Check Out Chris Rowland’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Rowland.

Hi Chris, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2021, with COVID and its fallout still gripping the country, I lost the bass player for my original band, Professional Americans, to a relocation. I posted for a replacement on craigslist – as we musicians do – and stumbled upon a guy who was interested in putting together a Rockabilly band. I suggested we focus the band on the music of Elvis Presley as I am, as some would describe me, an Elvis Nut. We found a guitarist and drummer and began rehearsing. I’d never wanted to be in a cover band, but I’d also never thought I’d be able to find a guitarist as crazy as myself for the music of The King. Thus, The Blue Moon Boys were born.

Our first show real was at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills. A friend was slated to open for Ambrosia that night but one of them had COVID and they asked us to step in. That show set us up for the next 4 years of gigging in Ventura & LA.

As a working band in Ventura, acts need to be able to play a 3-hour set list to perform at the majority of venues in the area. It’s challenging for artists who refuse to read lyrics off an iPad and wing it. We decided early on to be off-book. Though I may not have every word of every song that Elvis recorded (700+) committed to memory, I know 98% of the melodies so it was fairly easy for us to perform a setlist that would grow to close to 5 hours of material – all Elvis Presley music.

From “That’s All Right Mama” to “Suspicious Minds” we perform across the catalog. We do it in a way that other Elvis Tribute Artists don’t. No Jumpsuits, no sideburns – just Rock & Roll. I like to say that only one man has ever walked the face of the earth and looked good in a jumpsuit and he died in 1977. Our goal is to bring the incredible music of Elvis to the audience without the caricature that so many impersonators bring to their shows. We don’t impersonate, we celebrate!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Rock & Roll is never a smooth road. Our founding bass player quit after the first show because he wanted to start playing his original music during our performances and we said no. We’ve had several line-up changes with many musicians but settled into our 4-piece line-up about 2-1/2 years ago.

The biggest roadblock was convincing venues that we weren’t another Elvis impersonator act. With my background in the Punk Rock scene and our guitarist’s love of heavy metal, we brought a different energy to the music that always surprised our audiences. At the core, Elvis’ music is R&B and straight-up rock & roll. Occasionally we will mash-up a tune with Metallica, Jimi Hendrix, or Radiohead and the audience loves it.

From dive bars to county clubs to The Whisky A-Go-Go, we’re bringing the music and energy of Elvis to audiences across SoCal.

However, we’ve recently had a major setback. With the current political climate in this country, our founding guitarist and one of my closest friends – who also happens to be Venezuelan – decided it was best for his family to relocate to Spain. So we are currently in the process of filling his shoes, which has been a difficult task. So, if there are any readers who are Elvis nuts and love to shred, hit me up on DM!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I started my career at the Ed Sullivan Library in West Hollywood as an editor. Being able to see all of the incredible performances from almost every artist from the 50’s through the 70’s was a real treat. Our offices were shared with a man named Jerry Schilling, who was one of Elvis’ best friends. Getting to know him during those years was a highlight of my life (and technically made me posthumously 1 degree from Elvis!).

After that I produced and edited an infamous cult documentary called “The Life & Times of John C. Holmes” about the iconic adult film star. The film won Best Documentary at the 1999 SXSW film festival and got great reviews from national media. Unfortunately the film was financed and owned by an Adult film company who had no idea how to market or release it. Eventually Lions Gate released it on the DVD with their film “Wonderland’ which starred Val Kilmer as Holmes.

I moved to Ventura County shortly after that and became a work-at-home dad doing odd jobs in the entertainment industry.

In 2016 my best friend and bandmate from high school moved to Ventura and we decided to start making music together again. Toby Hansen had toured the world as a trumpet player and then guitarist for the Washington DC-based Ska band The Pietasters for over 25 years. We began Professional Americans and recorded and released the album “Rock Big League” (available on all platforms) and were nominated several times for Best Rock Band for the now defunct Ventura County Music Awards. When COVID hit we lost our founding bass player to relocation; however we found a great replacement and we continue to gig on occasion.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Starting in high school I gravitated towards artistic types and founded a band in my sophomore year. Mad Minute was a hardcore band greatly influenced by the DC music scene at the time – Minor Threat which evolved into Fugazi, Dag Nasty, Bad Brains. We broke up when I decided to stay in college. 3 of my bandmates joined other bands and toured the world for years after.

I first discovered the music of Elvis through my childhood best friend and college roommate Nick. One of my musical influences was Henry Rollins and one night I had an epiphany as Nick played Elvis’ “Are You Lonesome Tonight.” The spoken word breakdown in that song instantly connected him to Rollins in my brain and it struck me like bolt of lightening – Elvis was the foundation of ALL rock music. After our sophomore year Nick and I did a cross-country roadtrip visiting Elvis sites around the US. We started the summer on the East Coast, spent a few months in LA and then ended ups in Memphis for Elvis International Tribute Week in August,

Pricing:

• Our pricing depends on the event or venue

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebluemoonboys.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemoonboys805/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bluemoonboys805?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebluemoonboys8052

Image Credits
@mathiasfau