Chris Scanlon - guitar, vocals
Carrie Ferguson - keyboards, vocals
Will Sytsma - drums, mandolin, guitar
James Lowe - bass
Nate Smiley - violin
JOIN CHRIS SCANLON'S MAILING LIST:
Influences
THESE DAYS: The Wrens, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Yorn, Wilco, Kathleen Edwards, Erin McKeown, Damien Rice, Dennis Crommett, Lucinda Williams, Spouse, Sleater-Kinney (RIP), Feist, Jesse Malin, Dayna Kurtz
THOSE DAYS: Pete Townshend/The Who, Bruce Cockburn, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Liz Phair, U2, Fab Four, Micheal Hedges, Innocence Mission, Talking Heads, The Police/Sting
Chris Scanlon would like you to know that you don’t need to have come of age in New Jersey to connect to the stories and characters on his debut solo CD U-Turn. The themes he sings about are universal (or perhaps it’s just that so many of us have passed through New Jersey’s portals that they just seem so?). Scanlon, a former yet forever Jersey Boy himself, didn’t set out to write a song cycle about his youth in the Garden State. Still he thinks there’s a little New Jersey in all of us. He’s a songwriter with an enthusiastic following in Northampton, MA, a competitive music market. He moves easily from rock to folk, ballads to anthems, with a little scat and funk thrown in. In other words, Chris Scanlon is not your typical singer-songwriter.
U-Turn (2007, Plaid Jacket Records) is Chris Scanlon's first full-length solo album. Recorded at Sow’s Ear Studios with engineer/producer Scot Coar (Angry Johnny and the Killbillies), it features Afro-percussion master Tony Vacca (Sting, Gokh-bi System), Maggie Nowinski (Thrillpillow), New York City jazz trumpeter Greg Glassman and singer-songwriter and fellow Plump alumni Carrie Ferguson. On u-turn Scanlon takes us to his Jersey shore, full of old ghosts, tired battles, disrupted homes and strong bloodlines. The album is a snapshot of New Jersey from his very own family album, reminding us what we strive to take with us when we leave home, and what we struggle to leave behind. U-Turn is about achieving our goals and dreams despite the hypnotic pull of the past.
As a solo artist, Chris has won wide recognition in the area, having been chosen to participate in the singer-songwriter event juried by WRSI 95.3 The River in 2003, 2004 and 2007 (The River was named one of Rolling Stone’s top ten radio stations). Chris was also nominated for best singer-songwriter in the Valley Advocate Grand Band Slam and has performed with Dayna Kurtz, Pete Seeger, and most recently at the Cape May Singer-Songwriter conference in New Jersey featuring Geoffrey Gaines.
Prior to his solo career, Chris was a founding member of Plump, a folk/rock/pop combo based in Northampton. Between 1998 and 2005, the band released 3 EPs; shared the stage with Melissa Ferrick, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Erin McKeown, Tin Hat Trio, Philip Price (Winterpills) and more; and gained a strong fan base and critical acclaim throughout the area. The Daily Hampshire Gazette lauded their “draw-you-in-sound” and WRSI predicted, “(these) guys should make an album and become famous and rich.” In 2001, Plump placed in the top 3 in the Skiffle Sessions band contest.
Chris Scanlon began his music career at the age of 5, performing along with his family’s copy of Magical Mystery Tour on his brother’s tennis racquet, which earned him recognition is his household as “the fifth Beatle.” His brushes with fame include almost having met Bruce Springsteen five times; cooking dinner for Clarence Clemons while working in a natural foods restaurant; and a chance backstage encounter with the late Michael Hedges, an influential moment which inspired him to write songs himself.
It was ok. It was kind of an unofficial CD release party. We just happened to have a gig lined up the week we got our CDs back. We had a handful of friends show up. The rest of the crowd wasn't exactly our scene.
If you'd like to come on my radio show sometime to perform/promote let me know. The show airs the 2nd and 4th Saturday each month at 8pm. The next show (April 12th) we have a guest, but currently all others nights are open. I plan on recording the live performances and picking tracks from them for V.I.A. Volume 3.
Volume 2, by the way, is pretty much done. It sounds great, the layout designer is just picking out fonts and we're trying to find a place to have the CD release show.
Great meeting you in Cape May. Thanks for finding me prior to that-- sorry I could not remember you-- but now I do :)--You sound great! Sorry I missed your show. If you are in NYC on Sat., March 29th, we are doing some ethnic (Russian, Klezmer, etc) music if you want to check us out (not too many origianls though). Here are the details: Come hear us play at this historic Eastern European venue on Saturday, March 29th at 9PM. Only $5 cover, and FREE admission to FIRST FIVE RSVPs! Put on your dancing shoes and start your evening right by dancing to the Russian Gypsy music. http://www.myspace.com/mehanata http://www.mehanata.com/ http://www.sonicbids.com/mila2 MEHANATA BULGARIAN BAR 113 Ludlow (btw Rivington & Delancey) New York, New York
Thanks for being a friend! The Scarlett Fever has a mission to be as entertaining as you can stand. Feel free to check out some tunes from our album, “The Best of 10 Months of Classics”! Cheers!
Hi Chris. Thanks for the request. We're playing at the same exact time as you on Friday, so we won't be able to catch your show. :-( Hope to meet you @ the conference though. :-) Peace, K&A
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the weekend of music. I hope to catch your show. There's so much going on that weekend; it's going to be a lot of fun! See you soon.
Thanks for the add! Looking forward to playing SS Cape May Singer Songwriter with you. I'm playing C-View Inn, Friday, 3/7, at 11:45PM. Great tunes by the way!
I have a radio show on 90.7 WTCC, the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month at 8pm. More details and my mailing address are in my blog. Please check it out. I'm seeking local music to play on the show.
You sound good, man. I'd be your bass player if I weren't already in too many bands and the strings on my bass weren't about 4 inches above the fretboard.
Come see the Ambigs tonight at the 11s if you can!
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