Chris Wyse (born July 15, 1969) is an American bassist and vocalist. He is best known for his performances with

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Ace Frehley Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley (, ; born April 27, 1951) is an American musician who was the original lead guitarist, occasional lead vocalist and founding member of the rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. He invented the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. ...

and Hollywood Vampires. He is also the vocalist and bassist for

Owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

, a band he founded in 2007.

Early life

Wyse is a first-generation

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

and was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He discovered the music of

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

, and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

in grade school, and was inspired by

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's Steve Harris to play bass. Performing with local bands in New York, he was profiled in ''Guitar Player Magazine'' at 17 and featured in ''Guitar For the Practicing Musician'' at 20.

Career

Bob Rock, The Cult

In 1990, prompted by the success of a studio session with musicians associated with

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

, Wyse moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he devoted most of his time to playing with bands. After performing with artists including the band Lusk (with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

Chris Pitman Chris Pitman (born November 16, 1961) is an American musician best known for his involvement with the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. A multi-instrumentalist, Pitman is known to play keyboards, guitar and drums, in addition to his role as a lead ...

and

Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...

Paul D'Amour Paul D'Amour (born 1968 or 1969) is an American musician who was the original bassist for Tool. His bass sound is recognized by the aggressive picked tone he developed with his Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS, which can be heard on ...

), Wyse was introduced to producer

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, recording engineer and musician. In 1976, Rock joined Little Mountain Sound Studios, starting out as a recording engineer and sound mixer. During his time there, he coll ...

and became Rock's "go-to" bassist. He played with Rock-produced artists including Tal Bachman, as well as artists unaffiliated with Rock, such as Scott Weiland. In 2001, Wyse played on

's album, ''

Beyond Good and Evil ''Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future'' () is a book by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that covers ideas in his previous work ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' but with a more polemical approach. It was first published in 1886 ...

'', which Rock produced. In 2003, Rock, who was then producing

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, suggested to the band that Wyse audition for their bass spot. He was one of a handful of bassists selected to play with Metallica during the audition process, which was documented in the film '' Some Kind of Monster''. In 2006, he became The Cult's full-time bass player, touring worldwide and recording two additional albums.

Ozzy Osbourne, Owl

In 2004, Wyse was recruited for

's band by drummer

Mike Bordin Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Faith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in ...

after they met while playing as part of

Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...

's solo band. He played on Ozzy's '' Under Cover'' album, which was included on Osbourne's box set, '' Prince of Darkness''. Wyse also played in Jerry Cantrell's covers band Cardboard Vampyres. Additionally, Wyse performed and recorded with Bob Rock's band, the

Payola$ Payolas (stylized as Payola$) was a Canadian rock band that was most prominent in the 1980s. Evolving from a new wave sound toward mainstream pop rock, they were best known for the single "Eyes of a Stranger", from their 1982 album '' No Strang ...

. In 2007, Wyse founded

, an alternative rock band. He is the band's singer, songwriter, and producer, and plays bass guitar and upright bass, sometimes creating " Hendrix-like effect on the upright bass" by using a bow. Wyse formed Owl with his childhood friend, drummer Dan Dinsmore, and LA-based guitarist Jason Achilles Mezilis. Described as "approaching timeless rock structures through a healthy amount of experimentation and instrumental intricacy" Owl released their self-titled debut album in 2009, followed by the album ''The Right Thing'' in April 2013. The first music video from the album, the title track's ''The Right Thing'', premiered on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

's'' website in March 2013. Owl released their third album, ''Things You Can't See,'' in the summer of 2015. Owl's third album, ''Things You Can't See'', was released in summer 2015. A video for the title track was released in 2018.

Ace Frehley, Hollywood Vampires

Wyse played bass guitar on

's album, '' Space Invader''. He toured with Frehley following the release of the album and played on his next release, '' Origins Vol 1,'' which featured

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

on vocals for the track "Fire and Water"''.'' Wyse left The Cult in 2015, and has continued to tour and record with Frehley. In January 2018, he played " New York Groove" with Frehley prior to the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball park, baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, in the Boroughs of New York, borough of Queens, New York City, United States. Opened in 2009, Citi Field is the home of Major League Baseball's New York M ...

. The song is a staple at New York sporting events; it is played when the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

score and when the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

win. Wyse joined the Hollywood Vampires in 2018. A supergroup that includes Joe Perry,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

, Wyse performed with the band on world tours in 2018 and 2019, and played on their sophomore album, '' Rise'', released on Ear Music in 2019.

Discography

Videography/Filmography/Television Appearances

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyse, Chris Living people The Ozzy Osbourne Band members The Cult members American rock bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 1969 births American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists Hollywood Vampires (band) members Lusk (band) members The Joe Perry Project members