...Chris
grew up in and around New York City and moved to Boston in 1986. His
first distinguished foray into rock was in 1990 as the drummer for slow-core
progenitors Codeine, who by themselves seemed to establish a whole new
sub-genre in music. After an LP and EP released over two years, Chris
left Codeine to play exclusively in Come, with whom he'd been playing
guitar for about a year as well. This superb outfit, led by singer/guitarist
Thalia Zedek, released four celebrated albums on the Matador label plus
numerous singles. Theirs was a dark, sometimes blues-inflected rock
vision, one in which Brokaw's majestically raw guitar made for many
a wide eye. The band exited quietly from the scene this year, even as
Zedek completed her own solo work with backup by, you guessed it, Chris
and others from the Come family.
Throughout
the last six years Chris has held even more moss at bay during his multiple
contributions to other acts. These include: stints as guitarist for
the Steve Wynn band, led by ex-Dream Syndicate founder; drummer for
The Willard Grant Conspiracy; one of four renowned guitarists in the
band Pullman, also harboring Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise, Directions in
Music), Doug McCombs (Eleventh Dream Day, Brokeback), and Curtis Harvey
(Rex); and drummer in The New Year, a post-Bedhead construction by the
brothers Kadane. Chris has indeed long been involved in a phenomenal
body of work, the quality of which would seem to be unmatched.
So why
hasn't he ventured forth previously to stand on his own? "No one
asked me to," was his response. That is, until a couple years ago
when Doug McCombs suggested he open up for Brokeback in a live setting.
"Yeah, that's who's responsible for the mess we're in now,"
Chris offers. A more remarkable mess you're unlikely to have ever heard.
But he does in fact get a little bit of help, as Matt Kadane of Bedhead
plays the organ and Thalia Zedek adds vocals to "Bricks,"
the first of the two tracks presented here.
And you'd
be wise to stay tuned: Chris has a full-length instrumental album entitled
"Red Cities" in the can and due out sometime in early 2002.
Plus he'll be embarking on his first "solo tour" in October,
opening for and accompanying Evan Dando on five dates in Australia.
