Chris Funk

2024-05-23T00:59:23Z

67.167.100.49: /* Guest artist */

{{BLP sources|date=April 2010}}

{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Christopher Funk
| image = The Decemberists at Yale, 28 April 2009 - 57.JPG
| caption = Funk in April 2009
| origin = [[Valparaiso, Indiana|Valparaiso]], [[Indiana]]
| instrument = [[Singing|Vocals]], [[guitar]], [[pedal steel guitar|pedal steel]], [[piano]], [[violin]], [[dobro]], [[hurdy-gurdy]], [[autoharp]], [[mandolin]], [[bouzouki]], [[banjo]], [[saxophone]], [[theremin]]
| genre = [[folk music|Folk]], [[folk rock]], [[country rock]], [[indie rock]], [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]]
| occupation = [[Musician]], [[songwriter]], [[record producer]]
| years_active =
| label =
| associated_acts = [[The Decemberists]], [[Black Prairie]], [[Blue Giant (band)|Blue Giant]], Knock-knock
| website =
}}

'''Christopher Funk''' (born November 28, 1971) is an American [[musician]] and [[multi-instrumentalist]] best known as a member of the [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]], [[indie rock]] band [[The Decemberists]].<ref>{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p528246/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: The Decemberists|last=Seida|first=Linda|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=26 April 2010}}</ref> He plays [[guitar]], [[pedal steel 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."

== Early life ==

Funk attended [[Coe College]] in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]], and is originally from [[Valparaiso, Indiana|Valparaiso]], [[Indiana]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

== 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 (band)|Blue Giant]]. He has produced records for [[The Builders and The Butchers]], [[Langhorne Slim]], and [[Red Fang (band)|Red Fang]],{{citation needed|date=August 2012}} and curated the Portland edition of ''[[Burn to Shine (DVD series)|Burn to Shine]]'' DVD released in 2006.{{Clarify|date=May 2010}}

On December 20, 2006, Funk appeared on [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' to end [[The Decemberists#2006: Green screen music video|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 ===
* ''[[Feast of the Hunter's Moon]]'' ([[Sugar Hill Records (bluegrass)|Sugar Hill Records]], 2010)
* ''The Storm in the Barn'' (self-released, 2012)
* ''[[A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart]]'' (Sugar Hill Records, 2012)
* ''Wild Ones'' (Captain Bluegrass, 2013)
* ''Fortune'' (Sugar Hill Records, 2014)

=== Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble ===

* ''Plastic Bag in the Tree'' ([[Hush Records]], 2007)<ref>{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p904553/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble|last=Hopkin|first=Kenyon |publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=26 April 2010}}</ref>

=== Knock-knock ===

* ''Busted in Borstle'' ([[Barsuk]], 2007)
* ''[[To Elliott, From Portland]]'' (contributed cover of Elliott Smith's "Speed Trials")

=== Guest artist ===
* Langhorne Slim "Be Set Free"
* Laura Veirs "July Flame"
* [[The Minus 5]] "Killngsworth"
* [[Mirah]], "(a)spera"
* [[The Shins]], "Wincing the Night Away"
* [[The Long Winters]], "Putting the Days to Bed"
* [[Lifesavas]], "Gutterfly"
* [[Norfolk & Western (band)|Norfolk & Western]], "Dusk in Cold Parlours" & "If You Were Born Overseas"
* [[Tracker (band)|Tracker]], "Blankets" & "Polk"
* [[Blanket Music]], "Cultural Norms"
* [[Casey Neill]], "Brooklyn Bridge"
* [[Typhoon (American band)|Typhoon]], "White Lighter"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/white-lighter-mw0002555278/credits|title = White Lighter - Typhoon | Credits | AllMusic|website = [[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
* [http://www.musicalfamilytree.com/band/markus_ello Markus Ello], "Winesburg, Ohio", "Big Charade", "Rock In My Head", "As Fucked As Me"
* [https://musicalfamilytree.com/bands/your_neighbors]Your Neighbors, "4184"

=== Producer ===
* [[Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks]] - ''[[Sparkle Hard]]'' (2018)
* [[Langhorne Slim]]
* Y La Bamba
* [[The Builders and The Butchers]]
* Peter Wilde - "Carnival"
* [[Red Fang (band)|Red Fang]]
* Ashleigh Flynn - "A Million Stars"

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.myspace.com/thechrisfunk Chris Funk Myspace]

{{Decemberists}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Chris}}
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Portland, Oregon]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:The Decemberists members]]
[[Category:Coe College alumni]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Oregon]]
[[Category:Black Prairie members]]
[[Category:1971 births]]

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Chris Funk