudzi, Otis Redding, Paul Roessler, Pavement, Paul Simon, Patty Griffin, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, Police/Sting, Polyphonic Spree, Postal Service, Queen, Radiohead, Randy Newman, R.E.M., Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, Sara McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, Shins, Sia, Sinead O’Connor, Snow Patrol, Spin Doctors, Spinto Band, Stevie Wonder, Story, Strokes, Sufjan Stevens, Tammany Hall NYC, The Fray, The La’s, Thin Lizard Dawn, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Tracy Chapman, Trash Can Sinatras, Travis, U2, Van Morrison, Velvet Underground, Wallflowers, Warren Zevon, Weezer, White Stripes, Wilco
Website
myspace.com/chrisblakemusic
BUY NEW CD:
www.myspace.com / chrisblakemusic
