Kris Roe
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| Kristopher Roe | |
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Kristopher Lee Roe was (born January 12, 1977 in Anderson, Indiana. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter in the alternative rock band The Ataris who formed in 1994, His band The Ataris have just finished their fifth full length album "Welcome the Night" which will be released on February, 20th 2007 on the band's own imprint isola recordings through the Sanctuary Group.
He plays guitar left-handed and known for playing an upside-down, right-handed guitar, which many wrongly believe is similar to a style made famous by guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Although Hendrix actually strung the guitar to be correct for a left-handed guitarist, and Roe leaves the strings upside down. Roe is also indeed right-handed contrary to popular belief.
As a songwriter Kristopher is known for a very in-depth, personal style of storytelling. Riddled with hidden meanings and cryptic words. On The Ataris new album "Welcome the Night" it is definitely no exception. Easily his best and most descriptive work yet, the songs tell the story of one man's struggles to find honesty, hope and redemption in an often dark and haunting world. This album's lyrics also seem to be deeply rooted in the questioning of religion and the earthly temptations we are faced with. Part of the original story and concept of the album came from a re-occuring dream Kristopher had throughout his childhood surrounding his last moments he would be alive. He states that he always felt the dream was somewhat prophetic and each time it seemed to reveal a bit more of itself. "I would see my mother, my grandmother and I all sitting in a tiny chapel somewhere, and the sun would fade to black, and then I would awaken" There also seems to be alot of self reflection, thoughts and references deeply rooted in the existensalist writers such as Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre.
Other writers Kristopher cites as inspiration are, Douglas Coupland, Nick Hornby, Irving Welsh and Charles Bukowski, "In a lot of my lyrics," Kris reveals, "I like to encode a lot of hidden messages... I like our audience to read into things. Writing should be very in depth, very detailed. Every essence of the moment should be described."
Kristopher is also an art photographer and has taken many of the photographs in The Ataris records. You can view his art photgraphy at [1] He has stated that he hopes to eventually publish a book of his photographs in the near future. He has just recently shaved his head.
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| The Ataris |
| Kristopher Roe | John Collura | Paul Carabello | Angus Cooke | Bob Hoag | Sean Hansen | Shane Chickeles |
| Previous Members |
|---|
| Jasin Thomason | Marko 72 | Derrick Plourde | Patrick Riley | Marco Peña | Mike Davenport | Chris Knapp |
| Discography |
| Studio Albums & EPs: Anywhere but Here | Look Forward to Failure | Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits | Let It Burn | End Is Forever | All You Can Ever Learn Is What You Already Know | So Long, Astoria | Welcome the Night |
| Live Albums: Live at the Metro |
| Singles: San Dimas High School Football Rules | Teenage Riot | Summer Wind Was Always Our Song | In This Diary | The Boys of Summer | The Saddest Song |
| DVDs: Live at Capitol Milling |
| Record Labels |
| Columbia Records | Kung Fu Records | Fat Wreck Chords |
