Chris Pureka is a

genderqueer Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is differ ...

American acoustic singer-songwriter. Pureka has received positive reviews in the long-running

radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...

publication ''

off our backs ''Off Our Backs'' (stylized in all lowercase; ''oob'') was an American radical feminist periodical that ran from 1970 to 2008, making it the longest-running feminist periodical in the United States. Marilyn Salzman-Webb and Marlene Wicks we ...

'' and other magazines. Their music does not deal explicitly with

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

or political issues, focusing instead on emotional interactions between individuals.

Early life and education

Raised in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, they began writing songs at the age of eight and began playing the guitar at 16. They soon became a frequent performer at local coffee houses and open mics. As a young performer, they opened shows for such artists as

Erin McKeown Erin McKeown (pronounced ) is an American multi-instrumentalist and folk-rock singer-songwriter. McKeown's music encompasses pop, swing, rock, folk, and electronic music, as well as several other genres. Music career They grew up in Frede ...

and Pamela Means while completing a degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

. After graduating, they worked in a microbiology research lab at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

, eventually leaving to focus on music full-time.

Musical career

In June 2001, they recorded a self-titled seven-song EP in preparation for a three-month nationwide tour with lesbian folk poet

Alix Olson Alix L. Olson (born 1975) is an American poet who works exclusively in spoken word. She uses her work to address issues of capitalism, racism, sexism, homophobia, heterosexism, misogyny, and patriarchy. She identifies as a queer feminist. Early ...

. The EP, which was home-recorded in two weeks and featured Pureka playing back-up accompaniment on the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and bass, was later mastered and reprinted for the 2005 summer tour. In 2004, Pureka released ''Driving North'', their first full-length album, earning rave reviews from fans and fellow artists alike. In 2006, they released ''Dryland'', and toured the US a second time as a headlining act. The album received rave reviews and was featured on the

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

Sampler in February 2007. In May 2007, Pureka was a member of the month-long New American Songwriter Tour in New York City, Philadelphia, and Massachusetts. The tour also featured

Krystle Warren Krystle is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Krystle D'Souza (born 1990), Indian actress *Krystle Matthews (born 1981), American politician *Krystle Delgado, American singer *Krystle Esdelle (born 1984), Trinidad and To ...

Jesse Harris Jesse Harris (born October 24, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and guitarist. He has worked with Norah Jones, Melody Gardot, Madeleine Peyroux, and Lizz Wright. Early life and education Harris and his twin sister were born i ...

, and Ryan Scott. In August, they played at the

Michigan Womyn's Music Festival The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, often referred to as MWMF or Michfest, was a lesbian feminist women's music festival held annually from 1976 to 2015 in Oceana County, Michigan, on privately owned woodland near Hart Township referred to a ...

. In July 2007, Pureka's song, "Swann Song" won 1st Place in the Acoustic competition on the independent music site Ourstage.com. Because of their performance there, they won a spot to perform at the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, and performed there on August 5. Pureka had previously also won the Acoustic competition in April for their song "31 and Falling". In October 2007, they were nominated for 2007's Outstanding Folk Act by the Boston Music Awards. They were also awarded an ASCAPLUS award in the summer of 2007. Pureka sold over 7000 copies of their 2010 album, ''How I Learned to See in the Dark'', independently, on their own label, Sad Rabbit Music, which they founded. During this time, they gained popularity by performing with artists such as

Dar Williams Dorothy Snowden "Dar" Williams (born April 19, 1967) is an American pop folk singer-songwriter from Mount Kisco, New York. Hendrik Hertzberg of ''The New Yorker'' has described Williams as "one of America's very best singer-songwriters." She ...

, The Cowboy Junkies,

Peter Mulvey Peter Mulvey (born September 6, 1969) is an American folk singer-songwriter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It ...

Ani Difranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

, Martin Sexton,

Jeffrey Foucault Jeffrey Foucault (born January 26, 1976) is an American songwriter and record producer from Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States, whose work marries the influence of American country, blues, rock 'n' roll, and folk music. He has released seven ...

Kris Delmhorst Kris Delmhorst is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Originally from Brooklyn, New York City, United States, she now lives in Western Massachusetts, is an active member of the Boston folk scene, and tours internationally. She has re ...

, Melissa Ferrick,

Catie Curtis Catie Curtis (born May 22, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter working primarily in the folk rock idiom. Her most recent album recording, ''The Raft,'' was released in 2020. Career Curtis was raised in Saco, Maine. By the age of fifteen she ...

, and

Girlyman Girlyman was an American folk-rock band formerly based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, later based in Atlanta, Georgia. Its 2003 self-released debut album, ''Remember Who I Am'', sold 5,000 copies before it was re-released by Daemon Recor ...

. On January 20, 2009, Pureka released a fourth album, an EP entitled ''Chimera''. The EP has seven tracks; one new, original song (with a prelude as the first track), a reworked studio version of a song off of their 2001 EP, three live tracks, and a cover of Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor's Wagon Wheel. The hard copy of Chimera is complete with written commentary from Pureka on each track. In April 2010, Pureka released their fifth album, ''How I Learned To See in the Dark'', which they co-produced with

Merrill Garbus Tune-Yards (stylized as tUnE-yArDs) is the Oakland, California–based music project of Merrill Garbus (vocals, various instruments) and Nate Brenner (bass, various instruments). Garbus's music draws from an eclectic variety of sources and use ...

. In 2012 Pureka released a live album recorded at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC on January 19, 2011. It was recorded by Marsellus Fariss and mastered by Mark Alan Miller. Other musicians on the recording are: Andy Alseri, Sebastian Renfield, Julia Read and Jax Keating. In 2016 Pureka released their first new music since 2013 with the album ''Back in the Ring''.

Songs on TV Shows and Soundtracks

table references

Musical style and influence

Pureka has been compared to artists like early

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...

Patty Griffin Patricia Jean Griffin (born March 16, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.Griffin, Patricia She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs ...

Gillian Welch Gillian Howard Welch (; born October 2, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, coun ...

, and

Mary Gauthier Mary Veronica Gauthier ( ; born March 11, 1962) is a Grammy-nominated American folk singer-songwriter and author, whose songs have been covered by performers including Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kathy Mattea, Boy George, Jimmy Buffett, Bettye La ...

. They covered Welch's song "Everything Is Free" on ''Dryland'' and have expressed admiration for her music as well as that of Griffin. Pureka cites influences from

and Pamela Means, as well as

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...

, but says that their own music differs greatly from DiFranco's often-outspoken political messages. Pureka has lent vocals and guitar playing to several tracks by artists like

and Arjuna Greist; a notable track is "Checking My Pulse" with Olson, which went on to become a relative hit for Olson.

Personal life

After their 2010 album release and a move to New York City, Pureka suffered from

writer's block Writer's block is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming ...

and emotional exhaustion. At the end of 2012, Pureka moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. They are a

pescetarian Pescetarianism ( ; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is a dietary practice in which seafood is the only source of meat in an otherwise vegetarian diet. The inclusion of other animal products, such as eggs and dairy, is optional. According to res ...

. They use ''they/them'' pronouns.

Discography

* 2001 – ''Chris Pureka EP'' * 2004 – ''Driving North'' * 2006 – ''Dryland'' * 2009 – ''Chimera (EP)'' * 2010 – ''How I Learned To See in the Dark'' * 2012 – ''Chris Pureka Live at the Grey Eagle 1.19.11'' * 2013 – ''Chimera II (EP)'' * 2016 – ''Back in the Ring'' * 2021 – ''The Longest Year''

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pureka, Chris 1979 births 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American singer-songwriters American acoustic guitarists American folk musicians American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American non-binary musicians Guitarists from Massachusetts American feminist musicians LGBTQ feminists LGBTQ people from Connecticut LGBTQ people from Massachusetts Living people Singers from Portland, Oregon Non-binary singers Non-binary songwriters Entertainers from Northampton, Massachusetts Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts Smith College staff Wesleyan University alumni