Description

“Vampire Hotel” is the second release from award-winning soul, RnB, monster, Chris Kirby. “Heavily influenced by New Orleans Rhythm & Blues and Motown Soul, but rooted in the rich Newfoundland tradition of storytelling, Vampire Hotel offers a unique and refreshing brand of music from a truly original artist.” (chriskirbyonline.com). Chris is a multi-talented performer. He is an accomplished guitarist and piano player and an equally impressive singer. He’s got a huge amount of charisma and conviction as an entertainer and is one of the most heartfelt writer/performers in the province. This record sees Chris focus more on piano based tunes. He really digs in on some notable Rhodes piano tunes and his chops as a player are outstanding. He has an uncanny ability to emote through his fingers just as well as through his voice and the combination of the two is exciting and fresh. He is backed by one of the most noteworthy rhythm sections in Atlantic Canada The Marquee, featuring Mark Marshall on drums and Craig Follett on bass give the tunes a solid backbone allowing Chris to run all over the songs with virtuosic guitar and piano riffs. No matter how wild the solos get they always keep the tunes locked down to perfection. The album, which won the 2009 Music Newfoundland and Labrador award for Best Blues/Jazz recording and garnered four East Coast Music award nominations, was produced by Gordie Johnson (Big Sugar, Grady) and some of the tracking was done at Willie Nelson’s studio in Texas. Johnson brought an edge to the album that really gives it some grit. Listening to the record you can hear allusions to some of Chris’s influences. As a writer, he takes some cues from greats like Randy Newman and Colin James and these artists also inform elements of song structure and performance. These are favourable comparisons, of course, but it is also clear that Chris has undoubtedly defined himself as truly gifted and unique artist in Newfoundland and, indeed Atlantic Canada and beyond.