Chris Murhpy is a Violinist, Composer and Band Leader

For 25 years, and with no sign of slowing, violinist Chris Murphy has made a living by writing, performing and recording original music. For Murphy, the path forward is charted by looking backward, to the troubadours and minstrels of ages past. Forget the exaggerated reports of the music industry’s demise. It’s only the record industry, a relative blip in the history of putting tones in sequence, that’s suffering. Music, and the opportunity to make a life’s work out of it, well, that’s not going anywhere. “In another era,” he says, “I would have played square dances, and loved it. I would have been a court musician in Versailles in the 17th Century, or a violinist in a circus orchestra.” For Chris Murphy, inspiration spans eras and aesthetics, but the fundamentals are the same.

Born into an Irish-Italian family near New York City, Murphy was surrounded by the disparate and eclectic sounds of his neighbors’ traditional music. “I heard and was influenced by everything – from Italian-mandolin music, to bluegrass and folk, to Latin music,” he says. Inevitably, he discovered rock ‘n’ roll, claiming still further influence from some of rock’s most adventurous and eclectic icons: Lou Reed and Ry Cooder, Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson. “My real hero,” he says, “was David Lindley. Hearing him play fiddle and lap steel with Jackson Browne — that kind of esoteric, enigmatic soloing over songs is originally what I loved.”

He learned about Turkish and Indian music at Simon’s Rock of Bard College and then studied composition at Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music. A longtime instrumental dabbler, Murphy has mostly taught himself how to play percussion, guitar and mandolin, even some Eastern instruments, but he found his proper match at 22, when he picked up the violin. “It’s the one instrument you’ll find anywhere you go,” he says. “And it has a wonderful, charming kind of minstrel quality. I love all the myths surrounding it.”

Eventually, Murphy did as so many American adventure seekers had done before him: He sought his fortune in the West. Now based in Los Angeles, Murphy earns his living by teaching — guitar, mandolin and violin — working on music for films, and, mostly, by performing his work for audiences.

And that’s hardly at the exclusion of recording. To wit, Murphy has amassed a deep catalog of solo and collaborative albums and made cameo appearances on records by Har Mar Superstar and The Dandy Warhols, among others. Murphy’s recordings include the likes of Steve Hodges and Larry Taylor from Tom Waits’ band, Nels Cline (Wilco), Mike Watt (fIREHOSE), D.J. Bonebrake and John Doe (X, The Knitters), Herb Pedersen (The Desert Rose Band), Tim O’Brien, Joachim Cooder (Buena Vista Social Club), Joey Peters (Grant Lee Buffalo), Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Santana), Trevor Hutchinson (Waterboys, Lunasa) and Pat D’Arcy, L. Shankar (Peter Gabriel), Victoria Williams. In the last year alone, Murphy has written and recorded six new albums in a vast array of styles. Chris has also been featured on television programs such as ‘Til Death and The Ellen Degeneres Show; his diverse and chameleon-like talents make him a sought after composer and collaborator for film and television. Chris has also performed in over 40 US states, in England and in Ireland.

As he searches for new ways to communicate through music, fusing styles and techniques from across the globe — a unique fabric of world music, he calls it — Murphy finds his element on the stage, where spontaneity and improvisation reign. “To me, the music is liquid, and I’m looking to have some kind of experience.” he says. “I’ll twist and turn and hammer and mold and shape cut and paste the music to do that. We’ve never done a song the same way twice.” As ever, Murphy re-forges the past to make a new way.

To Learn More About Chris Murhpy, Visit:  http://chrismurphymusic.com/

To Book Chris Murhpy and His Bands, Visit: https://www.teahouseco.com/

To Study with Chris Murphy, Visit:  http://blacktreeschool.com/

GUEST:  PETER BEDARD

Mr. Peter Bedard MA, C.Ht.
Alternative health expert and host/producer of CYH
Expertise: Alternative Health, Author of Convergence Healing, Healing, Hosting, Community Activist, Anxiety, Addiction, Chronic Pain, Integrative Wellness, Guided Imagery

Originally hailing from San Jose, CA Peter Bedard is passionate about alternative health, empowering others to heal, and inspiring them to live a life that is full of wellness and awareness. Peter has a “been there done that” positive attitude when it comes to healing. He’s died before and come back to a shattered life and dreams. He knows the pain of being in pain and his work focuses around addiction, anxiety, and pain while guiding people to reclaim their life and stand in their personal strengths. For many he is a bright light in a dark world of misery.

You know how some people just don’t seem to heal? They are stuck in a loop of pain whether it be emotional, spiritual, or physical and they live in fear of never being able to effortlessly engage in life again. Well, Peter helps them find hope and reclaim their life so as to once again live happy, joyous, and free. Peter is a Hypnotherapist with an MA in Consciousness Studies (the study of quantum theory and theology), the host of CreateYourHealth.com, the owner of CYH Teas, Healing Herbs and Spices, a teacher/workshop facilitator, author, and sought after personality full of life and positive energy.

Having survived an astounding near-death experiences (Check out “I Survived, Beyond and Back)and four other close to death experiences Peter had to learn how to walk (again) and heal himself from a number of medical conditions over the years. Peter has now turned his attentions to his personal passion for assisting others with their wellness.

Somewhere at the crossroad of Dr. Andrew Weil and the daredevils from Jackass lies Peter’s ongoing project, Create Your Health, where he tries on alternative or traditional (indigenous) health practice he can track down. Whether they are off the shelf or off the wall – ear coning, tapping, acupuncture, sound therapy, iridology, shamanism, witch doctors, stone throwers, scientists – Peter welcomes the opportunity to be a human guinea pig!

Peter spent close to 20 years in pain and Healed himself of fibromyalgia, bronchitis, chronic pain, chronic sinus infections, asthma, depression, anxiety, siatica, chronic allergies, and an allergy to chlorine.

His mission is to “Inspire Wellness” and share information about healing through a process he created for his own life, Convergence Healing, A 7 Step Process for Healing Pain, that he now teaches in workshops, through his private practice, and in his upcoming book.