Chris Pierce:  Music from the Soul

How can you hear three lines of a song on a slow dial-up service computer that keeps cutting out and be moved in your soul?  That was my first introduction to the music of Chris Pierce.  "All That Matters Is Now"… is the song; and by the third line you feel it in your chest, in your heart and in your soul.  The voice alone is a moving experience.  Add the words, the music and the feeling given in these songs and you are moved to a place that not every performer takes you to.  In this interview, Chris and I talk about soul music and living the dream in your heart.  Chris Pierce is performing at The Troubadour this week in Hollywood, on Feb. 20.  Go. Your soul will thank you for it.

KC: On your website you are described as a soul adventurer…what does that mean to you?

CP:  The past few years I have traveled all over the world making my music...there is a constant search for connection with people, and the way that I connect is through music.  It is like a big magic carpet ride, like a big adventure – to reach into people’s souls, to let them know you are trying to be honest with them and have an honest conversation with them through the music.  I have met so many incredible people from all over that have told me that it is great to come to the show and feel like it’s okay to feel something.  It’s one of the biggest compliments that I could ever get; that people feel like I’m being honest with them enough to open up and kind of give back some energy.  And that’s kind of what the whole soul adventure means to me.  I am a soul singer, and I consider myself a singer that sings from somewhere deep inside.  

KC:  What do you feel about having a dream in your heart and where do you feel that you are on that journey?

CP:  Music has always been a place of refuge for me.  It has been the place for me to go to where I felt I could be the most honest.  Because of that, I have dreamt of many things, and many ways that I could get out there and share it.  I think I have followed my dreams to a certain extent. I haven’t forced anything.  I haven’t tried to force anything to happen.  I think there are times that are frustrating where I have tried, “I have to make this happen.”  Where you try to control things, that hasn’t really worked out that well (laughs).

So, I just try to trust…trust everything that comes and realize that it is all part of the dream.  You know the good and the bad, the frustrated parts and the triumphant moments.

I’m no expert at following your dreams.  I think that I’m a person that’s blessed enough to be able to follow a path, and some of my dreams; I think that everybody has to make a decision of if they’re open enough to it.  You have to be really courageous to be open to falling down, and getting hurt, and stepping back up.  That is all challenging and I think it’s beautiful when people do.  I definitely applaud anyone who is out there and trusting it, trusting in the connection.

KC:  What do you have to say about enjoying the process of creativity and of creating your life path?

CP:  The enjoying it is the main focus for me.  Sometimes you can’t help but laugh when you are frustrated.  And I think that is very healthy.  To just say, everything’s okay and just enjoy whatever is going on right now. I know it’s easier said than done.  I was raised by two parents that are optimists, so I have been encouraged by them to find that the cup is half full, and to get something out of every situation.  

KC:  What do you think about when people talk about “the odds” of success in music or any other creative career?

CP:   I don’t know if it’s that I don’t believe in odds, or I just don’t concentrate on them.  I don’t think, “Let’s see if I do this many shows, maybe this will happen, if I do this many albums, maybe something else will happen…”  I try to always remember and be humbled by the fact that I get to do “a” show or write “a” song.  If I get to have one person say hey that song really helped me through this.  The fact that that has happened once in my lifetime as somebody on this planet; I consider that to be a huge blessing and everything else….I think it’s all just a beautiful thing that I get to do it over and over again.  I try to keep that in mind.  This is all so incredible and I am in fact living my dream.

Thank you so much Chris.

Walking on the Earth is the CD.  Find out more at chrispierce.com and myspace.com/chrispierce.  See Chris perform at The Troubadour in Hollywood on Feb.20.  Also at the Shore-Hermosa Beach Feb. 27.