Chris

Chris Butcher
Guitar, Vocals

There's not much mention in the recent books written about Cleveland area rock and roll history, but many of the people who are mentioned would know Chris Butcher, the singer, guitarist and songwriter from Mentor. He has played numerous Northeast Ohio venues (also mentioned in the books) since the mid-sixties. His Music Timeline reads like a who’s who of local area musicians and his singing has been compared to many of the greats.

Chris was born in Gassaway, West Virginia and was raised in the Headlands of Mentor, Ohio. There were strong family ties and frequent trips back to the hills or "back home” as his mom and dad used to say. “The music we listened to as kids was on the radio and on my father’s LP’s … hillbilly, gospel, bluegrass, the Grand Ole Opry, the Louvin Brothers, Elvis, the Everlys… later on it was the Beatles and any of the British Invasion groups. Locally it was bands such as the Mods and the Rockers. The Choir, Cyrus Erie and the Raspberries… and others."

That was the sixties. It was a thriving local music scene and Chris was hooked and became involved very early on. Chris remembers, "We played so many cool gigs in those early days. We may not have hit the big-time but it sure felt like it sometimes". They opened up shows for Dave C and the Sharptones, the Choir, Terry Knight and the Pack (later on Grand Funk Railroad), the Newbeats and Billy Joe Royal to name a few.

Chris plays electric and acoustic guitar and is proficient on bass guitar, drums, piano and harmonica. He is also an accomplished singer and songwriter and lists his major musical influences as the Beatles, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison, Rodney Crowell, Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Rick Nelson, Gram Parsons and Chris Isaak.

Chris has been in sixteen bands since 1965 and has worked with countless area musicians over the years. He has won the Music City Song Festival Award and the Billboard Magazine Award for his singing and songwriting. He owns Fortega Recording Studio and has recorded many local acts including the Silver String Band, Quasi Qua, EZ Crossing and others as well as working on his own projects. Chris studied music, audio recording, engineering and electronics and scored among the highest in the nation (earning a music scholarship) on the Society of Professional Audio Recording Studios’ [SPARS] National Studio Exam in 1986.

Chris' association with Fred Grupe led to his latest project... a collaboration with five other musicians in a band called Abbey Rodeo. Along with Fred, Verne McClelland, Bob Yocum, Debbie Daniels and Vince Lesso, Chris has been playing at area venues for the past few years continuing his long musical journey. According to Chris, "I'm so lucky to be playing music which such truly excellent musicians. In Abbey Rodeo, we share a similar vision for the music and everyone is so nice to work with and so musically competent. We have fun and we really love performing!"

"Music is one of the constants in my life. It's given me many opportunities and good experiences." The opportunity to work with his son was a special experience. Chris's son, Justin Butcher, was the original drummer in Abbey Rodeo. Justin left the band in 2005 to play bass guitar and pursue other musical projects. Chris says, "It's quite gratifying for me to see Justin develop into such a wonderful musician. In some small way I feel like I've passed something on to him. I'm very proud of him and his talents and of what he's really accomplished on his own."

Chris hopes to continue on with Abbey Rodeo as long as folks want to hear them. He loves to sing the favorites that we all love to hear. Going forward, he wants to focus on the talents of each of the band members by showcasing more original compositions and recording a new Abbey Rodeo CD.

Chris on performing live:
"I know thousands of songs and have performed most of them countless times. Trying to keep the show fresh and exciting is what you have to do. For the sake of the audience and the musicians. When the audience seems to enjoy the music so much, it's like I'm jumping on a roller coaster and taking them and myself on a ride. It's a real thrill to play these songs for people."

Chris on playing covers:
"No one can say that playing covers is not a creative process... where do they think all that noise is coming from then?"

Chris on songwriting:
"Writing songs... now that's another story. Sometimes song ideas seem to come from somewhere outside of yourself. Your job is really to record them and arrange them into a finished song using your own musical and lyrical sensibilities. Music that never existed before brought to life... that's creativity!"

Chris on the studio:
"Call me a gearhead but I love recording and all of the high tech gadgets in the studio. Recording is great fun and is a very satisfying part of the creative process of songwriting. As far as drum machines, sequencers and certain other studio technologies go, I've used them all and I've come full circle back to real musicians playing real instruments in the studio."