Showcase

July 13 Showcase – Chris Anderson

Songwriter E. Christine (Chris) Anderson, a D.C. area native, has been playing electric guitar, mandola, and harmonica in Northern Virginia church bands for the past decade.  She's also been a player/singer in several now-defunct bands - some of which made it out of the basement, including Metro West, New Town Hope, and Fable Fountain.  Anderson enjoys playing annually in the Mamapalooza Festival with her girl buddies, bassist Viqui Dill (Dill Pickers), guitarist Patrice Moerman, and drummer Katy Johnson (manager of  musiciantemps.com), as part of the band Hot Flash. She's hoping that her friend and local favorite Kim Melton will join her for part of her showcase at the Folk Club.

Chris’ songwriting accomplishments include a Biblical pop rock musical that she decided to record after first productions at Jammin' Java (Vienna, VA) and Floris United Methodist Church (Herndon, VA) in 2002.  A truly independent artist, she created a niche record label & music publishing company, A.M.TuneShop, and after interviewing several producer/engineers, hired Heidi Gerber (All Access Audio) who had just launched her own studio/audio production company.  Tracks were recorded at several local studios, including Bias Recording (Springfield), the bygone studios at Jammin' Java, All Access Audio (then in Reston), and Cue Studios (Falls Church.)  Studio musicians for the project are all D.C. based, and include guitarists Paul Bell (Nighthawks) and Steve Mutter, drummers Andy Hamburger and Stan McMullen, saxophonist Chris Watling (Grandsons), percussionist Pete Jarkunas, violinist Bob Spates, and the late Wade Matthews on bass.  Vocalists were D.C. area theatrical singers Sherri Edelen, Janine Gulisano, Eric Lee Johnson, Sean McLaughlin, Russell Sunday, R. Scott Thompson, and Tim Tourbin.

In 2003, Chris entered the klezmer-esque pop tune “Their Leader” from  her project "WAiT - it's a Musical!” in a Grammy in the Streets demo contest sponsored by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) and Broadcast Music International (BMI).  She won, and then created rehearsal materials, a radio show, accompaniment tracks, and related live-stage performance products.  Since 2003, the show has been nationally broadcast in its entirety on XM Radio, with stage productions by amateur groups in twelve states, India, and Australia.  

Anderson has always been more interested in writing songs than performing.  "I love to hear other people singing my songs - then I know my work can stand on its own."  Lately, however, she wants to perform. "I'm getting into writing protest songs, since the concept of having representatives who actually represent us is now a novelty.  When doing the will of either political party becomes more important than the issue requiring leadership, something is terribly wrong with the system and the elected leaders. As a songwriter, you can cut to the chase in a way that gets people thinking."

She is affiliated with performing rights organizations BMI and Sound Exchange, and is a voting member of NARAS, the Grammy organization. Her music is licensed for commercial use through Pump Audio/ Getty Images, and can be heard in the background of productions for the Travel Channel and The Women's Entertainment Network (WeTv).  Songs from "WAiT-it's a Musical!" are available online through iTunes, Rhapsody, Walmart.com, and other major online music retailers; CDs can be purchased through CDBaby.com (1-800-BUY-MYCD.)   To find out more about presenting "WAiT-It's a Musical!" or to purchase pre-release singles of protest songs, visit her website: www.amtuneshop.com.

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