Chris Garneau (born November 5, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Since releasing his debut album, '' Music for Tourists'', Garneau has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Garneau cites

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blue ...

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pla ...

, and

Chan Marshall Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall ( ; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer- songwriter, musician and model. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as ...

as influences. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California. His second full-length album, titled '' El Radio'' was released July 7, 2009, and his third full-length album, '' Winter Games'', was released in 2013. His fourth studio album, ''Yours'', was released in December 2018.

Early life

Garneau, a native of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, lived with his family in Paris during grade school, and later

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

before moving to New York City. Garneau discovered a love of music at a young age while learning to play piano. After high school, Garneau briefly attended

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

in Boston, but left after completing one term and moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. There he began writing music and playing live shows at small venues in the East Village and

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, including CBGB's Gallery and the Living Room.

Career

Garneau eventually signed with

Absolutely Kosher Absolutely may refer to: * ''Absolutely'' (Boxer album), the second rock music album recorded by the band Boxer * ''Absolutely'' (Madness album), the 1980 second album from the British ska band Madness * ''Absolutely'' (ABC album), a comprehensi ...

Records, an Emeryville, California-based record label. He was brought to the label by Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy of

Xiu Xiu Xiu Xiu ( ) is an American experimental band, formed in 2002 by singer-songwriter Jamie Stewart in San Jose, California. Currently, the line-up consists of Stewart (the only constant member since formation) and Angela Seo. The band's name ...

. Garneau released his debut album '' Music for Tourists'' in October 2006 and on iTunes in January 2007. In March 2007 he did a Take-Away Show video session shot by

Vincent Moon Vincent Moon (real name Mathieu Saura, born 25 August 1979) is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and sound artist from Paris. He was the main director of the Blogotheque's Take Away Shows, a web-based project recording field work music vide ...

. His next project, an EP called "C-Sides", was released in December 2007. The soundtrack to season four of TV's ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...

'' includes Garneau's music. The episode " Love/Addiction" features his song "Castle-Time," and the episode " Forever Young" features the song "Black and Blue." The series premiere of ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: * Private sector practice ** Practice of law * ''Private Practice'' (TV series), an American medical drama * ''Private Practice'' (album), released in 1978 by Dr. Feelgood {{disambig pt:Private Practice ...

'', "

In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else The first season of ''Private Practice'', an American television series created by Shonda Rhimes, consisted of nine episodes that ran from September 26 to December 5, 2007. A spin-off of '' Grey's Anatomy'', the series tells the story of Addison ...

," features the song "Sad News." His cover of Elliott Smith's "Between the Bars" was featured in Pedro Almodóvar's 2011 film '' The Skin I Live In''. He has been collaborating on a yet-to-be-named musical project with Caralee McElroy. In 2013, his third album, '' Winter Games'', is released. Garneau asked friends to write down their first memories of winter. These memories and his move to rural countryside in the winter subsequently informed his writing for the album. In support of this record, Garneau toured Europe and China a few times, as well as a few North American shows. In 2014, the soundtrack to the movie '' The Smell of Us'' included Garneau's music. In June 2017, he premiered five new songs on stage as a quartet in New York City. In November 2018, his fourth studio album ''Yours'' is released. In January 2021, his fifth studio ''The Kind'' is released. Chris Garneau has also scored dance pieces for choreographers such as Jonah Bokaer.

Personal life

Garneau identifies as gay.

Discography

*'' Music for Tourists'' (2006) *'' C-Sides'' EP (2007) *'' El Radio'' (2009) *'' Winter Games'' (2013) *''Yours'' (2018) *''The Kind'' (2021) *''Ballard'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garneau, Chris 1982 births Living people 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singers American male pianists American gay musicians LGBT people from Massachusetts American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts