Chris Gelbuda

With a diverse and deep background in rich musicianship, Chris Gelbuda has been making a name for himself as solo singer/songwriter and guitar player. Spanning blues, rock, hip-hop, and pop, Chris' music includes a wide array of genres calling on his strong experience with the music industry at a young age. Whether polishing a studio session, with names such as Lupe Fiasco and Matthew Santos, or captivating young faces in clubs, Chris Gelbuda is making waves with his styled guitar work and soulful voice.

Chris Gelbuda's music career started with a piano in his childhood home when he was 6 years old. He picked up his first guitar in his early teenage years, and by high school he was fronting rock bands. At 16, Chris got his first break, when Chicago blues legend Lil' Arthur Duncan heard him play guitar. Duncan asked Chris to play some gigs with him, and Chris obliged. Learning blues from Chicago's best and sneaking into late night blues clubs to play gave Chris a taste of the live music scene at a young age, and he quickly decided to make it his life.

Throughout his college years, Chris became immersed in the rock and jamband scene, developing his skills as a dynamic, multi-instrumentalist and singer. He eventually made the move to Chicago in 2006 and jumped right into the music scene. In Chicago, Chrishosted two weekly open mic nights (The Tonic Room - 2446 N. Halsted, and Mad River - 2808 N. Sheffield), created an international Sublime tribute band, and established himself as a formidable session guitarist. Over the course of his two years in Chicago, Chris found himself playing with such international acts as Buddy Guy, Lil Arthur Duncan, Oteil Burbridge, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Long Beach Dub Allstars. Chris also played guitar for singer/songwriters Todd Carey (myspace.com/toddcarey), Andrew Ripp (myspacec.com/andrewripp), Sam Knutson (Shame Train), and Mary Beth Maziarz. Eventually Chris took a spot as guitarist in Colorado-based "Euforquestra", an eclectic world beat ensemble, in which he sat in for several great tours through the western US.

In June of 2008, Chris decided to get serious about his own music and made the move to Nashville, TN, where he still resides. His music has recieved praise from song of the best songwriters in Nashville, including Will Rambeaux (Faith Hill), Chuck Cannon (Toby Keith, Dolly Parton), and Chuck Jones. Currently, Chris is co-writing a song catalog with Carey Ott (Dual Tone Records) and is preparing to record his own debut album.Recently, Chris was asked to play guitar on a number of tracks for Matthew Santos' first major label debut recording (also featuring guest musicians Jake Cinninger and Lupe Fiasco). In addition, Chris recorded wurlitzer and electric guitar with Lupe Fiasco's ghost band, "Japanese Cartoon".

It has been a crazy 10 years since Chris Gelbuda started playing guitar and he has high ambitions for his debut album, which is due out in early 2009.