Robben Ford Discussion

tboulette · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:43 am Post subject: Chris Cain

Anybody hear of this guy? Maybe I've just been under a rock...

If you haven't, check him out. Most of his stuff is available on Spotify. Good stuff for most Robben fans, I suspect.

frank0936 · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:32 am Post subject: Chris Cain

I've got a couple of his CDs. Great player and a great sense of humor, too. I just wish he'd release some more stuff. Do a search for him on youtube and you'll find quite a few videos.

frank0936 · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:34 am Post subject: Chris Cain

Here's his website:
http://www.chriscain.cc/

Enjoy!

AlChuck · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:00 pm Post subject:

Chris is from around here (San Francisco Bay Area) and plays around a lot. Fantastic player and singer, great guy too...

ltkojak · Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:34 am Post subject:

Chris has played with Robben Ford's brothers band, the Charles Ford Blues Band in several occasions through the years, even one time (that I know of) including Robben himself.
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Pepe aka Lt. Kojak
Milano, Italy

VanZapp · Member Joined: 11 Aug 2011 Posts: 17 Location: Norfolk, UK

Wow, never heard of this guy until now so many thanks for the heads up! Just ordered his 'So many miles' CD. Great tone, great phrasing and great voice.

Thats what these forums are really good at.....finding new artists and material that is worth listening to. Wonderful stuff!!!

frank0936 · Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:10 am Post subject: Raisin' Cain

Use the search function and you will find a lot of discussions here on Chris Cain. I just typed in "Chris Cain" and got 230 hits.

tboulette · Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:16 am Post subject: Re: Raisin' Cain

frank0936 · Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:15 am Post subject: Chris Cain

I wish he was a member here. He's got a great sense of humor, judging by some of his lyrics.

jconstant · Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:49 am Post subject:

Chris is fantastic and I LOVE watching him play. Most of the time he's got a great big grin while he bobs his head up and down. It's like he's transported into some other world. You can't help but smile when you watch him.
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"Somebody's got to make some music around here." - Robben Ford

delstele · Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 6:20 am Post subject:

Awesome player, singer, song smith.. Thanks for the heads up on this cat...

Groovecross · Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 1:24 pm Post subject: Re Chris Cain

I studied music with Chris in college. He was opening for the Yellowjackets in the early 80's. I remember him telling me about one of the first shows he did (might have been THE first) with the Yellowjackets and after he left the stage, Robben personally invited him to come back out and join them, that was pretty cool. So he's had some kind of a friendship with Robben for a long time.

He's an outstanding cat and a great player. He came up to Washington a little over a year ago and we reconnected at a show he did here.

Chris isn't much of a gear head really. He plugs directly into a little modified Fender 112 with his 335 and that's his tone. By the end of the night he had quite a stack of bottles remaining from the steady stream of beers they brought his way. Seems like he just goes from town to town playing the blues and drinking. He just goes wherever his booking guy says to go and he just seems kind of out-of-it to me. It was sad really.

But Chris is arguably one of the best West Coast style blues players on the planet -- even loaded. Even back in college, you could feel ever note he played - totally soulful, totally in control with the added ability to play blistering lines in the pocket, at will.

I used to go and see him play in Los Gatos 1981-82. His band used to do a lot of fusion back in those days, Yellowjackets, Jeff Lorber Fusion etc...

Thanks for mentioning him.
Michael Lewis
Soundcloud.com/MichaelLewis
MichaelLewisGuitars.com
Reverbnation.com/MichaelLewis

jconstant · Posted: Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:03 pm Post subject:

Thanks for sharing that, Michael - interesting stuff.

He definitely seems like a different kind of dude. The only time I saw him live was a couple of years ago at the Irvine Blues Festival when he was with The Ford Blues Band. He looked like he just climbed down from a hard days work on a farm plowing fields in his flannel shirt and overalls. But unlike most farmers I know, he then proceeded to play the shit out of the guitar.

It's too bad he seems out of it to you. I don't know him but I hope he's happy with what he's doing.
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"Somebody's got to make some music around here." - Robben Ford

Bill Morgan · Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 3:37 pm Post subject:

I have most of Chris' recordings along with a bunch of live stuff and a 2 hour recording of a lesson a friend of mine took with him. The lesson was great. Chris is a veritable encyclopedia of guitar. I loved it when he mentioned being influenced by Wes Montgomery and then proceeded to effortlessly play a few Wes lines. An amazing amount of talent in a very cool guy. And possibly the world's leading proponent of the use of the "F" word. ;-)

We should all spread the word as Chris definitely deserves a lot more attention than he gets. And check out the video of Chris with Larry Carlton on YouTube!

Bill

frank0936 · Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 6:21 am Post subject: Chris Cain vids

Hi Bill,
Thankfully, there is a wealth of youtube videos of Chris Cain. I started watching one night and spent a couple of hours easily. There's a great one of Chris and Tommy Castro, and Chris is just smoking (as usual). I read in aninterview that he still lives in the house he grew up in and when he's not playing, he stays at home and watches classic TV shows.