Chris is a Seattle native, vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter who toiled in an array of Seattle rock n’ roll, indie, and punk bands through the years, as leader and sideman. He got his live wings schlepping his battered gear across a cross-section of Seattle stages of today and yore—The Sunset Tavern, The Crocodile Cafe, The Fun House, Chop Suey, El Corazon, and defunct but fondly remembered 206 dives like The Lobo and Sit ‘n Spin.
On the road to realizing Chris Mess, several things collided in Chris’ mind: a childhood spent listening to 1970’s Seattle radio stations like KJR and KZOK—the bright AM radio shimmer of KJR’s top 40; the heady KZOK FM hard rock playlists of that decade. Later on, a brief, hair raising time gigging in Hollywood, California. And then, contemporary life in Seattle.
The thought was: what better time to embrace the majesty of rock, the pageantry of roll—a bit of pomp to go with current circumstances. Whatever. Against odds and good sense, Chris Mess was born.
Chris writes songs and sings, Steve survived the New York City club scene to hold down the bass, Andy plays drums. The band that is Chris Mess has a sound rooted in and inspired by original era glam, rock ‘n roll, indie and power pop aesthetics: a bit of loud Cheap Trick strut, with a smattering of absurdity and vocal craziness a la Queen, Ziggy-era David Bowie, and The Sweet, and neo glam icons such as The Darkness and The Struts. Striving to move the needle forward, not back. Chris Mess has received airplay on indie radio worldwide, including Seattle’s renowned KEXP 90.3 FM, Radio Free Brooklyn, KTDT Downtown Radio Tucson, Radio Wigwam UK, Steve Vincent’s Mystery City on Scotland Rocks Radio, and Dandy’s Stardust Dive–the online station celebrating 21st Century retro-revved glam. The 2022 “In Every Disaster” EP and 2016 debut EP are available in all the usual places—with fantastical companion music videos.
IN EVERY DISASTER – 2022 EP:
NO GOOD – #2020 commentary, in a rock n’ roll wrapper.
BLINK – The anxiety of city driving, as metaphor for relationship turbulence.
DISASTER – Looking for silver linings, amidst abyss.
REQUIEM – Ziggy contemplates his persona’s end, in a conversation with a fan, as the dog end of a glam day gone by fades to Stardust.
QUEEN BITCH – A bedazzled twist on a standard.
HELLO TUSHY – The ‘end’.
NO GOOD – CHRIS MESS 2020 SINGLE:
EP preview single.
CHRIS MESS 2016 EP:
A few highlights…
SONG FOR ZED revisits and reshapes surreal dialog from the 1974 cult classic film “Zardoz” into a belated—and utterly unsolicited—glam-rock theme song, replete with 13-part “bohemian” voice harmonies.
BONG FOR YOUR MOM takes a look at Seattle’s cannabis legalization landscape, through a musical filter The Sweet might employ.
VITAMIN D paints the ceiling of an insomniac’s bedroom with vivid hallucinations.
A revved up SUFFRAGETTE CITY tips the hat to the man with the snow white tan.