An Interview with AC's Own Chris Berry: The New CD "The Emerald River Project"

Who doesn't like free music especially when it is a collection of high-caliber tunes from someone who has been making music for years, but is still on the cusp of being discovered? That's exactly what this author and music lover found in the mailbox. An advanced copy of The Emerald River Project by Chris Berry and The Retrofitters was delivered and immediately put in play mode. The author was blown away.

History of the band
Berry has been kicking around the peripherals of the West Coast music scene for something like 35 years. He's known for his session work as a guitarist, vocalist and producer. He's contributed to over 40 albums by such artists as Billy Preston, Mike Nesmith, and Stone Temple Pilots to name a few. In 1992 the first incarnation of The Retrofitters came into being under the name "S.F. NARAS All Stars" as a house band to back up that year's Grammy nominees at the awards banquet. That band included current and former members of Jefferson Starship, Pablo Cruise, Sly & the Family Stone, Eric Clapton's Group and Canned Heat.

When word got out about the band shows began selling out. Berry says, "We had so much fun that I started booking other gigs around the Bay Area. The group always had revolving band members. Basically it was whoever wasn't on tour at the time." In 1994 Berry relocated to Los Angeles and continued the band with its rotating-member format. Berry continues, "You never knew who was going to be in the band from night to night. Sometimes the line up would change in the middle of the show as musicians would wander in and join us. It wasn't uncommon to see someone like Stevie Winwood, Jackson Browne, Melissa Etheridge, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards sitting in. We even had the drummer from Spinal Tap as a regular member for a while and no, he didn't die of spontaneous combustion when he played with us." (For those out of the loop, the fictitious band Spinal Tap has had many drummers who according to the mock-u-mentary, died under mysterious circumstances.)