Chris Funk

Christopher Lyman Funk
Funk performing with The Decemberists, 28 April 2009
Background information
Origin	Valparaiso, Indiana
Genres	Folk, Folk rock, Country rock, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, saxophone, theremin, banjo
Associated acts	Knock-knock, The Decemberists, Black Prairie, Blue Giant

Christopher Lyman Funk is a multi-instrumentalist and member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists. He is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana where he worked at Front Porch Music which inspired his love of American Folk Music. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, saxophone, the theremin and many other instruments. Funk joined the band after attendance at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After the trailer with all their equipment and merchandise was stolen in 2005, Funk wrote "This Machine Kills Thieves" on his banjo, in reference to Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

He is a member of Knock-knock with DJ Rev (from the hip-hop group Lifesavas on Quannum Projects). He is also a member of the string band Black Prairie who released their first album, Feast of the Hunter’s Moon, in 2010. He also plays in the country rock group Blue Giant. He has produced records for The Builders and The Butchers, Langhorne Slim, Y La Bamba, and Red Fang.

He curated the Portland edition of Burn to Shine DVD released in 2006.

On December 20, 2006, Funk appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to end a longstanding feud with the show's host, Stephen Colbert. A contest ensued in which Funk and Colbert would each shred guitar while a panel of judges decided the winner. After Funk's solo, Colbert hurt his hand and asked Peter Frampton to fill in for him. The contest ended with Colbert/Frampton deciding the winner and Colbert was awarded The Crane Wife by The Decemberists as the grand prize. Funk then performed an "all-guitar jam" alongside Frampton, Robert Schneider (of The Apples in Stereo), and Rick Nielsen.

He lives in the Mississippi area of Portland, with his girlfriend Seann McKeel and daughter Scout Fahey Funk who was named after a character in the book To Kill A Mockingbird and guitarist John Fahey.

Performing discography

The Decemberists

• Castaways and Cutouts (LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2002)
• Her Majesty (LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2003)
• The Tain (EP, Acuarela Discos, 2004)
• Billy Liar (Single, Rough Trade, 2004)
• Picaresque (LP, Kill Rock Stars, 2005)
• 16 Military Wives (Single, Rough Trade, 2005)
• The Crane Wife (LP, Capitol Records, 2006)
• The Hazards of Love (LP, Capitol Records, 2009)
• The King is Dead (LP, Capitol Records, 2011)

Black Prairie

• "Feast of the Hunters' Moon" (LP, Sugar Hill Records, 2010

Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble

• Plastic Bag in the Tree (LP, Hush Records, 2007)

Knock-knock

• Busted in Borstle (LP, Barsuk, 2007)
• To Elliott, From Portland (contributed cover of Elliott Smith's "Speed Trials")

Guest artist

• Langhorne Slim "Be Set Free"
• Laura Veirs "July Flame"
• The Minus 5 "Killngsworth"
• Mirah, "(a)spera"
• The Shins, "Wincing the Night Away"
• The Long Winters, "Putting the Days to Bed"
• Lifesavas, "Gutterfly"
• Norfolk & Western, "Dusk in Cold Parlours" & "If You Were Born Overseas"
• Tracker, "Blankets" & "Polk"
• Blanket Music, "Cultural Norms"
• Casey Neill, "Brooklyn Bridge"
• Markus Ello, "Winesburg, Ohio", "Big Charade", "Rock In My Head", "As Fucked As Me"
• Your Neighbors, "4184"

Producer

• Langhorne Slim
• Y La Bamba
• The Builders and The Butchers
• Peter Wilde "Carnival"
• Red Fang

External links

• Chris Funk Myspace