Christopher Maloney
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Christopher Patrick Maloney is an American singer-songwriter, bass guitarist and music educator. He is widely known for his work with instrumental hard rock band Cosmosquad, his stints in
Hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...
and with
Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...
, as an independent solo artist, an instructor at the
Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...
, the co-owner of Absolute Music Studios and the co-creator of the online music education site Practice Warriors.


Biography


Early life and education

Christopher Maloney was born in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
on March 22, 1969.Public records shows a birth date of March 1969 for Christopher Patrick Maloney in New York. Both his father and mother were from families of Irish descent, the former from
Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
and the latter from
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
. After failed attempts at the recorder and drums, Christopher discovered the bass guitar at age 13 and began performing in local bars and clubs. While attending East Syracuse-Minoa High School, he won a citation from the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, and performed for then-Vice President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. He attended Oswego State University from 1987 until 1991 graduating with a double major in Music and Broadcasting. It was here that he was mentored by jazz composer Stan Gosek, who helped shape Maloney's skills in composition, odd meter, reading, performing and music business. Maloney relocated to Los Angeles in 1993 to attend the
Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...
. He studied with many notable musicians, including
Jeff Berlin Jeffrey Arthur Berlin (born January 17, 1953) is an American jazz rock bassist and composer. He first came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the band Bruford, led by drummer Bill Bruford. Musical career Berlin was born on January 17, 195 ...
, Steve Bailey,
Scott Henderson Scott Henderson (born August 26, 1954) is an American jazz fusion and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Tribal Tech. He was born in West Palm Beach and raised in Lake Worth Beach. Biography Scott Henderson is a highly reg ...
,
Joe Diorio Joseph Louis Diorio (August 6, 1936 – February 2, 2022) was an American jazz guitarist. He performed with Sonny Stitt, Hal Crook, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Stan Getz, Pat Metheny, Horace Silver, Anita O'Day, and Freddie Hubbard. In recent y ...
and visiting artists
Victor Wooten Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He has been the bassist for Béla Fleck and the Flecktones since the group's formation in 1988 and a member of the band SMV with two other ...
, Gary Willis and many others. He graduated with Vocational Honors in 1994 as the bass program's Outstanding Student of the Year.


Bass career

Maloney spent much of the mid to late 1990s working as a freelance bass player in Los Angeles. His first major label recording was with drum prodigy Jacob Armen on his ''Drum Fever'' CD, which was released on Prince's
NPG Records NPG Records is a record label that was owned by Prince (musician), Prince and run by Trevor Guy. "NPG" is short for New Power Generation. It was founded to release his music after Paisley Park Records was shut down by Warner Bros. Records in 1994. ...
/
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
label. In 1996, after a lengthy audition process, he was asked to join brothers
Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...
and
Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician, writer, actor and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and ...
in their band "Z" to promote the album '' Music For Pets''. Maloney spent much of 1997 recording dozens of songs for a Dweezil solo album. From those sessions, only "Automatic" (featuring
Blues Saraceno Blues Saraceno (born October 17, 1971) is an American rock guitarist, composer and music producer, currently residing in Los Angeles, California. He was discovered by ''Guitar for the Practicing Musician'' magazine at the age of 16, which assis ...
) and "Dick Cinnamon's Office" (featuring
Lisa Loeb Lisa Anne Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with " Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites'', the first number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 10 ...
) were included on the Favored Nations release, ''
Automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...
''. He concluded the 90's by doing recording and performing with
Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known as the lead singer of the band Noiseworks in 1986–1992, the portrayal of Judas in a 1992 Australian production of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', and as the lead singer fo ...
(INXS), Donnie Vie ( Enuff Z'Nuff), and jazz keyboardist Lao Tizer. Maloney's recording and performing career continued to rise in the 2000s. He performed or recorded with
Hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...
, featuring Journey guitarist
Neal Schon Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...
, Gilli Moon, Chieli Minucci, UFO singer
Phil Mogg Phillip John Mogg (born 15 April 1948, Wood Green, London) is an English singer. He was the lead singer and frontman of the hard rock band UFO, which he co-founded with longtime friends Pete Way, Andy Parker and Mick Bolton in 1968.Buckley, ...
(in the band $ign of 4), Lao Tizer,
New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block had ...
singer
Joey McIntyre Joseph Mulrey McIntyre (born December 31, 1972) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He is best known as the youngest member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. He has sold over one million records worldwide as a solo artist and work ...
, Jack Avalon, and Cosmosquad among others. Maloney's work with Lao Tizer netted two albums (to which he is credited as co-writer) and numerous US festival tours, including shows with
Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (August 25, 1933 – March 2, 2023) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Shorter came to mainstream prominence in 1959 upon joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for whom he eventually became the primary comp ...
,
George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...
,
Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...
, Spyrogyra,
Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album Impressions ...
, The Rippingtons,
Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...
, Jethro Tull, Tom Scott and others. His work with Cosmosquad, and its guitarist Jeff Kollman, brought him to Europe and Japan and produced three albums. Cosmosquad released their first live DVD ''Light...Camera...Squad!'' in 2008, with Maloney also handling all the video editing duties. During this time, he continued to record and perform as a sideman to independent artists in Los Angeles. Over the years, Maloney has been endorsed by Linc Luthier, Carvin and Fender Basses, Trace Elliot and SWR amplifiers, and Dean Markley and D'Addario Strings.


Solo career

In 2000, Maloney decided to begin to make a solo album that would not feature his bass playing, but his voice and song writing skills. Although joined by his friends, drummer Shane Gaalaas and guitarist
Brett Garsed Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian guitarist, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the rock band Nelson. He was featured on Derek Sherinian' ...
, Maloney played most of the instruments himself. The result was the CD ''Control'', released in 2002 on Sunset Records. Spending much of 2002 on the road with Lao Tizer, Cosmosquad and $ign of Four, Maloney had to wait until 2003 to promote the album. He did so mostly by performing solo acoustic shows in coffeehouses throughout Southern California. In 2004, Maloney continued to promote ''Control'' while writing songs for a new album, entitled ''The Terrors of Intimacy''. The album was released in March 2005 on Sunset Records, and Maloney promoted it by doing a solo acoustic tour of the southwest US and full band shows in Southern California. In addition to writing songs for his solo albums, Maloney has made three production music CDs for De Wolfe Music in England: ''Rock Styles'' (2003), ''Rock Styles 2'' (2005) and ''Indie Rock Chart'' (2008). Songs from these CD has been placed in television and films in over 50 countries, with US usage including Saturday Night Live, CNN, biography, NBC Sports and more. He is also a three-time
ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...
award-winner songwriter. Maloney's writing of his third CD, tentatively titled ''Lost And Found'', has been interrupted by his work with De Wolfe Music, tours and recording with Cosmosquad, producing the television pilot Backstage Pass, running a music school in south Florida and starting his online music education site Practice Warriors.


Education career

In addition to his work as a bassist and singer-songwriter, Maloney has been very passionate about music education. Upon his graduation from
Musicians Institute Musicians Institute (MI) is a private for-profit music school in Los Angeles, California. MI students can earn Certificates and – with transfer of coursework taken at Los Angeles City College – Associate of Arts Degrees, as well as Bachelor ...
, he was immediately invited to join the faculty at the school. Maloney's long affiliation with MI has included him teaching bass, songwriting, music theory and vocal classes as well as being the head of the school's Encore Program. He has also traveled internationally to promote the school through concerts and clinics. Maloney's outgoing personality and music education experience helped him to develop a strong interviewing style, which he took advantage of at MI. His Q&A session with
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
bassist John Taylor during an MI event was so engaging that Taylor included it as part of his solo album '' MetaFour'' in 2002. Maloney also interviewed his friend Glenn Hughes (
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
) as part of an interview-style television pilot called ''Backstage Pass'' in 2007. Maloney has toured as a clinician for many of his endorsing companies, including Fender and Linc Luthier basses. He created the Interactive Band Workshop in 2004, which was an interactive educational experience he conducted at music stores throughout south Florida. Maloney has also written an instructional book for
Hal Leonard Publishing Hal Leonard LLC (formerly Hal Leonard Corporation) is an American music publishing and distribution company founded in Winona, Minnesota, by Harold "Hal" Edstrom, his brother, Everett "Leonard" Edstrom, and fellow musician Roger Busdicker. Curre ...
entitled ''Progressive Rock Bass'', which was released in January 2010. In September 2008, Maloney wanted to expand his knowledge of music and education, and he once again enrolled full-time at the Musicians Institute. He spent nine months studying his fellow instructors' teaching methods in voice, keyboards, drums and guitar. In doing so, Maloney has the unique distinction in being the only person in MI history to be a full-time student and full-time instructor simultaneously. In August 2009, Maloney and his fiancee (now wife) Kristina opened Absolute Music Studios, a state-of-the-art music lesson facility in Jupiter, Florida. The studio focused on modern teaching techniques with an emphasis on contemporary music, as well as recording commercial albums for many of their students. Notable former students include The Voice and
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
contestant Allegra Miles and Nashville bassist Morgan Beers. One former teacher, Chris Condon, moved on to be musical director for
Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...
. Many famous musicians have endorsed Absolute Music Studios, including members of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
,
Tears For Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
,
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
,
Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Parsons was the sound engineer on albums including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' (1970), Pink Floyd's ''The ...
and many others. The Maloneys closed the studio in March 2022 to focus on their online music education site Practice Warriors.


Charity Work

Maloney is the vice president of the charity Peace, Love & Music, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization founded by his wife, Kristina. In addition to offering scholarships for private music lessons, the charity provides educational clinics and instruments to public school music programs, after-school programs, summer camps and other organization that work with those underserved in their community.


Practice Warriors

In 2022, Christopher and Kristina Maloney launched their music education site Practice Warriors. The site includes a Masterclass on How To Practice Music, hundreds of video lessons covering essential musical skills, interviews with top session players (who have worked with everyone from
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...
to
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
), interactive Q&A sessions and a membership forum.


Musical equipment


Basses/Guitars

Maloney had a long affiliation with Linc Luthier Basses, being one of the more high profile bassists to play the unique, high-end instruments. In 2000, Maloney started working with SWR amplifiers after playing through the company's 6x10 Goliath Senior cabinet at the LA jazz club The Baked Potato. In 2007, he started endorsing a variety of
Carvin Carvin () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northeast of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Lens. History During World War I, from October 1914 to October 1 ...
products, including the B5 Bass, mixing board, PA systems and power conditioners. In 2008, Maloney started his affiliation with Fender Musical Instruments by conducting clinics around the US with Cosmosquad, playing at Fender University and performing two years in a row at the annual Bass Bash. In 2009, Maloney switched to D'Addario Strings. For his solo acoustic shows, Maloney has exclusively used his Martin JC16-GTE acoustic guitar. * Fender – Deluxe V *
Carvin Carvin () is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France about northeast of Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Lens. History During World War I, from October 1914 to October 1 ...
– B5 * Linc Luthier – 4 and 5 string fretted and fretless bass * Yamaha Electric Guitar * Martin Acoustic Guitar – JC16-GTE


Effects

* Digitech – Whammy Pedal * Digitech – Digital Delay * Boss – RC-20 Loop Station * Tech 21 – Sansamp Bass Driver


Amplifiers

* SWR Goliath SR 6x10 * SWR 350 watt head * SWR 2x10 extension cabinet * Fender – Deluxe Reverb


Discography


Solo work

* ''Control'' – 2002 * ''The Terrors of Intimacy'' – 2005 * ''Indie Rock Chart'' (with Evan Beigel) – 2008


with Jeff Kollman/Cosmosquad

* ''Bleeding The Soul'' – 2004 * ''Guitar Screams Live'' – 2006 * ''Acid Test'' – 2007 * ''Lights...Camera...SQUAD!! (Live DVD)'' – 2008


Selected discography with other artists

* ''Jacob Armen – Drum Fever'' – 1994 * ''Jacob Armen – Breakthrough'' – 1998 * ''Jack Avalon – Headnoise'' – 1999 * '' Gilli Moon – Temperamental Angel'' – 2000 * ''
Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...
Automatic Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (Australian band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 el ...
'' – 2000 * ''Lao Tizer – Golden Soul'' – 2000 * ''Jack Avalon – Strange Kind of Light'' – 2001 * ''
Hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...
II'' – 2002 * '' John TaylorMetaFour'' – 2002 * '' Donnie VieJust Enough!'' – 2003 * ''Lao Tizer – Diversify'' – 2006 * ''Debbie Hennessey – Good As Gone'' – 2006 * ''Jack Avalon – Six of the Best'' – 2008 * ''Arlene Kole – One Day'' – 2008 * ''Jami Lula – There's a Healin Goin On'' – 2009 * ''Lucero Almazan – One Day'' – 2018 * ''Allison Valentine Fernandes - Beacon Of Light'' - 2020 * ''Sally Fox Maple - Upswell'' - 2021 * ''Keith Calveric - Untold'' - 2022


References


External links


Christopher Maloney's websitePractice Warriors websiteMaloney at Musicians Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maloney, Christopher 1969 births American male singer-songwriters Living people State University of New York at Oswego alumni Musicians Institute alumni 20th-century American bass guitarists