Christopher T. Wilkerson was born amongst the hills and pines and red clay of northwest Georgia ... several decades ago. As he is fond of reminding folk, he "was born on a Tuesday, but it wasn't*last* Tuesday!" His family taught him a deep appreciation of music from an early age (his mother being a gifted pianist and singer), but Christopher's love of music didn't blossom into an obsession until h...e discovered the guitar when he was in the 10th grade. Christopher has been writing songs ever since. Christopher has worked with several different bands over the years: Midnight Sun ~ the best original progressive/folk/blues/metal to come out of Statesboro, GA, in the early '90s; Jaded Hart ~ a cover band based in Augusta, GA, in the mid-90s; The Rain Dancers ~ an acoustic duo performing covers and original material in Augusta and Atlanta, also in the mid-90s; Mad Prophet ~ an all-original, progressive power trio based out of Carbondale, IL, in the late '90s; more recently Laurel & the Lads ~ a deliciously demented blend of blues, classic rock, and Irish/Celtic traditional music based out of Spartanburg, SC, and most recently Rasputin, a cover band based out of Spartanburg and Boiling Springs, playing a wide range of material from blues to classic rock to funk and soul, even. Throughout all these musical endeavors, Chris has contributed acoustic and electric rhythm and lead guitar work, as well as sharing vocal and (in the bands which performed original material) songwriting duties. Lately, though, Chris had (temporarily) stepped out of the band scene to focus particularly on his own music, which is a blend of classic rock, folk, pseudo-jazz, heavy-blooze, and fusion, with an emphasis on melody, musicianship, and memorable lyricism. He hopes to release his first solo album in the near future. Meanwhile, he plans to return to active gigging and to collaborate with other local musicians and artists, such as hip hop artist Derek "Dewraith" Williams.
It's impossible to answer the first question without delving into both poetry and metaphysics. Music is … movement, vibration, life, the voice of creation, the breath of God... But none of those phrases can actually convey the truth of what music is. Like all mysteries, music is not a puzzle to solve or a concept to explicate; no, it must be experienced. You have to feel it in your bones to know what it is … and once you have, you know that no words will ever suffice. What does it give to me? It gives me everything that it is, of course. ?
I would love for lots and lots of people to get to hear my music. I'd love to be part of a community of music creators and music listeners and music philosophers, and to be taken seriously as an artist. On a more down-to-earth level, I'd love to be able to play out on a regular basis ~ I've been out of gigging for a while and miss it something fierce.