Chris Cernak

Artist Information

Biography

Insert catchy and clever descriptive phrase about how many different styles the artist twists together like everyone else in this world but somehow sets him or her apart here____________.
What it boils down to is Chris Cernak loves playing music. You can see it in him every time he picks up a guitar. Whether it’s by himself on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere, or in front of 500 people(biggest show to date,) music has just always felt right to him. He had to walk away from a dream come true in late 2006 and it took a few years to realize that he belonged back chasing his heart all around the country side.
In early 2011 Chris released his first official studio album Down The Road. During the writing and recording he experimented with a fairly new sound and style to him which was fashioned after the way his late mother always liked to hear him sing. Down The Road was a solid stepping stone to help propel him back into the career that he had valued so much in his early twenties. Now 31 years old and of a different mindset he has a few substantial tours under his belt, a new band together and the first four songs off of his new album 'Free' will be release in Nov 2013.
Chris has a unique sound all his own. He prides himself on the fact that he can finish the sullen singer/songwriter show at 8pm; be at the bar by 9pm to rock and roll for another 4 hours; then get up the next morning to head to the next town and do it all again. To quote his good friend and frequent guitar player Mike Lerario “a bad day with a guitar in his hands is better than a good one without”.
Chris was recently reviewed as "a songwriter who manages to not only hold the listener’s interest, but to keep them fully engaged. Part of it is deft use of varied tempos and the other is that Cernak is also a strong songwriter who uses blunt language to effectively convey blunt feelings: sadness, regret, longing and hope." –Michael Coleman, On Tap Magazine(September, 2011)



Notable venues played:
The Van Dyck- Schenectady, NY
Plattsburgh State University- Plattsburgh, NY
Musselman Triathlon Festival- Geneva, NY
The Great Escape / Splashwater Kingdom (Six Flags)- Lake George, NY
Northern Lights- Clifton Park, NY
George Mason University- Fairfax, VA
The Skyline- Albany, NY
Revolution Hall, Troy, NY
The Bitter End- New York, NY
Millenium Music Conference- Harrisburg, PA
Cape May Singer Songwriter Series- Cape May, NJ
Times Square (The Real Radio Show)- New York, NY
Hotel Indigo Singer Songwriter Series- Nashville, TN
Battery Park- Burlington, VT
The Grape Room-Philadelphia, PA
Level X Lounge- Washington, DC
King St Blues- Alexandria, VA
The Aulde Shebeen- Fairfax, VA
9:30 Club- Washington, DC
The Purple Fiddle- Thomas, WV
The Midtown Scholar- Harrisburg, PA
Rosendale Café- Rosendale, NY
Acoustic Coffeehouse-Johnson City, TN
Commodore Grille- Nashville, TN
Milkboy Coffee-Ardmore, PA

Instrumentation

Chris Cernak - guitar and vocals

Discography

The first group of songs from 'Free' The Ep are completed and will be officially released in Nov, 2013. Making an album like 'Free', and having a band to support have long been dreams of Chris's and it is finally becoming a reality.
In early 2011 Chris released his first official studio album Down The Road. During the writing and recording he experimented with a fairly new sound and style to him which was fashioned after the way his late mother always liked to hear him sing. Down The Road was a solid stepping stone to help propel him back into the career that he had valued so much in his early twenties.

Official Website

http://www.chriscernak.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Chris Cernak

Audio

• One Way Ticket To Nowhere
  Listen  
• Don't Look Back
  Listen  
• Music Man
  Listen  
• We Gotta Run
  Listen  
• When It Rains It Pours(demo)
  Listen  
• Something Special
  Listen  
• Folsom Prison Blues (Live)
  Listen  
• Down The Road
  Listen  
• 3am (Live)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Days Like Today
• Satisfied

Video

Highway 61 purple fiddle 5.12.12.wmv

We Gotta Run Purple Fiddle 5.12.12.wmv

Photo Gallery

Press

• Cernak manages to not only hold the listener’s interest, but to keep them fully engaged [+ Show ]
  

  “Downward Spiral,” the lead track on Chris Cernak’s new CD “Down the Road,” opens with the plaintive...“Downward Spiral,” the lead track on Chris Cernak’s new CD “Down the Road,” opens with the plaintive yet gorgeous sounds of a lone acoustic guitar and violin. It’s a fitting intro to a ballad about self-inflicted pain and redemption, and a powerful kickoff to the upstate New York native’s latest recorded effort. Unlike a lot of stripped-down singer/songwriters who can be monotonous, Cernak manages to not only hold the listener’s interest, but to keep them fully engaged. Part of it is deft use of varied tempos and the other is that Cernak is also a strong songwriter who uses blunt language to effectively convey blunt feelings: sadness, regret, longing and hope. That said, his cover of Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” is a meandering and repetitive misfire on an otherwise very strong record. The track that follows, “Do What You Want With It,” is an upbeat love song punctuated by Cernak’s lively acoustic guitar, which is a welcome return to form. Rich, velvety tones, crisp playing and compelling songwriting make “Down the Road” a winner. – MC

• Chris Cernak Shows Sensitive Side in 'Down The Road' [+ Show ]
  

  Upstate singer-songwriter Chris Cernak has released his first full length CD called “Down the Road,”...Upstate singer-songwriter Chris Cernak has released his first full length CD called “Down the Road,” recorded nearby at Leopard Studios in Stone Ridge.
  
  A bar-room performer who shows his sensitive side here, Cernak rides the thin line between folk and Celtic, with its lovely harmonies and fine fiddle (Timothy Allen), like in first track “Downward Spiral, where fiddle, accordion and acoustic guitar join Cernak’s dynamic delivery, and Kesley Reiber’s angelic voice.
  
  That template continues with the haunting “Something Special” and “Sunday Morning,” with Cernak and Reiber’s voices perfectly blending and complimenting each other’s.
  
  In the driving “Running On Empty,” he sings of love, longing and dedication, then Cernak goes for broke in the passionate “Satisfied,” as he sings “I ain’t never been satisfied.”
  
  But we don’t believe him. He surely has to be satisfied with this fine CD.

• One of the most entertaining solo performers in the North Country!! [+ Show ]
  

  Chris Cernak will be kicking off Saturday night entertainment at the Lodge on Saturday January 15th ...Chris Cernak will be kicking off Saturday night entertainment at the Lodge on Saturday January 15th at 8 pm. Be sure to come check him out, it should be a great day of snowmobiling followed up by one of the most entertaining solo performers in the North Country!!

• The Hottest Thing [+ Show ]
  

  "The hottest thing in this area with an acoustic guitar" says DJ Mike Garassi of Music Man Entertain..."The hottest thing in this area with an acoustic guitar" says DJ Mike Garassi of Music Man Entertainment!!!

• Relaxed!!! [+ Show ]
  

  "Chris is a very relaxed performer, it makes for a great night of music when you see him play" Ja..."Chris is a very relaxed performer, it makes for a great night of music when you see him play"
  
  Jason Keller
  Host of Big Break Show
  WHRL 103.1-FM, Albany, NY
  

• Steps it Up!!! [+ Show ]
  

  “Chris is a great performer—the bigger the crowd, the more he steps it up. He keeps the performance ...“Chris is a great performer—the bigger the crowd, the more he steps it up. He keeps the performance loose and is interactive with the audience.”
  
  P.J. Anadio
  General Manager
  The Caboose, Gloversville, NY
  
  
  

Setlist

(This is a standard list of cover songs for a four hour night. Chris tastefully mixes in original songs depending on the crowd, and the venue. Chris also performs many singer/songwriter style shows focused mainly around his original compositions)

Sample list of Original Tunes

Down The Road
Satisfied
My Ability
The Way You Taste
Jack of all trades
The music man
Your thing
Do what you want with it
When it rains it pours
Don't look back
Messed up situation
Who am I anyway
The way
Dead again
Days like today
Don't be like that
Leaving
Let me be me
Long drive home
Sing your song
Running on empty
Don't blink
Yesterday, Tomorrow
I'm Sorry
The days go by
You're already gone
Going home
I'm not perfect
Something special
Downward spiral
One more breath
The old man
Fade away
Mother
Samantha
Something to hide







Covers

Can’t you see (Marshall Tucker Band)
3am (Matchbox Twenty)
The weight (The Band)
Crazy love (Van Morrison)
Blue eyes crying in the rain (Willie Nelson)
Sweet home Alabama (Lynard Skynard)
Wonderful tonight (Eric Clapton)
Rockin in a free world (Neil Young)
Bad moon rising (CCR)
Proud mary (CCR)
Turn the page (Bob Seger)
Against the wind (Bob Seger)
Kryptonite (Three Doors Down)
Lightning crashes (Live)
She hates me (Puddle of Mudd)
Dock of the bay (Otis Redding)
Folsom prison blues (Johnny Cash)
Cocaine blues (Johnny Cash)
The road goes on forever (Robert Earl Keen)
If you could only see (Tonic)
Dammit (Blink 182)
Let her cry (Hootie and the Blowfish)
Knockin on heaven’s door (Bob Dylan)
One too many mornings (Bob Dylan)
Pride and joy (Stevie Ray Vaughan)
Sugar mountain (Neil Young)
Good (Better than Ezra)
Maryjane’s last dance (Tom Petty)
Running down a dream (Tom Petty)
Jack and diane (John Mellencamp)
Meet Virginia (Train)
What I got (Sublime)
Badfish (Sublime)
Flake (Jack Johnson)
Steal my kisses (Ben Harper)
Brown eyed girl (Van Morrison)
Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)
Teach your children (CSNY)
Blaze of glory (Bon Jovi)
Sex on Fire (Kings of Leon)
I Shot The Sheriff (Bob Marley)
Layla (Eric Clapton)
Hard To Handle (Black Crowes)
Melissa (Allman Brothers)
One Way Out (Allman Brothers)
Ripple (Grateful Dead)
Mexicali Blues(Grateful Dead)

Basic Requirements

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