Christopher Scott

AUGUST 4, 2005

By Steve Irsay
Staff Writer

After nearly two weeks of traveling throughout Greece and Italy, Long Beach singer-songwriter Christopher Scott and his wife Dana Rampey got the highlight of their May vacation when Rampey stopped at a piazza in Florence to check a voicemail on her cell phone.

That is when she learned that Scott has been named one of five finalists in the VO5 "Red Hot Rising Star" contest, a nationwide music talent search. The public can vote online or by cell phone until Tuesday, Aug. 16. The winner will be featured in five national magazines and get a shot at scoring a major-label recording contract.

"It had already been an awesome trip," said Scott. "That just made it unbelievable."

Compounding his surprise was the fact that Scott didn't even know that his wife had entered him in the contest back in March after she saw a call for submissions in Glamour, one of the five participating magazines published by contest sponsor Conde Nast.

Scott, 26, said that being selected as the only male finalist was a humbling experience, but also served as validation for a musical career that he only started taking seriously when he moved to Long Beach three years ago from his native Victoria, Texas, a town of about 70,000 located between Houston and San Antonio.

"The fact that I was chosen as the only male in this contest makes me believe I really do have a shot at making it now," said Scott, who still carries some Texas twang in his voice. "It's nice to know that there are other people who think my stuff is good."

Scott, who was classically trained on piano starting at the age of 5, writes, arranges and records all his songs himself. He plays 16 instruments, he said.

"I don't do woodwinds," he laughed, noting it was easier to mention the "glaring omissions" than list all the instruments in his repertoire.

Scott, who mostly plays coffee houses and open mic nights around Orange County, described his music as "acoustic-based pop rock," in the vain of contemporary singer-songwriters like John Mayer, Ryan Cabrera and Howie Day. His musical influences include The Beach Boys, Chicago and other artists who epitomize the importance of melody, Scott said.

"I think melody is so important," he said. "That is why almost all Beatles songs were hits. They had such good melody."

Scott's entry in the contest, "Exit Wounded," is a hauntingly melodic look at women who have been burned by "flakey guys," Scott said.

"It just resonates with a lot of women," he admitted.

The winner of the "Red Hot Rising Star" contest will be featured in the magazines Glamour, Teen Vogue, Allure, Jane and Lucky, and be flown to New York for a makeover, photo shoot and five-day recording session with a producer, engineer and musicians to make demo to be shopped to label executives.

Contest results will be announced Friday, Aug. 19.

Scott, whose female challengers include 18-year-old Southern California singer Davida Willians and said the sponsors are being tight-lipped about the voting so far.

For now, he has a casual "wait and see" attitude -- with some anxiety, of course.

"This could really break me," he said, noting that the three previous contest winners -- Tyler Hilton, Lalaine and Ellie Lawson -- all landed record deals. "This could be the big thing."

Scott, who also does graphic art and Web design work, said that regardless of the outcome, the contest has encouraged him to follow his life-long passion for music.

"In my upbringing, I was trained to do the safe thing," he said. "Now I am doing the exact opposite, and all the publicity the contest has brought has made it a lot easier to believe in myself, too."

For more information on Scott and to hear his music, go to his Web site www.christopherscott.net.

To vote for him in the VO5 "Red Hot Rising Star" contest, visit www.VO5style.com and www.VO5mobile.com. - The Grunion Gazette