Chris Bartlett

"I believe what's kept me going strong in this industry for the last decade is my love of the live performance," says Chris Bartlett when detailing the amount of hours he puts in on stage every year. For the past 5 years Chris Bartlett has averaged over 300 shows annually and has performed in over 60 different countries. His tremendous passion for live performance and supreme work ethic has enabled him to refine a powerfully soulful and polished sound.  In his music you hear heavy influences of Folk music from the 60's and 70's intertwined with the passion and rhythmic motion found in Soul and Southern Rock

After playing in a various array of multi-genre bands for the early 2000's, Chris Bartlett started playing solo acoustic shows. He enjoyed the freedom of solo performance because he could be quite daring and adventurous with his arrangements. He learned to let the songs stand on their own, and to never be afraid to try something new every time they were performed. "The biggest step that I take in becoming a better player is learning my favorite artists' songs. If I like it, I learn it. Not only has that expanded my knowledge of music as a whole, it's taught me how to write a good song."

In an age where hit songs are built on laptops in hotel rooms and pieced together with shallow hooks and recycled gimmicks, it can seem that the true performing artist has no place in the music industry today. "To me, real music needs to be performed honestly. If the artist doesn't mean what they are performing, then no one else is going to feel it."

When you hear a Chris Bartlett track, you will hear the energy and passion of a live performance. He believes that the best recordings in history happened before the technology allowed songs to be assimilated from dozens of substandard takes - when equipment and labor costs for studio time were high enough so that the artist had to have the hit song ready and polished before a microphone was ever brought into the picture.

Chris Bartlett's goal in the music industry is clear: Play every show, sing every song, write every lyric, and record every album with honesty. This was most recently realized in 2014 with his sophomore full length release entitled 'Dogs in the Water,' which details his experiences as a world traveler and lone performer. Every song on this critically acclaimed collection was recorded in a single take, with the acoustic guitar and vocals being performed simultaneously. There are minimal overdubs used to add color and depth to the record, which already has a striking palate of rich storytelling and beautiful imagery.

In 2014 Chris Bartlett will continue his tour worldwide, stopping only to take some time off during the Summer to travel and write while crossing the USA via the scenic highways and backroads. "I've been everywhere except for my own backyard - I've toured the States before, but never stopping to really look at it. I always flew by everything at 70mph in the dark. I'm looking forward to spending some time at home. I think this will be a brilliant way to spark the theme of my next collection."

ALBUM RELEASE

DOGS IN THE WATER

by CHRIS BARTLETT

Available for immediate release.  Dogs in the Water is Chris Bartlett's latest solo record.  It's a follow up to 2011's critically acclaimed TRUTH EP.

Dogs in the Water is a chronicling of Chris' past few years spent traveling the world by sea.  It's largely autobiographical and performed solo with minimal overdubbing and production.

"Most music today isn't created honestly. All genres of music have been polished and bleached and pasteurized and shrinkwrapped and compressed until there's very little art and execution left in them at all. In trying to achieve that previously mentioned 'authenticity' I've decided to take a new approach to this record. I wanted to actually perform the songs."

Track List:

1. Hallowed Ground
2. A Chance to Be Redeemed
3. Paupers and Kings
4. Dogs in the Water
5. You and I
6. Follow
7. I Will Run
8. Lost in Las Vegas
9. For the Memory
10. The Ballad of Billy Joe Bass

Dogs in the Water was recorded by engineer Joey Stuckey at Joey's own Shadow Sound Studio in Macon, GA.