A Bit About Me

Chris McCanlan, Always Writing, And Producing

Hi, I’m Christopher, A.K.A. Chris McCanlan, I've been writing, composing, creating, recording, playing and performing music for about 35 years. I started in the late 80's I was in a band back then. Although I was always writing music on my own as far back as I can remember. What I like to call "A natural by Gods Good Graces".

I am a multi instrumentalist , a piano/synth/keyboardist by nature, but along the way I expanded into playing guitar, bass, and drums as well. I am proficient in several aspects of recording. I started out on a simple tascam 4 track and then further developed into analog(dat tape) style recording techniques. I then continued over the last 20 years and have honed in my skills developing into the levels of virtual /digital and DAW techniques. I also began mastering the use of midi to play instruments and sounds, along with live instruments when creating and producing music through that time period as well. And to tell you the truth, I am still an amatuer compared to what others can do as far as production goes. I am happy to be able to what I like to call "Rough Draft And Demo" my music, so I can get it out there to listeners. I have recorded music for a few bands in the past as a producer and have had more than one vocalist sing for me in the past in more than one recording studio including my own. I work at it completely alone now, which from what a gather so do so many DIY'Ers with DAW setups. I am glad I am still in it for the time being and keeping up somewhat with the pace of recording music in these ever changing and such different times than when I got started and and through the years of it all.

With a love for Music from a very young age starting back at home at a really young age, playing my first Synthesizer I got which was probably around age 10, I started to dabble playing melodies and listening to the great music my mother used to listen to and try to play it on the Keyboard.

And at the age I was In Grade School. In grade school during recess when you were supposed to be letting it all out getting away from the books, I hung around playing the piano in the auditorium practicing what my music teacher volunteered me and wanted me to do which was play the piano at our graduation ceremony at the end of the year.

(By the way the graduation ceremony at my school went great. The whole neighborhood gave a standing ovation at the local church where I played "The Greatest Love Of All" on the piano for our graduation class ceremony send off.) Check out the picture of me off to the right of me nervously playing the song. I must have played it a thousand time before playing it that day, and it was a darn shakey mess that day but I played it all the way through with no mistakes. lol. It was my stage debut. I played in front of hundreds of people that day in the church, and I was the sole instrumentalist while the entire graduating class had to sing to it! A special thanks to Miss Russell(Mrs. Leonardo) for pushing me to strive to keep learning my instrument back then. It definitly all stayed with me in life.

I Learned so much from so many different musicians and teachers I also met along the way in life as well. I went to a music based high school for creative kids and also studied music for a brief time (about 2 years) in college. I met so many amazing musicians and teachers and definitely gained some skills I never knew I was developing back then learning from those greats until years later when I started applying the "A-A-B-A" method to songwriting that the late great Dr. Fredrick Lewis taught me.

However, I was to into playing the Music I wanted to play back then(Rock&Roll of course) to focus on anything or anyone else for too long though(lol), so I rebelled a bit from things like school and formal lessons. I was more into being with my bandmates and writing and practicing music. They were trying to teach me Jazz and Blues and I just wanted Rock&Roll, more Pop/Rock back then, but I do have to go on record and say that jazz and Blues they were forcing on me is what made me really good at being a musician and is still apart of me every time I pick up or sit down to play an instrument. Many thanks straight from the heart to those amazing talented teachers and musicians.

I was in a band in the late 80's and early 90s. I had some of the best experiences of my life in music and just life in general in those days as well in my life in music and just in general traveling through time in life. I am so thankful for the friends I had that they were so into music and playing music together. I learned so much from the guys I played music with, and had so many great experiences jamming playing music with. They were some of the best musicians anyone could ever find in life and some of them got recognized in the industry for it, with some still struggling like myself to be seen and heard in it as well(Absolutely Amazing Musicians Every One Of Them!)

Anything I learned or acquired after that period was all (self taught) and developed though music and musicians I was inspired by. Mostly from about age 22 and on, it was all me doing all the teaching to myself about creating music. My own love and passion for the music honed my own skillset like a never ending mountain I was climbing always trying to just get to the top for a finish. A mountain of which I feel like I forever will always be climbing, because you can never learn enough about music or get enough of playing and being inspired by it to keep going and moving forward in my opinion. And also without a doubt, as I mentioned, though "Gods Good Graces" a lot of it came natural. I am very thankful for it to be blessed with the knack for writing songs.

I got to the point where writing all the music and lyrics, the melodies, playing all the instruments and producing the music on my own as a solo artist and writer was also the outcome after years of developing my natural God given talent and struggling on how to be discovered or what to do with it for that matter. You know there's always somebody better, greater, more talented out there, and that's Okay in my world, those are the real inspirations. To me everyone and everything in music that was a genuine God given natural force in it was always an inspiration and a learning experience.

So basically I am here now trying to get it out there in anyway I can within my means, trying to make my mark finally in the music industry of getting my music out there. I hope to get my music and my passion for it out to the world to enjoy. Hopefully I can bring the music I create to the ears of any and all who will listen and hopefully become a fan and continue to listen. I would also accept an industry job working and writing for an up and coming breakout artist. I have no qualms being behind the scenes. Its where I do my best work already!

God Bless to all, And thanks for stopping by and especially for reading all this(if you did), and most of all for giving a listen to the music.