ALTERNATIVE ADDICTION SPOTLIGHT

I’m totally stoked to be featured this week as a spotlight artist on www.alternativeaddiction.com.  My music is a lot better than my blog posts, so I hope any new visitors will check out these:

White Lady

Spinning Wheel

Tripping the Bit

[There are even more songs on my music page, and more than that on the album.  Buy it from CD Baby.]

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Can’t get enough?  Check out the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/touristsmusic or become a fan on Facebook.

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Add commentOctober 28th, 2009

Under the influence…

The Tourists concept was born to blend genres and orchestrate unconventional pairings among musicians.  I’m fortunate to know some great artists, and many have contributed to Gemini.  The sound is fed by an incredible spectrum of influence.  Not too sentimental, not too obscure, not too political, not too effusive, not too plain…

It’s always a challenge to describe my own work, but I’m fascinated to hear what fans and reviewers have to say.  Usually they rely on comparative definitions.  Some of my favorites have been Bob Dylan, Rufus Wainwright, Roy Orbison and Barry White.  (Okay, I made up the Barry White one.)  These connections range from obvious to obscure to oblivious, but I always find them interesting. So today, I’m channeling Bob Barker.

If you’ve found this site by following the Alternative Addiction link, “Come on down!”

You’ve heard me and now I want to hear you.  The first 25 people to email touristsmusic@gmail.com with an insightful comment after listening to the three songs linked to the AA post will receive a free mp3 of any song from Gemini.  My favorite response will be rewarded with an autographed copy of the cd.  All thoughtful entries will receive a personal reply with my sincerest thanks.

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Add commentOctober 28th, 2009

STEP INTO THE FALL…..

TRAVELING WENT OFF WITHOUT  HITCH- A BIG THANKS TO SCOTT IN CHICAGO FOR HIS HOSPITALITY AND TO LAKESHORE SRIVE FOR SHOWING ME HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVE- THE ROAD WAS VERY KIND TO US THIS TIME AROUND… WE GOT TO PLAY SOME GREAT SHOWS WITH OUR PALS FROM KC, THE THREES- LOOK FOR THEIR NEW ALBUM TO DROP LMODERN JAD=ATER THIS FALL.  WE ALSO HAVE A FEW PHILLY SHOWS THIS FALL- LOOKING FORWARD COMING BACK TO THE TRIUMPH  IN OLDE CITY ON THE 23RD AND THE NEW AND IMPROVED BLINKIN LINCOLN ON 11-20 FOR ANOTHER FULL BAND SHOW WITH ALL THE TOURISTS ON BOARD.

SPEAKING OF THE TOURISTS, WE HAVE BEEN BACK IN THE STUDIO WORKING ON SOME NEW TRACKS- THREE ARE IN THE PIPELINE, MY SONG ABOUT AN EX THAT LEFT IN THE NIGHT, “ARIZONA”, MY SONGS ABOUT MEETINGS OF ONE STRIPE OR ANOTHER, “6:45″, AND OUR LATEST MODERN SONG OF REDEMTION, “TIL WE RISE”. IT’S BEEN MUCH FUN WORKING WITH CHEEK ANDREWS AT HIS SPOT IN UPPER DARBY, PA- I’M TRING TO KEEP IT KIND OF STRIPPED BACK- HERE’S THE PERSONNEL

ERIC HOYER- ELECTRIC GUITAR

STEPH HAYES- GUIATR AND VOCALS

RON DISILVESTRO- DRUMS AND PERCUSSION

JUSTIN DIFEBBO- HAMMOND ORGAN AND RHODES

LOOK FOR SOME YOUTUBE CLIPS AND OTHER VIDS ON HERE OF THE NEW TUNES-

CHRIS

Add commentSeptember 6th, 2009

****Summer Tour is Here****

The time has come again for me to hit the road and take the highways and biways of America- this time, we’ll be on the road as a proper full band- Eric “Grizzly” Hoyer on electric guitar, Steph Hayes on bass and vocals and Ron Disilvestro on them drums.  Lots of stuff has been happening in the last few months- we finished the latest record, “Gemini”- you can give a listen and pick up a copy here;

cdbaby.com/cd/cstourists

I’m working on pre-production of some new songs with my pal Cheek Andrews here in Philly- I’ll be posting the rough mixes as soon as they come available-  I signed a publishing deal in March with Konsonant Music out of LA and am super excited to see where it leads- I’ve been working on some instrumentals and some new tracks for a possible country/ gospel/ rock record- think Mahalia Jackson meets Rocky Horror-

We may be coming to a town near you- here are the dates- check the shows page for specific show times and other info- cheers!

-chris-

August 4th   -Chicago, IL   (Big Chick’s)

August  5th  -Ames, IA       (Ames Progressive)

August  7th – Des Moines, IA (The Ritual Cafe)

August 8th – Kansas City, MO (Davey’s Uptown Rambler)

August 10th- Minneapolis, MN (The Red Sea Club)

August 11th- Madison, WI      (The Frequency)

Add commentJuly 9th, 2009

Snowed in – Philadelphia…… In like a Lion……

There’s a cold wind blowing up against the side of my little house upon the hill- I have to say that I am somewhat sad to see that it’s tapering off.  I think I’ll spend the day in and work on some new songs; I have a new new one in the pipeline called “Astral Plane”- I may post a Flip vid of it later on today.

Thanks to everyone that made it out to the Triumph show last week- we had an impromptu reunion of Steph’s band, The Good Problems (www.myspace.com/thegoodproblems)- and I got a bad case of tennis elbow from my furious tambourine playing… we’ll be back at the Triumph coming up on April 29th. Thanks also to my good friend Jay Horvath for playing the drums on these last few months’ shows- he’s moved on to another project but I’m sure we’ll end up playing together again sometime in the future- here are some pics from the night-

Add commentMarch 2nd, 2009

Triumph 2-25-09

   Thanks to everyone that made it out to the Khyber last Tuesday with the Streofidelics- up next is a show at the Triumph Brewery in Olde City Philly- all the details are on the shows section of the page but here’s the link:

  www.triumphbrewing.com

This will be our last show for a while with Jay Horvath on drums, help us give him a great send off- also on the show are Steph Hayes and Mia Johnson- check it out.

    We also had a good time down in Charm City (Baltimore) last weekend with e. Joseph and the Phantome Heart- we are working on another appearance at the Wind-Up Space in the next few months. Joe’s pizza down the street also serves up a mean crab cake to go along with the smooth jazz set they were throwing down in the front window, all in all a good time.

  In other news, plans are unfolding for a summer tour with my friends from Kansas City, The 3’s- we may meet up for a few dates in the Midwest before geading back East- more is forthcoming-

 My new record is available online at CDBaby.com- give a listen and get yours today, either as a disc or digital download:

Add commentFebruary 12th, 2009

Welcome  the brand spankin’ new web page- www.chrisschutz.com!  I am now posting in a blog format, so look for this page to be a bit more interactive- with some footage from my handy Flip and other assorted stuff to come.  Lots has been happening so far this year; we have some cool shows coming up including our first show in Baltimore in quite a while-check it out;

Up next after Baltimore is a hometown show at Philly’s venerable Khyber with my pals from Asheville, NC… the Stereofidelics!

The Khyber

56 S 2nd St
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 238-5888

www.thekhyber.com

this is a 21+ show $5 at the door and kicks off at 10pm- check it out!

In other news, copies of the latest record, “Gemini” are now available through CD Baby – each copy comes with stickers and limited-edition Chris Schutz + Tourists button- get yours today!

here’s the link to CD Baby

Chris Schutz + Tourists \”Gemini\”

January 27th, 2009

Happy New Year

Here we are sitting on the cold stone step of a new year, hurrying to cast aside the breath of the old life that was 2008- as the world economy finally begins to settle into a Great Depression, I ask myself, “how much do I really need”. If this is a such a depression, why are there so many things that aren’t so depressing? True love? Grit and passion? Spanish guitars and the thrum of great gospel music? Money doesn’t make the world go round, it merely greases the wheel we’re all tied to- out with the old, in with the new and all that- I’m putting on the blinders and writing songs, there’s something free and occasionally easy- happy new year!

January 1st, 2009