“There are only two types of music: good and bad.”
Chris Schutz’s debut album is the music of real life—at times a really tough life—once filled with misery, rejection, pain… and an all-too-real fall into drugs and dark days. Call it confessional music, if you will (Chris does), but there’s no pity party being thrown here. Chris tells all from the vantage point of a much better place—a life now brimming with promise, discovery, genuine excitement, and love. The music in Gemini is all good.
This is Chris’s story. His words. His music. His reflections. Carefully reconstructed, as if from shards of memory, both verbal and musical, into a picture of surprising beauty.
The Tourists
An accomplished music producer in his own right, Chris has brought together a group of talented creative professionals as contributors and collaborators, forming a versatile studio ensemble and the nucleus of his tight live performance and traveling band—a flexible group he appropriately calls “The Tourists”.
Steph Hayes: acclaimed singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Arista Records refugee, formerly with Stargazer Lilly and now her own band, The Good Problems. Steph and Chris have toured and recorded together for many years.
Ron DiSilvestro: Session drummer/percussionist, and recording engineer. Ron has been in high demand lately, working steadily on both coasts.
Eric Hoyer: Rock, guitar (both). Eric has been instrumental in Chris’ success and day-to-day management. He’s a damn fine guitarist, too.
Justin DiFebbo: Kick-ass keyboards, Hammond organ, and Rhodes. Justin joined Chris & Nick Schnebelen’s original blues band, Killin’ Floor shortly after they moved from Kansas City to Philadelphia.
The Sound
Chris found the right people for the other side of the glass as well. If you think you’re hearing some of the famed “Philly Sound” on Gemini, it’s no accident. Chris enlisted a select group of the city’s most respected music producers for this project. Each brought his own special touch and talents to make this album as solid and satisfying as anything you’re likely to hear on the national labels.
Jay Davidson, Co-Producer: An acclaimed instrumentalist and session musician as well as a producer and engineer, Jay has played on tour and recordings with Steve Winwood, Whitney Houston, Cinderella, Taj Mahal, Phoebe Snow and many, many more. He added his hot tenor sax to Gemini, too.
Cheek Andrews, Engineer: An alumnus of Philadelphia’s famed Sigma Sound Studios, Cheek is now owner of his own studio, where most of Gemini was recorded.
Phil Nicolo, Mix: Grammy Award–winning master of the mix board, Phil is a founder of Philly’s famed Studio 4 and Ruffhouse Records. He has recorded the Hooters, Teddy Pendergrass, and Taj Mahal. Mix credits include Billy Joel's River of Dreams, the Rolling Stones’ Love Is Strong, Aerosmith's Falling In Love, and Sting's When We Dance. He’s worked with John Lennon, James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Amy Grant, Trent Reznor, Luscious Jackson, Bon Jovi...and now, Chris.
The Music
Friendly, familiar…and yet so hard to classify. If you can’t pin it down, neither can Chris. Ask about the artists who have influenced him and you’ll get a long, eclectic list—as many poets as musicians—and Gemini is filled with warm echoes from many quarters.
If this is pop, it’s deep pop. Powerfully played and thoroughly engaging. Alive with Chris’s blues roots and rock rhythms: branching into punk…with an indie twist all its own. Sometimes edgy, sometimes supremely smooth. And just as you’re lulled by Chris’ honeyed voice, he breaks out with a surprising Roy Orbison–like power and soaring harmonies created with musical “evil twin“, Steph Hayes. It all comes together in an impeccably produced studio album that’s being acclaimed as one of the best debut albums of the year.
“No matter what genre Schutz is tapping into, his dynamic voice sells you on the song--it’s damn near impossible to not sing the refrain on the choruses.”
Adam Zeilinski (thedelimagazine.com)
“This excellent album—definitely one of the top pop debuts of the year—is all about solid but dreamy pop that does much more than just float by.”
Jon Sobel, blogcritics.com, FUSETV.com
These all-original songs are as varied as the moods they re-create and the stories they tell. From a raucous almost-country-western take on lost nights, rambling visions, and some startling awakenings, “knocking around this same damn town, looking for signs of life”…to a lonely graveside lament for the high school sweetheart who had committed suicide. This is about real life. But there’s redemption and often humor in the retelling—even some of the toughest parts. And there’s triumph in the realization that this exceptional album is just the beginning of a very promising career.
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