How it all began...I've been writing and playing music for almost twenty years. I've been in and out of groups during the whole time. I've found it’s quite difficult to stay in any band, since something always happens whenever I'm in one!
During this time, I've accumulated a collection of songs which I've never been able to perform. Once in a while someone would suggest playing one of them in the group, but we'd break up and that would be that.
One of the groups that had the most influence on me wasn't even a band, really. I was living in Alamogordo, New Mexico at the time and I was part of a folk-rock combo called Spectrum which featured myself as an acoustic guitar player, a friend of mine on an acoustic twelve-string, and his then-fiancée as the singer. We all sang, but she was the lead for most of the songs. We got the owner of a local music store to "sponsor" our first recording--a four-track home studio unit. We managed to record four songs before I had to move away. I learned a lot about recording during that time.
After leaving New Mexico, I continued writing songs. I had one finished which I really wanted to record--I had been bitten by the recording bug by this time-- and began searching for a studio near my home town in Pennsylvania while I was on vacation. I decided I could play all the instruments myself. I recorded my first song in December 1984 in a studio in Elmira, New York. The owner of that studio helped me with the production and provided me with pointers as to achieving the proper sound levels and balancing each track. In a way, this helped me achieve precisely the sound I wanted for each song. I didn't have to worry about someone else's playing style.
Chris Nelson and the Amazing 1 1/2 I got my own four-track recorder and set out to record my own music in 1986. The initial sessions were problematic, to say the least!
It took about three sessions for me to make something that I would be pleased to have someone else hear. At first, I had to figure out what part I was going to play, then I had to get the proper balance. There's no easy way to do this, I just managed to find the right 'spot' and everything fell into place.
I created an entire collection of songs called "Understanding the Art of War" and chose a name for myself as "Chris Nelson and the Amazing 1 1/2." The idea was that I was just me and the four track--a play on the name "Timbuk three" which was a guy, a girl, and a boom box.
Those early sessions turned out to be quite lengthy. Also, a defect showed up in my original four-track which ultimately caused me to get it exchanged for another. Unfortunately, I the original work tape in the deck when I exchanged it and lost two songs which I no longer have the mixed versions of.
I recorded another collection in 1992 under the same name titled "A Dignified Term For Disgusting Behavior" On this project, I used a drum machine to handle the drum parts on many of the songs. I started the project while I was living in San Bernardino, California and there was no room for drums in that place. Plus, that's not really a good way to enhance relations with your neighbors!
I started a third collection, but ultimately, it was a collection of remixes of older songs with a few new ones added to round out the collection. I called this on "Prescriptions For Social Disorder." This was the last time I used the "1 1/2" name. Actually, I thought of it as the breakup of a band, which is pretty hard to do when there's only one of you.
Fishkill arrives I didn't do anything else for a long time after that. I began working on my other hobby, writing Science Fiction. I have had several short stories published in various e-zines. I've also written three novels, two of which are still available today. I'll include those in my links page.
I changed my name to Fishkill after seeing a news story about fish being killed as a result of a chemical spill somewhere. I thought of the line from the Nirvana song "Something In The Way" which goes, "It's okay to eat fish 'cause they don't have any feelings..." It until later that I found out about a small town in upstate New York with the same name. I never knew!
I decided to put my music on the internet after I recieved a newsletter from a friend of mine which featured an article about internet music. When I got my new computer, I re-mastered the old songs from my four-track. I joined mp3.com and created a CD with all that material on it called "Past Mistakes"
Since joining the independent Internet music scene, I've met a variety of different artists all who are very talented and deserve recognition. I'm proud to be a part of this scene.
Fishkill is gaining a reputation on the Internet for many things, most importantly, their music. They-or actually he is the work of one Chris Nelson, who writes all the songs, records and produces all the music as well as designs, produces and distributes the CDs throughout the Internet.
How did Nelson wind up doing all this? "Nobody else would!" he answers wryly. This is the attitude contained within most Fishkill tunes, a wry sense of humor around a deep-seated concern for things and events happening around him. His music is received with a multitude of responses. "People either love it or hate it," Nelson explains, "and some get straight to the point. I had one guy say my last record, 'The Big Purple Sky,' was a complete waste of time. I've got another person who told me he loves it, so really it all balances out"
He always insists Fishkill is a band, despite it only being made up of one person. "It sounds like a band, with all the instruments playing together in the way a live band would, there's chemistry there," Nelson insists. Maybe it is only one person, but he has a point. Listen to the music and you'll find some very tight musicianship between the instruments.
Since the band is only one person, Nelson has taken his music to the streets in the form of an acoustic performance. He's played several open mic nites within the Spokane, Washington area and will be playing an entire acoustic show at Borders Books, Music, and Video on September 27 at 7:00 PM. He hopes this will generate more interest in the band's music. He's planning on relocating to the east coast next spring, where he'll begin to add musicians to the mix. "I've taken the Fishkill sound as far as I can go, now I need the help of other players to bring a new dynamic to the sound."
The band has recently released its latest, "A Change Of Atmosphere" CD and it's available in Spokane at Borders at 9980 N. Newport Highway, Hastings Music at 1704 West Wellesley Ave, and in Spokane Valley, at Hastings Music at 15312 E Sprague Ave. It is also available through the official website located at: http://www.geocities.com/fishkillmusic
