Christian Raphael

"I think the world is a pretty small place...but people make it big".

Born in Philadelphia, Christian grew up with music. His father Don was a piano and organ player in the big band era. There was always a piano in the house, and incredible musicians coming and going. Frequent trips to clubs in Harlem, sleeping in dressing rooms, or in the back of the car, and hauling the Hammond Organ from town to town are early memories of his.

Christian wrote his first melody at the age of four, and studied piano for a few years before picking up a guitar at the age of 14. Well, like many of us, true passion was put on the back burner when the first of four children came along. Christian putdown the 6 string and picked up a calculator and did a 20 year run in the Corporate America Theater until the show was cancelled….Sound familiar? Along the way he never stopped writing songs and playing guitar—music is a powerful thing.

Christian's songs talk about living life and the things that make us tick on some level or another. "There's much more that we all have in common than set us apart. It's funny when I think that I've come up with something new musically, it's more like, I think I may have come up with another way to be myself, and authentically express a common experience that resonates inside and connects to other people. That's what music means to me, it's about connecting on the inside and connecting with others so we all feel like we are not alone. Music is a part of my DNA. That's how I feel the connection".

Christian moved to New Mexico via Miami Florida from central coast California to start over again (again), where he has played Winery's, numerous open mic's, cafes, Town Squares, and hotels for the past three years. He spends a few months each year on the road traveling from town to town writing and playing songs, and doing his part to help connect people in this small place we call the US of A.

Musical influences are wide and varied--drawing on his musical exposure of early childhood to his love of story telling and outstanding writers. Christian's influences include most prominantly Tom Waitts and John Coltrane, with side orders of Lowell George, Duane Allman and Thelonious Monk.