Chris Staig: Press

Chris Staig

Deeper We'll Dream
****
“The former guitarist with Toronto bar-room eccentrics Taxi-Chain, Chris Staig is a power-house in a lean package.
Like some songwriting Charles Atlas, he pits muscle- against-muscle for greater strength - though in this case its achy love songs offset with jaunty melodies. But by interrupting the album's crackling flow with an unabashedly sincere - and timeless - ballad such as Honest Love, he only adds to the depth of his work. Dang purty.”
(Recommended for fans of: Blue Rodeo, The Pernice Brothers, Neil Young circa Tonight's The Night, 13 Engines/John Critchley.)

The CD cover is the Davenport sign here in Toronto, and being a Toronto girl this has a comforting appeal. Josh Hicks, in 1998, rented a house at the corner of Ossington and Davenport. The house became a place for musicians to hang out and Chris found himself there rehearsing often, which led to him moving in there and the house becoming home. A place to write music, share ideas and finally start recording this CD.
Chris Staig first gained notice in the Toronto music scene as the guitarist for Taxi Chain. His three year tenure with the bagpipe funksters was marked by incessant touring from Quebec to Texas. The 1996 release of BAGPIPE JUKEJOINT (Distribution Fusion III) gave many people their first taste of Staig’s gritty guitar playing.
Staig’s next major project was the pop-rock combo Rockboy. Their EP TURNTABLE scaled the charts of campus radio stations in the spring of ‘98. Chris was singled out especially for his “extremely well delivered imagery” (Annex Gleaner) and his “throat wrenching vocals” (Spill Magazine). Stymied by his Rockboy collaborators’ indifference to additional live work and mystified by their growing interest in well paying day jobs and stable personal relationships, Staig hoisted the solo sail in 1999.
Chris has an interesting sound, a sort of Neil Young mixed with a young Steve Forbert, and the lyrics to all the songs are remarkable and real. That is the appeal of this CD, it is as real as it gets, with the musician friends connecting on many levels here.
The first track “rock ‘n’ roll holiday” is a catchy story, and a great start to this CD.
Track four “all I need is you” is great and the title speaks for itself. My favorite track is “another year.” Track nine shows a softer side with ‘Keys.” All the tracks are original and enjoyable to listen to, Chris clearly having a gift for story telling.
I don’t think Chris needs to worry about being different; this CD is a breath of fresh air. For a list of upcoming shows check out his website http://www.chrisstaig.com/index.htm

Chris Staig : Davenport
Disc of the Day

Having just (re)touted Warren Zanes' Memory Girls, it's kind of fitting that I've selected Chris Staig's Davenport as today's featured disc. Staig, from Toronto, has a very similar sound to Zanes, both vocally and stylistically.

Davenport features a winning combination of power pop, roots rock and singer/songwriter pop. There are also hints of Neil Young and John Lennon as well as Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. Things start off in fine fashion with Staig pleading for a "Rock'n'Roll Holiday", as it's "time to blow up my television/can't make shopping my new religion"; in the next track Staig sings of how he "Fell Off The Wagon", an ode to getting plastered. "All I Need Is You" is a catchy rocker in the vein of the Ike Reilly disc I raved about yesterday, and "Another Year" almost heads into the Rockpile territory mined so well by Terry Anderson (he of the Olympic Ass-Kickin' Team).

He has three tracks from Davenport streaming at his myspace page, and others can be sampled at cd baby, which is of course the best place to pick it up.