Chris Funk

Christopher Funk (born November 28, 1971) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as a member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists.[1] He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, saxophone, the theremin and many other instruments. According to Colin Meloy, as stated at the Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, TN on September 27, 2015, Funk was originally given the middle name "Ryman" but a clerical error on his birth certificate resulted in his middle name being recorded as "Lyman."

Christopher Funk
Funk performing with The Decemberists, 28 April 2009
Funk performing with The Decemberists, 28 April 2009
Background information
OriginValparaiso, Indiana
GenresFolk, folk rock, country rock, indie rock, bluegrass
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy-gurdy, autoharp, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo, saxophone, theremin

Early life

Funk attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana.

Musical career

Funk joined the Decemberists after meeting Colin Meloy at a solo show Meloy was performing. He has been a member of the band since its formation, appearing on every Decemberists record since. Funk most commonly contributes guitar, pedal steel, and mandolin tracks to the band's songs, though he has laid down tracks with several other instruments as well. After an incident in which the band's equipment trailer was stolen in 2005, Funk wrote "This Machine Kills Thieves" on his banjo, in reference to Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

He is a member of Knock-knock with DJ Rev. Shines (from the hip-hop group Lifesavas on Quannum Projects). He is also a member of the string band Black Prairie who released their first album, Feast of the Hunter's Moon, in 2010. He plays in the country rock group Blue Giant. He has produced records for The Builders and The Butchers, Langhorne Slim, and Red Fang, and curated the Portland edition of Burn to Shine DVD released in 2006.

On December 20, 2006, Funk appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report to end a longstanding mock feud with the show's host, Stephen Colbert. A contest ensued in which Funk and Colbert would each play a guitar solo while a panel of judges decided the winner. After Funk's solo, Colbert (who cannot play the guitar) feigned an injured hand, having Peter Frampton fill in for him instead. The contest ended with Colbert/Frampton being decided the winners by show guests Eliot Spitzer and Henry Kissinger, and Colbert was awarded The Crane Wife by The Decemberists as the grand prize. Funk then performed an "all-guitar jam" alongside Frampton, Robert Schneider (of The Apples in Stereo), and Rick Nielsen.

Discography

The Decemberists

See: The Decemberists discography

Black Prairie

Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble

Knock-knock

Guest artist

Producer

References
  1. Seida, Linda. "Biography: The Decemberists". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  2. Hopkin, Kenyon. "Biography: Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  3. "White Lighter - Typhoon | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
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