Chris Staig

Chris Staig has won praises for his solo recordings and his work with other performers.A former member of Taxi Chain, Chris wrote for and toured from Quebec to Texas with the band that made their mark by having the bagpipe as the dominant instrument.After leaving Taxi Chain, Staig’s next major project was the pop-rock combo Rockboy. Their EP TURNTABLE scaled the charts of Canadian 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 2000. Deeper Well Dream (2000) elicited Kurt Swinghammer to call Staig the surprise local discovery of the year and The Toronto Sun refer to him as a song writing Charles Atlas. After his second release, Death of Romance (2003), Staig received many angry phone calls from ex lovers and employers. Although fictitious, many of Staigs friends mistook the characters as personal references, perhaps taking the honest lyrics too literally. Both discs have received commercial, campus and CBC radio airplay.Chris has played a lot of guitar with Greg Hobbs and his skills are evident with the recording of Hobbs CDs Drake Motel (2001) and Threats and Promises (2004). Staig has also recorded and played live with Jason Collett of Broken Social Scene. His guitar playing is featured on the track "Blue Skies" from Collett's CD "Motor Motel Love Songs".After six and a half years, he recently retired from hosting the weekly open mic night at Torontos Old York Tavern. Chris now only hosts the first Wednesday of every month. His role of driving everyone home at the end of the night, has also been retired.The appeal of Chris songwriting is widespread and varied. His work was covered and recorded by both power pop cynic Dan Bryk (Honest Love) and Canadian novelty song act The Arrogant Worms (Buy a Bottle of Booze).Chris current band consists of Josh Hicks on drums, Ayron Mortley (Taxi Chain, The Mahones) on guitar and Dennis Mohammed (Wild Strawberries, Kathryn Rose) on bass.Chris misses the house he used to share with Josh Hicks at on Davenport Rd. His latest release, Davenport is a dedication to that time and the relationships he experienced with close friends. He describes the CD as, a labour of friendship and a triumph of hard won optimism. Produced by Josh Hicks at the Purple Tea Room Studio on Davenport Rd. it has a direct connection to the neighbourhood and his respect for the community around him. .. CDBABY LINK for CHRIS STAIG: Davenport --