This month’s “much coveted” won’t neither be your regular musician, neither your usual fresh-from-the-shower-room person who just came in front of the camera to do YouTube. He carries the honor of defending his country and, at the same time, giving us really great music.
Meet Chris Alvarado.
Part 1
CoverCove: Hi Chris! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to feature you for this month’s Much Coveted Artist. Sorry for this question being my standard first and most boring question, but could you introduce yourself to us briefly, and how do you usually spend your day?
Chris: My name is Chris Alvarado. Im 25 and currently living just outside of Anchorage Alaska in a town called Wasilla. The reason that I live in such a crazy location is because I’m in the Military… the Air Force to be more exact (active duty, full time). I’ve been in for almost 6 years now and I am currently a Staff Sergeant. I’m originally from the panhandle of Florida, Wt. Walton Beach. On a typical day I wake up at 5:00am and get ready for work, I put on my BDU’s and head out the door by 5:45 for my 1hr drive into work. I do the grind and head home around 4:00pm if I don’t have class that night, but I have class three nights out of the week and on those night I’m at class till 10:00pm and don’t get home until 11:00pm. I’ll be graduating from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University With my Bachelors in Professional Aeronautics this May. I try to get to sleep by 11:00pm every week night.
CoverCove: I’ve seen from your MySpace page that you were being compared to James Taylor and John Mayer. If you were to choose to live the life of either two, who would you rather choose and why?
Chris: John Mayer for sure. I remember about 8 years ago my dad, who is also a musician gave me John Mayer’s “Inside What’s Out” album. His drummer had given it to him. He had no songs on the radio at the time and when I put it in my cd player I was floored. It changed the way I thought of acoustic music. Up until then I had been playing mostly finger style music and soft slow music. I thought, If only I could play and sing like that” I learned to copy his rhythm and vocal sounds and branched out from there. Turns out that he became more of a “chick music” guy when he fist became popular and that kinda bothered me because I knew how talented he really was, but since his “John Mayer Trio” release and the new outing of “Continuum” I have rediscovered him and have an all new respect for his guts. He was willing to release albums that were against the main stream in order to play what he loves and do what he does best. Plus he is younger and not bald. But I do love James Taylor.
CoverCove: I’ve also seen from your last YouTube video that you were working for the US military. This may not be the first time we see a singing soldier, but damn you’re the best! OK, I’m getting biased but have you ever considered shifting careers, like maybe singing in a bar or signing a record deal?
Chris: As mentioned above I am in the military. As it stands I do gig locally about 2-4 times a month. I do a solo thing with the same setup you see on youtube in songs like closing time. I have been doing this for about 2 years now and I love it. I only have 4 originals so I do a lot of covers. I try to stick to my theory of never doing a cover like the original. I like to give the audience a fresh take of the songs they have heard a million times on the radio. I currently cover roughly 50+ songs ranging from the 70’s to current radio play songs. But I like 90’s the best. I grew up in a family where my father was also a military man who played as a musician on the weekends. I feel that being a full time musician would be great but is very unstable as an income. Doing both gives me the opportunity to do what I love and to get a regular paycheck. I am considering getting out and getting a civilian job so that I can have more time to play out in about 2 years.
CoverCove: We also saw your Dixie Chicks cover of “Traveling Soldier.” It was really sad and I wasn’t even aware of it until I saw you singing the song. As I was reading the lyrics, it kinda hit me: why did you serve for the military in the first place?
Chris: Like I said I grew up in a family deeply rooted in the U.S. military. My grandfather served in every branch except the Marines and both my father and my Wife’s Father were career Air Force members. When the time came for me to graduate I had my eyes set on being a full time musician. I went to a local Community college to get my Recording Arts degree. It turns out that showing up to only my music classes wasn’t enough to make the grade. About half way through my first semester in college the planes hit and I felt the urge to do my part. Plus this was a way to provide a steady income for a family in the future. I signed up and was at my first day of basic on May 28th 2002.
More about Chris Alvarado this week. For the meantime, I mentioned in one of the questions about a song which he covered. I’ll show you first how it originally sounded.
Now, watch how beautifully Chris has rendered this song.
Please do watch out for the next installment of this email interview, for he answered a few more interesting questions. You can visit his MySpace Portal, and his YouTube Channel.
Part 2
I’m really sorry if this post got very late. I’ve been really swamped with stuff in my day job. Nonetheless, here’s the second and last part of Chris’s email interview.
CoverCove: Can you tell us more how you’ve become to loving music and decided to share it with us through YouTube? I saw you having original songs in your channel, and they are awesome!
Chris: I remember going to my dads gigs from the time I was still in a stroller. He plays the sax in a 4 piece called Jones and Company. The do more of an easy listening/ R&B thing. He always had Tower of Power of Chicago basting on the radio. When I was in the 6th grade I signed up for trumpet in the middle school band and excelled all the way through my 1st year in college. I went to school on a Jazz Trumpet Scholarship actually. When I was in the 7th grade I picked up a friend of mine’s Acoustic guitar and couldn’t put it down. I convinced my parents to let me buy a guitar by cutting grass and was the proud owner of a ratty Ovation soon there after. I played till my fingers bleed and haven’t put it down since. I didn’t really start singing until I was a freshman in school… you know to impress the ladies, and I guess it worked because I met my wife of 7 years my senior year.
CoverCove: I also noticed from your videos that you have months of gaps in-between publish dates of your YouTube videos. What’s more intriguing is you make a couple of videos in one session, and post them all at once. Do you plan these video sessions, or do you just go in front of the camera when you have time, and sing your heart out?
Chris: Yea I have a very busy schedule so I record them when I have a day off, which is not that often. I record a lot at once because I don’t know when I’ll have the chance to record more. I have a lot more to get done but when I have the time.
CoverCove: One crazy video I saw from your channel was the cover of “Hey Ya!” by Outkast. What got into you that made you cover such a weird song, and even make it your own? That was the most incredible cover I’ve seen in YouTube so far, BTW!
Chris: Unfortunately I cannot take credit for the cover’s originality. I found a video of a man named Matt Weddle do it before me on youtube and was totally blown away. I learned and began to cover it myself. You know how I like to twist songs into something new so this was quite the treat. I also give him credit for the cover in my video description.
CoverCove: Do you have a band or a group, or set of friends working for the music industry? I just noticed you have complete equipments / instruments when you shoot your videos.
Chris: No I don’t really like the band thing. With a band you have to organize practices and everybody has their idea of what a good song is and what is not. As a solo musician you have so much freedom on stage. If I wanna drag out a song or add a few lyrics there, I can. In a band you have to stick to what you practice. Plus you have to split the paycheck. I currently use a Jewel signature Taylor guitar, a Shure Bate 87A Mic, Shure E2 in ears for monitors, a Fender Acoustasonic Jr. amp, a 4-channel Beringer mixer, and a Boss loop pedal for my whole setup. Its simple and very effective for the venues that I play at.
CoverCove: Do you expect to make it big someday? Even dream of being a recording artist? I saw a YT comment asking if you have some sort of an album.
Chris: I don’t really have a desire to make it big. I feel that once this is achieved, an artist is forced to perform as his label demands. As a local bar/internet musician I have genuine fans who enjoy my music for what it is. I can play what I want when I want. I would love the money that “making it big” brings in but I’ll pass for the enjoyment of doing what I love. I would like to be a huge internet sensation with millions of song downloads. That would be a dream. I currently only have four original songs… I am a frustrated songwriter. So I do not have an album yet… someday I hope.
CoverCove: If you were to make a song right now, and promise to sing it with all your heart, what would be the song’s story? Of course you don’t need to make it now.
Chris: That life is what you make it. There are no excuses for being unhappy in life. If you don’t like where you are, your job, or your current relationship, change it. Make a plan and execute that plan to make your life yours. Only you can make yourself happy.
If you have more questions to ask him, you can send them by MySpace’s personal messaging or his YouTube channel. The links are provided on the “much coveted” sidebar.
And here is the video I asked about. It’s his cover version of the Outkast’s hit “Hey Ya!”. Enjoy!
Please do support his original tracks by downloading his music from his MySpace page. You can go here MySpace Site, or view his videos in his YouTube Channel.
(4.5 out of 5)
(4 out of 5)
Loading ...