The members of A-Souls have been around for many years. Over the years the band has seen many changes in the drums and percussion area. Back in the summer of 1992, Chris joined up with ASTEROTH (The old band name) to help create a whole new band. A-Souls has worked very hard over the years to create a sound and style to distinguish them from other Rock bands. Chris helped to bring new styles and influences into the band.
Chris has been playing the drums for Fourteen years now and has had instruction from 3 different teachers. He was involved in a few bands and projects before teaming up with the members of ASTEROTH. "It's very hard to find the right combination of musicians to form a band", says Chris about finding A-Souls. "There are so many bands out there that have really good musicians but the styles or ego's clash. I auditioned for many bands where one of the band members was a fantastic bass player but the guitarist was not too experienced. It's also hard to find a vocalist who wants to be part of the band, instead of being "the band". When I auditioned for A-Souls I wasn't looking for a Heavy Metal Drumming situation. I was playing with people who were into funk and Hard Rock that wasn't so heavy. I had been auditioning for bands of all kinds and styles; not only to find a permanent band but to meet some new people (People are connections) and get more experience. I saw ASTEROTH/A-Souls' ad in the Illinois Entertainer and it said, "Heavy Metal drummer needed for......". I had a double bass kit but I wasn't jamming with anybody that was into double bass rhythms.
So I called the ad, and went out to meet Scott the guitarist at his home. We went to there practice place near by and I heard a demo of ASTEROTH. The demo was a copy of a copy and the quality was poor. The music was a lot different than the tunes I was use to jamming. It seemed like a challenge to learn 3 or 4 songs in a weeks time and try out for the band. I listened to the demo tape over and over and made some notes. I tried my best to learn the songs and add my own style while doing so.
I went to meet the rest of the band a week after I met Scott. Scotty (The Bassist) and John (The Vocalist) were very cool to me and helped me load in my gear. We talked for a while and decided to try one of their tunes. After the first song, Scott complimented me on my timing and for the way I changed the feel of the song. I told him I could play it the way the previous drummer did, but I'd prefer not to. Scott said that was great and we tried the next two songs I learned. I was a little sketchy on the last song that I had played at the audition. It was a double base, multi tempo, song with a lot of changes. I felt pretty good about how I did.
Scott asked me to come back and jam the next week and it just kind of took off from there. I started learning 2 to 3 songs a week on the average. I worked really hard because even though nothing was said, I knew it was a trial period that I was on. I learned 12 songs in the first 2 months that I was in A-Souls. I think the band needed someone new to bring some new ideas and to help get excited about playing out, recording and trying to make something work. We started practicing 3 times a week at CRC studios in downtown Chicago and it started getting pretty expensive.
After 6 months I recorded "Alone and Cold with ASTEROTH. A producer that worked out of CRC asked the band if we would like to record a demo for just the price of the recording tape. We agreed and we spent some time together in the studio. During the time that had past I became good friends with all of my bandmates and their friends. I really felt comfortable in a short amount of time.
Now the band members take an annual trip down to Scott's summer home in Arkansas. The Arkansas Trip
Chris'
setup
Chris'
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