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NEWS March 2008 The year has been a busy one already. The Bluebeat Lounge 5th Anniversary show was an amazing night and sold out!! I spent two weeks touring in Brazil with Firebug, an excellent band from Sao Paulo. I just came back from headlining Block Party 2008 in New Orleans. Next on the travel agenda is a return to Mexico for my first ever Monterrey show. The CMC album, Why So Rude, is being prepared for an April release in Japan through Ska In The Word Records. I'm projecting a similar release schedule here through Unstrictly Roots. I'll definitely keep everyone posted regarding the new album. It sounds great!! November 2007 I haven't really become more frequent with my news updates, but here's what's happening these days. Chris Murray Combo recently recorded an album with Victor Rice while he was in town. Victor will be mixing the tracks in Brazil in January and we're projecting the release will happen around April. CMC is very excited to have recorded an album, and we're planning to do some touring in 2008!! Bluebeat Lounge is closing in on 5 years of shows - incredible!! Stay tuned for the announcement of the 5th Anniversary bill. It will be a great night. Looking back on 2007, I'd like to thank Regatta 69, King Django, Dr. Ring Ding and Motha Nature for all the crazy times on Ska Mutiny. Thanks also to Steve Borth and Satori for the good times in England, and One Night Band for a great tour across Canada this fall. February 2007 Someone pointed out to me that I hadn't updated my news section for a long time, so I'm correcting that now. The reason for no recent updates is so much going on rather than nothing to report. The biggest news is that I'm starting up a small label, Unstrictly Roots, partnering with Robin Strauss, who has been helping me with Bluebeat Lounge for the past few years. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time, and the time has come. The first release will be Slackness, the album I recorded with The Slackers, which is currently available only in Japan. Slackness will pressed in time for The Skatalites show at Knitting Factory on Tuesday March 13. The label website is being constructed and more news and announcements will be forthcoming soon. The second release, due out in April, will be for Rizorkestra, a blues oriented artist who performs an incredible solo act. I can't say enough about Riz. I hope you'll all check out his fantastic album once it's pressed. I took a few cool trips in the fall, to British Columbia, Hawaii and Mexico. In particular, my trip to Mexico was intense. There's a blog about Mexico on my myspace page detaling some of my experiences. Most recently, I played in Montreal, Toronto and St. Catharines. Thanks to everyone who came out and made the shows such a great time. Upcoming tour plans include UK dates with Satori in April and Europe dates with Regatta 69, King Django and Dr. Ring Ding late April through May. It feels like forever since I've been in Europe. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Tour dates will be posted as soon as avalable. So, that's what's up with me right now. July 2006 There's not a lot of news to report. I decided to keep off the road for a while. I'd been on the road almost constantly for two years and it was time to be at home a little. I've been putting a lot of energy into writing songs, both on my own and with other writers. Some great songs have come of this. Over the years I've found that, for me, waves of writing activity come and go. Right now I'm in a wave of heavy writing, so I'm just going with that. In June, I had the remarkable privilege of hosting rehearsals with Alton Ellis, Pat Kelly and Rico Rogriguez in my home. I expect to on the road again sometime this fall, but there's nothing solid to report at this time. Have a great summer! February 2006 Again, life is good. I just came back from a week in Brazil and a week in Argentina. It was an incredible experience. In January I participated in the first ever ska festival in Brazil. It was a three day event and all three shows sold out. The Slackers headlined the first two nights. On the third night, I played a collaborative set with Victor Rice and Firebug, an excellent Brazilian roots ska band. We were also joined by Vic Ruggiero and Dave Hillyard for several songs. It was a wonderful musical moment. Click here for video of The Real Ska!! The following day Firebug, The Slackers and I played to a sold out venue in Rio de Janeiro. Again, an amazing experience. The next week I played three shows in and around Buenos Aires, Argentina. All the shows were excellent and unique. One was at a local weekly dub night. Another, with Satelite Kingston, was in a sweaty basement punk club so packed 100 people had to be turned away - intense!! The final show was an ultra-relaxed backyard party where I played with three local singer-songwriters. Todo fue muy bueno. Big thanks to Bruno, Rodrigo, Victor Rice and Firebug in Sao Paulo, and Daniel Flores and Satelite Kingston in Buenos Aires, and to all the other great friends, old and new, on my trip. I'll be back soon! December 2005 Life is good. Bluebeat Lounge is rapidly approaching the three year mark. Details on the 3rd Anniversary show, featuring The Debonaires, Buck-O-Nine, Chris Murray Combo, Satori, The Phenomenauts and Soul Captives, are listed in the tour dates section. Shortly after Christmas I head to frosty Fort Morgan, CO for two weeks to produce an album for rock-ska monsters Synthetic Elements. I'll be braving the elements in more ways than one! Later in January, I'm going to Brazil to take part in the first ever Brazilian ska festival, which will also include performances by The Slackers, Desorden Publico, Victor Rice and Firebug!! More details coming soon. August 2005 This has been a great summer. CMC just returned from our second Japan tour, which was fantastic. The highlight was definitely playing the Fuji Rock Festival - what an incredible experience!! Thanks to Akira, Nobuhiro, Hide and Hiroshi for all their support. CMC also just returned from the second annual High Desert Ska Fest in Grand Junction, CO. Again - a great experience. Big thanks to John Haberkorn, whose perserverence has made the HDSF possible these past two years. A collaborative track featuring Chris Murray and Dub City Rockers is now available online for your listening pleasure. While I was in the UK with RX Bandits last fall I visited the home studio of DCR mastermind, Frantic, and laid down a quick vocal and guitar take of We Do The Ska. Frantic took it from there. You'll be surprised!! To download for free - click here. March 2005 The past six months have been the busiest I can remember. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible. Big ups to Planet Smashers, who have now completed their sixth album!! The album title is yet to be determined - expect a release date in May. This month Slackness was released in Japan on Ska In The World Records!! Featuring excellent performances by members of The Slackers and yours truly, Slackness delivers 12 fabulous tracks ranging from reggae, rock steady and ska to rock and beyond. This is one release you will not want to miss. Information on European and US releases will be available shortly. More Japan news for March, a studio recording of Rock Steady was included on the compilation, "The 3rd Era Of Ska - North American Ska Collection", released by Justa Records. Tracks were selected Tsuyoshi Kawakami of Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. Congratulations to Hawaiian
Express Records on the release of "Roots Rock Reggae", a various
artist collection complied to benefit the Kkua Hawaii Foundation. A
live version of Rock Steady featuring Go Jimmy Go members on backing
vocals follows a previously unreleased live version of Wasting Time
by Jack Johnson - shoots bradda! January 2005 Happy New Year!! Since the last update I've toured Europe twice, playing in England, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Spain. What an incredible experience!! There are so many people deserving of thanks, but special thanks go to Lol and Sonia at Moon Ska Europe, RX Bandits, Ian Armstrong at Hidden Talent Booking, Ossi and everyone at Moskito Promotions, Dr. Ring-Ding, Soul Food International, Rotterdam Ska/Jazz Foundation and The Bust-Ups. In October 2004, Moon Ska
Europe released Chris Murray - One Everything, a "best of"
collection including tracks from all my previous solo releases, rare
and unreleased material, plus the videos for "Rock Steady"
and "Switchblade To Soul". If I say so myself, it's an excellent
package. Expect a North American release some time in 2005. This month marks the two year anniversary for Bluebeat Lounge - amazing!! The celebration will be happening in the Knitting Factory main space on Saturday, January 22 featuring The Aggrolites, Chris Murray Combo, Unsteady, Irie Beats and Los Hooligans. Bring your dancing shoes!! Through February I'll be in frosty Montreal producing the next Planet Smashers album. It's been a long time since we recorded Life Of The Party. I'm really looking forward to working with the band again. The DVD for the "Bluebeat
Lounge Goes OC" show is now finished. Copies will be available
at the Bluebeat Lounge 2nd Anniversary show Saturday, January 22. In February, a live version of "Rock Steady" featuring vocal backing by Bison, Ian and Tino of Go Jimmy Go plus Angel of The Phenomenauts will be included on the compilation release "Roots Rock Reggae: Hawaiian Islands". This collection, compiled by Jason Miller at Hawaiian Express Records, features a wide array of Hawaiian and Hawaii-connected artists. Proceeds from sales go to the Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a newly launched non-profit organization that supports environmental educational and community programs that advocate sustainable living in Hawaii. October 2004 Big ups to western Canada for all the love on the Ska Is Dead tour with Planet Smashers, Catch 22, Mustard Plug and Dan Potthast. Good to see so many old and new faces. I'll be back as soon as I can. The fall touring frenzy continues with a 5 week tour of Europe supporting RX Bandits 10/25-11/24. I'm looking forward to it!! September 2004 Chris Murray Combo conquers Japan!!! Serious thanks to everybody who helped make this happen, especially Akira at Ska In The World, Akira's mom, Nobuhiro at Disk Union, Hide, Hiroshi, Toshimi, Naoko, all the promoters and all the great bands we played with. Our first show was the 8th Annual Tokyo Ska Craze festival, which sold out at 3000 paid!! What an incredible experience. In the festival's eight years, CMC is the first foreign act to play. We are truly honored. Japan - we'll see you again next summer. Late August saw the Japanese release of "Chris Murray - Collected", a retrospective and rarities album, on Ska In The World Records. October 18 is the European release date for "One Everything", a similar retrospective and rarities package including the videos for Rock Steady and Switchblade To Soul, on Moon Ska Europe. October continues the touring frenzy with western Canada dates with Planet Smashers, Catch 22 and Mustard Plug on the Ska Is Dead tour. Following Canada, I'll be touring Europe with RX Bandits for a month, then playing another week of solo shows around the UK. June 2004 Things are rockin' for Chris Murray Combo. We are gigging like crazy and have started recording an album. Check the tour dates page for a date near you. Recent CMC highlights include three shows with the legendary Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, who are incredible! Mahalos to the folks at Fox, who recently licensed three of my songs for their fabulous TV show The North Shore. Is it time to get cable? April 2004 March and April have been a whirlwind of live shows. Thanks to everyone who came out and made them such a good time. Special highlights include the Mexico tour, which was amazing beyond my highest hopes. Muchas gracias to Chema, his family, Carlos and Ruffi for their excellent hospitality. Hawaii was also excellent, apart from taking 25 stitches to the head after a nasty shark incident at Sandy Beach. Mahalos to Go Jimmy Go for their always spectacular vibes. Bluebeat Lounge is now in its 16th month of great shows - unbelievable!! Chris Murray Combo is in its 8th month of operation. Many thanks to Ben and Jeff for being so cool on so many levels. CMC is planning to record an album in the months to come and will also be playing with Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra in both San Francisco and LA in June, and at the Summer Of Ska festival in OC in August. Vic Ruggiero is soon to begin the final mixing sessions for the album recorded with The Slackers. I can't wait to hear the results. Thanks to Vic and The Slackers for their involvement. Last but not least, "Heartache" was recently used on the popular television program The OC. As I don't have a TV myself, I'll have to take everyone's word that it was used tastefully. It's nice when that kind of thing happens. February 2004 It's been a busy month so far. I spent five days in Vancouver doing preproduction with Los Furios, an excellent band you'll be hearing more about in the future. We'll be recording their first album later this spring. CMC just got back from a great weekend in Utah. Thanks to Insatiable for bringing us out to SLC and congratulations on the new release. Over the next three weeks I'll be playing in California, Utah(again), Arizona, Hawaii and making my first tour to Mexico. Who needs sleep? January 2004 The new year is here, and it's going great already. Chris Murray Combo will be making their first out of state appearances in February with some dates in Utah. Other places - we'll get there soon. The Bluebeat Lounge anniversary show in the Knitting Factory main space was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who came out and had a good time. Thanks again to everyone who has been part of the Bluebeat Lounge experience. Show pics are posted at www.bluebeatlounge.com The sessions with The Slackers in December were also very successful and a full album of material with Slackers members backing me on my songs is now recorded. Producer Vic Ruggiero will be mixing the tracks as schedules permit. Big ups to Vic, The Slackers, Django at Version City and Ira at Jammyland. It couldn't have happened without all of you. The UK tour in December was fantastic. I started with two shows in Ireland, then played a week with The Toasters, finishing up with a handful of sundry dates through England. Thanks to The Toasters, Solabeat Alliance, Flying Marrows and all the other great acts I gigged with. Special thanks to Patrick Carayannis, Bucket, and Lol and Sonia at Moon Ska Europe for taking such great care of me while I was across the pond. Photos from the Moon Ska Europe all-dayer in London are posted at www.ska-pics.de. I'll be back for another UK tour in May. The 4-Track Adventures is now available after being out of print for three years. For the first time since 1995, everything I've ever released is currently available - awesome!! In very recent news, thanks to Roger Rivas for giving me lessons on updating websites. From now on, I'll be updating the site myself, which I'm very excited about. Stay tuned for more news soon. Hope 2004 is good to you all. November 2003 There's a lot going on
these days, a whole heap a ting mon. |