Chris Towzey on AirPlay Direct

The music of singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Towzey is a journey through classic R&B, rock, and world styles bound by clever and spiritually enlightened lyrics, delivered by our honest, soulful, all-American vocal tour guide. On his debut CD, Rockin At The Stoplight (now available at www.christowzey.com), the title track welcomes you to the party with an R&B tinged, horn-driven romp through the city streets. Each song tells a story, embracing sounds that embody the characters and moods being explored, from a honky-tonk homage to fine women, to bluesy commentary on the state of the worlds consciousness.

The beginnings of Towzeys own musical journey can be traced back to his audio upbringing, which included barbershop quartets, country, R&B, blue-eyed soul, and Italian tenors. The latter came during a time when his family spent four years living in Italy, where Towzeys lifelong fascination with the electric guitar began. At the age of only twelve, he started a band and played his first real gig in Italy for the seventh grade dance. Later, as a music major in California, Towzey explored his fascination with recording equipment and built an analog studio, tying it into a pilot class in recording engineering at Sonoma State University.

Bored with the life of a sideman in a long line of local bands, Towzey decided to take a leap and become an artist in his own right. He started taking long-distance songwriting lessons with hitmaker Harriet Schock to transform his first artistic ramblings into accessible lyrics. Towzey soon moved from Marin County to Los Angeles and put together a dream team of backing musicians, engineers, and recording and mastering studios to bring life to his vision, even calling on L.A. horn superstar Chris Tedesco to spearhead the three-horn section heard on much of the record.

World influences are apparent in Chris' music, and his keen interest in Shamanism and non-western philosophies and spiritual orientations have steadily helped him to return to his original passion of playing music and releasing this CD. Plans for the future include writing music using more world instruments, and performing opening spots for major artists.