Chris picked up the bass at age 14, because Paul was the coolest Beatle of course, and spent the better part of his college years playing out in the Lancaster, PA area with a number of original bands including Waitin' for the Movie and Johnny Bravo. Soon after, he moved to the Reading area and helped form the alternative band Frozen Poet. Before long, the band found themselves in need of a new singer. A mutual friend and future band member introduced him to their new vocalist, Angela Ezell. In their five year run, Frozen Poet received moderate success and radio airplay with their independent release Milkweed. Afterwards, he and some other former members of Frozen Poet formed the ecceltic jam band Mystery Van, which released their "award winning" debut Scuba Doo (the graphic designer won an award for the cover art... Hey, it's an award!). After Mystery Van, Chris did some shorter stints with Organic (comprised of members from Mystery Van and Second Sky), the Magnificent Toads of Destinction, and Childhood's End (concurrently).