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Chris Thile

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Chris Thile

Chris Thile (/ˈθiːlɪ/)[5] (born February 20, 1981) is a musician from The United States, best known as mandolinist and vocalist for the progressive acoustic trio, Nickel Creek. His current band is Punch Brothers and his most recent album is Punch. He has also recorded five albums as a solo artist, debuting with Leading Off in 1994. Chris Thile has collaborated with many artists such as Mike Marshall, Béla Fleck, Glen Phillips, and Edgar Meyer. Thile is a great-great-grandson of Baseball Hall of Famer Sam Thompson.

The three members of Nickel Creek met in Carlsbad, California at That Pizza Place in 1989, whilst listening to weekly bluegrass shows with their parents. Soon they were taking lessons from the same instructor, playing festivals, and even recording albums. Their first, Little Cowpoke, was released in 1994. Nickel Creek has gone on to record several more albums, including their self-titled debut album and This Side, which went platinum and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. In 2005, Nickel Creek released Why Should the Fire Die?, which received massive critical acclaim and sold 250,000 units.

Thile has released other solo albums, including the intricate Not All Who Wander Are Lost, released in 2001, and Deceiver in 2004 (in which he wrote, composed, sang, and played every part). In 2008, Thile will release a collaboration album with bassist Edgar Meyer, and also plans to release a collaborative album with Hilary Hahn. [6][7]

History

1981-1999: Early life and career

Thile was born in Oceanside, California in 1981. His earliest memories of music are listening to Stan Getz's "The Girl from Ipanema" before he even turned one year old. When he was two, his family started going to That Pizza Place, where he listened to John Moore's band Bluegrass Etc. When Thile was four, his family moved to Idyllwild, California.

Thile began playing the mandolin at the age of five, taking occasional lessons from John Moore. At age eight, Chris' family and the Watkins family formed Nickel Creek. The band performed at many California bluegrass festivals, and as a result Chris had to be home-schooled. At age twelve, he won the prestigious national mandolin championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.

That same year, 1993, Thile made a demo tape and sent it to the Sugar Hill and Rounder record labels. Both labels showed interest, but the Thiles went with Sugar Hill.[8] The next year Chris Thile released his first solo album, Leading Off, featuring mostly original compositions.

In 1995, the Thile family moved to Murray, Kentucky where Chris' father Scott Thile accepted a position at Murray State University as a musical instrument technician.[9][10] In 1997, Chris released Stealing Second and Nickel Creek released Here to There. Chris went on to attend Murray State University for a few semesters, where he was a music major.[11]

2000-2005: Wander and Deceiver

Main articles: Not All Who Wander Are Lost (album) and Deceiver (album)

Following the major success and platinum accreditation of the album Nickel Creek, Thile released Not All Who Wander Are Lost in 2001. The album featured guest appearances from several well-known instrumentalists such as Stuart Duncan, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas, and Bryan Sutton.

In 2003, Thile teamed up with mandolinist Mike Marshall for the duet album Into the Cauldron, which included original pieces as well as pieces by Charlie Parker and J. S. Bach. In 2004, Thile released Deceiver, an experimental album on which he recorded every track himself. This included electric guitar, piano, drums, violin, viola, cello, and bass. Deceiver demonstrated some pop/rock songwriting in addition to "newgrass."

2006-Present: Punch Brothers and Edgar Meyer project

Main articles: How to Grow a Woman from the Ground and Punch (album)

In August 2006, Nickel Creek announced via Billboard Magazine and their official website that at the end of the year they would no longer be recording together as a group, and their tour scheduled through 2007 would be their last for an indefinite period of time. This opened the way for Chris Thile to pursue new projects.

In 2006, Thile formed the How to Grow a Band, with whom he recorded How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, Thile's fifth album. In an interview with the Nashville City Paper, Thile described the formation of the band:

Sara Watkins with Thile on Nickel Creek's Farewell (For Now) Tour in April 2007.

"We got together one night just to drop a ton of money, drink too much wine, eat steaks, and commiserate about our failed relationships. We had gotten to play together a few days before and we had said that we needed to do something musical together. With our hearts smashed to pieces, it became more urgent — our lives had gone the same way for so long. I knew I wanted to have a band with Gabe [Witcher], but I didn’t know if it would be a rock ensemble, an ambitious acoustic classical thing or a bluegrass group. We played, and there was a serious, instantaneous connection. Then I knew I wanted to put together a bluegrass band — one with a lot of range, but aesthetically a bluegrass band." [12]

The band consists of Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin), Chris Eldridge (guitar), Greg Garrison (bass), and Noam Pikelny (banjo). Bryan Sutton has also filled in on guitar when necessary. In 2007, the band officially changed its name first to "The Tensions Mountain Boys" and then "Punch Brothers."

On March 17, 2007, this group debuted Thile's most ambitious work to date at Carnegie Hall: "The Blind Leaving the Blind", a forty minute suite in four movements. Thile says the piece was written in part to deal with his divorce of 2004.

Punch Brothers released their first album, Punch, February 26, 2008 on Nonesuch Records. The album featured Thile's suite "The Blind Leaving the Blind", as well as other original songs. [13]

To promote Punch, Thile and Punch Brothers planned year-long tour in 2008, as well as a February 29 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[14]

In August 2008, Thile and bassist Edgar Meyer announced the release date of the duo's planned debut album. The album will be released on Thile's label Nonesuch Records on September 23, 2008.[15] Commenting on the collaboration, Thile said "Edgar is one of the biggest influences on my musical life, and now I’m in a duo with him and writing songs with him. This was my dream. I always wondered what it would be like to be playing music this hard."[16]

Side projects

Thile's career has been successful, especially for one so young. He is also featured in the documentary Bluegrass Journey, along with the rest of Nickel Creek, and still maintains an active touring schedule. An in-demand studio musician, he has also appeared on a number of other artists' recordings, including Béla Fleck's Perpetual Motion, playing arrangements of Baroque music with Fleck and Edgar Meyer, the Dixie Chicks' Home, and Dolly Parton's Little Sparrow.

He can frequently be seen playing in New York City, NY at The Baggot Inn and Parkside Lounge's bluegrass jams alongside Tony Trischka, Greg Garring and Michael Daves.

Awards and nominations

Discography

Main article: Chris Thile discography

References

  1. ^ allmusic ((( Chris Thile > Overview )))
  2. ^ "Chris Thile: Covering the Bases". iBluegrass.com. May 20, 1999. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
  3. ^ "AETN Presents: Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile". AETN. May 14, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c "Mandolin 10 Questions - Chris Thile - Interview". Mandolin Café. October 26, 2006. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  5. ^ Quillien, Shay. "Hit-making Nickel Creek tries to catch its breath". Oakland Tribune. April 27, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Tensions Mountain Boys at Carnegie Hall". Carnegie Hall. 2007-03-17. Retrieved 2007-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b "Nonesuch Records Signs Singer/Composer/Mandolinist Chris Thile and His New Band, Punch Brothers". All About Jazz. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Chris Thile: Covering the Bases". iBluegrass.com. 1999-05-20. Retrieved 2007-08-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ http://www.waynerice.com/bgbios/bgbiosn.htm
  10. ^ http://campus.murraystate.edu/staff/scott.thile/index.html
  11. ^ http://www.ibluegrass.com/bg_posting3.CFM?p__i=426&p__r=&p__a=inter
  12. ^ "Nickel Creek's Thile 'grows' a new band". Nashville City Paper. 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2007-10-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ "Nonesuch Records Signs Singer/Composer/Mandolinist Chris Thile and His New Band, Punch Brothers". All About Jazz. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2007-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ "Show Calendar: Week of February 25 - February 29". NBC. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  15. ^ Chris Thile, Edgar Meyer Preview New Album at Aspen". Nonesuch Records. August 13, 2008. August 18, 2008.
  16. ^ "Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile | Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
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