Cris Gunther

http://www.crisgunther.com Cris Gunther's story begins in the heart of the American Appalachian Mountains, in the small, coal-mining town of Beckley, West Virginia. Born on the cusp of Cancer-Leo, into a family of Native American and European descendants, Cris first started singing in a Pentecostal Church Choir, and winning local talent competitions at the tender age of nine. Growing up in a musical family, Gunther was first introduced as a young child to the rhythmic world of 70's...

Cris Gunther's story begins in the heart of the American Appalachian Mountains, in the small, coal-mining town of Beckley, West Virginia. Born on the cusp of Cancer-Leo, into a family of Native American and European descendants, Cris first started singing in a Pentecostal Church Choir, and winning local talent competitions at the tender age of nine. Growing up in a musical family, Gunther was first introduced as a young child to the rhythmic world of 70's, 80's and 90's disco, funk and rhythm & blues, by his mother, who had a passion for soul music, and who was frequently the winner of ?Saturday Night Fever' style dancing competitions in her clubbing heydays. He was also equally influenced by his father, Terry Gunther, whose professional career as a gospel, pop, rock and country singer, has included, opening up for more than a dozen American country music stars, including, Lone Star, Donna Fargo, Billy Crash Craddock, Lori Morgan, and Wade Hayes, to name just a few. And, most recently, Terry sang at the Memorial Service For Miners in Beckley, West Virginia, in April of 2010, where President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker.

The need to entertain was so strong for Mr.Gunther that by the age of seventeen, he fulfilled one of his life-long dreams and moved to New York City to begin his formal training as an actor. His acting credits have included a principle role in The History Channel's ?The Mexican-American War' Hosted by Boxing Champion Oscar De La Hoya, an international educational video by publishing giant, McGraw Hill, and several independent films, off-Broadway plays, and music videos. And, it didn't take long before he was discovered working in a restaurant by internationally renowned-fashion-photographer, Steven Meisel, and made his modeling debut in the pages of Italian Vogue in a story called, ?The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeois.' This luck of fate, gave Gunther the confidence to reconnect to his musical heritage, and build upon the foundation that had been laid in his formative years. It was while Cris was studying theater and psychology at Marymount Manhattan College, that he first began writing poetry to express his deepest feelings, and quickly found his words evolving into lyrics and melodies. That was the moment when he realized that he had found his true calling. Gunther explains, ?As soon as the poems started taking musical form, I became almost obsessive about writing songs. Nothing else had ever filled me with such longing & passion. I remember a period of time as a teenager, when I was experiencing a lot of pain and confusion, and music became my only escape, my refuge. It not only helped me to understand the emotions I was feeling, but it also gave me the inspiration to rise above my problems, and to become a stronger, more determined person. This was when I first discovered the power of music to heal, connect, and transform people.?

He spent the next few years writing & recording demos, training with vocal coach, Don Lawrence, known for his work with Lady Gaga, Bono (U2), Christina Aguilera, and Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones), and was even chosen to perform in a Songwriters Hall Of Fame Showcase in NYC (Lady Gaga was also chosen for the same showcase in 2006, before her rise to international stardom) that appeared in the pages of Billboard Magazine (the premier source of music industry news in the U.S.), in 2002. And finally, in 2007, Cris released his debut, independent album, ?FALL INTO THE OPEN', with the participation of producer Fab Dupont Shakira and Freshly Ground ?Waka Waka'), singer/songwriter Mic Murphy (former lead singer of the 80's pop-duo, The System, who scored the American #1 hit ?Don't Disturb This Groove'), singer/songwriter Lucy Woodward (Verve/Universal Recording Artist and BMI Songwriter Award Winner for Pop Artist Stacie Orrico's International Top 5 Hit, ?There's Gotta Be More To Life'), and producer Tim K (Les Nubians, Lucy Woodward, Collette, and Esthero).

Leading up to the release of FALL INTO THE OPEN, Gunther had been working as a Maitre D' at Robert Deniro's world famous restaurant, Nobu 57, on Manhattan's exclusive West 57th Street, where he was afforded the opportunity to be introduced to & land meetings with some of the music industries' biggest A&R guys and label executives (most notably, Clive Davis and L.A. Reid). After a period of courting, and being courted, by the music, acting & modeling worlds, Cris felt personally and creatively lost. After living in NYC for almost half of his life, and dedicating all of his resources to the pursuit of the ?American' show business dream, his intuition told him that it was time to get out. He wanted to feel inspired again. He wanted to recapture that same ?I-can-do-anything' energy that he felt when he first walked the streets of New York as a teenager, with nothing, but ambition, and a desire to perform & create.

At this critical turning point, Gunther found the answer he had been looking for when he got an unexpected invitation to move to a country that he had longed to live in, since he was a child. That invitation set his imagination on fire, and eventually, landed him in the mountainous region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, where he spent two years tweaking his stage performance for an international audience, and quickly started adding credits to his ever-growing list of career achievements. In October of 2010, Cris performed seventeen shows for his debut tour sponsored by Cultura Inglesa. And, he also began promoting his sophomore project, the on-line, promotional release, ?Back+Forth {The Demo+Sessions}', at such famed venues as, Palacio das Artes, Roxy/Josefine, and Patio Savassi, in collaboration with Jovem Pan, one of the the most famous, Brazilian, pop-radio station chains.

And in further preparation for his next career evolution, Gunther relocated to Rio de Janeiro, the musical and cultural capital of Brazil, at the end of 2010, to begin working on ?The Tropical Truth EP', which will be Cris's premier Brazilian release, and his 3rd recording project to date. ?The Tropical Truth EP' will be comprised of six, newly recorded, unreleased songs (with two of the songs as bonus tracks in Portuguese), including ?Blame It On Rio', a song that one could easily hear blasting from the ?Carioca' radio stations, or playing on a popular soap opera ?novela', or even, quite possibly, becoming an anthem for Rio's World Cup, 2014, or the Olympics, 2016, in addition to, the more socially conscious, ?They Need Love', which is a song inspired by the poor living conditions of the children in Brazil that Gunther would like to use as a springboard to recruit the great musical icons of Brazil for the sole purpose of recording a charity single (based on the model of the world famous ?We Are The World' by Michael Jackson) to launch a non-profit organization of the same name to raise money for education reform, rehabilitation services, and other social programs to elevate the quality of life for this most vulnerable part of Brazilian society. But, ?The Tropical Truth' project does not stop there; ?The Tropical Truth EP' is but only one part of the total concept. Part two will be the stage show/musical, ?The Tropical Truth Show', which tells the story of an American artist's escape from the jungle streets of New York City, to the land of sun & carnival, to free himself from the chains that were holding him hostage in his native country, and where he ultimately discovers the purpose of his life, and uncovers the meaning of true love. And Part three will conclude with ?The Tropical Truth Show LP' with added songs, and highlights from the musical/show. ?This concept was born out of a desire to answer some very difficult questions that I have been asking myself for years. ?Who am I?? ?What is my purpose in life?? ?What is the meaning of life and death?? ?Passion and pain?? ?It was also born out of my desire for a big change in my life. To put it simply, I suppose you could say that I've been searching for what most people in the world are searching for: peace, happiness, and love. Universal themes of our existence,? says Gunther.

The ending of this young man's story is still to be explored, and lived, and written, and will surely produce many more interesting chapters in the weeks, and months, and years to come. But there's one thing for certain. This is one artist who defines the word perseverance. He refuses to give up on his creative aspirations, and is continually, searching for his planetary purpose. He also isn't afraid of taking risks that will one day soon detonate an artistic explosion, that he has been readying himself for his entire life. It's no longer a question of ?if', but when. His only focus now is enjoying the journey, helping himself and others along the way, and the personal & professional awakening that lies ahead for this young, rapidly evolving artist. And that awakening is one that will surely not want to be missed by anyone in North or South America, let alone the rest of the world. So, without further a due, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to present? singer, dancer, writer, producer, philanthropist, and world-citizen,
Mr. Cris Gunther!

http://www.myspace.com/crisgunther
http://palcomp3.com/crisgunther/
http://www.bandasdegaragem.com.br/crisgunther
http://tramavirtual.uol.com.br/artistas/crisgunther
http://www.mtvminas.com.br/profile/CrisGunther
http://www.oinovosom.com.br/crisgunther
http://crisgunther.conexaovivo.com.br/
http://soundcloud.com/crisgunther