Chris Collins (musician)
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Chris Collins is an American musician, recording engineer/producer and technologist. Collins' work in the New Jersey/NYC music scene has spanned over two decades.
Collins got his start in NYC area pop-punk/garage band Mod Fun - which was formed late in 1982 with his childhood friends Mick "London" Hale and Bobby "Werner" Strete, with whom he had been playing music since 1979. Although he had experimented with songwriting from early on, Chris' primary contribution to Mod Fun was as drummer and backing vocalist. The band released two full-length albums, a 3-song EP and two singles between 1984 and 1987. In addition, they honed their performance skills by playing a heavy schedule of club dates at local NYC & NJ venues and touring in support of their records. Their powerful (and sometimes destructive) live sets garnered the band a reputation as one of the New York area's most exciting acts of the burgeoning garage revival scene - with one reviewer comparing Chris' hands to those of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
During that same period, Collins also served as the drummer for New York pop-punk outfit "True Colours" which quickly evolved into The Punch Line - a power pop quartet in which the focus was on vocal harmonies and clean production. The Punch Line performed live at a handful of local venues and released one single. The recording sessions for that single, coupled with the break-up of Mod Fun, served as the impetus for Chris' entry into the field of recording engineering.
Chris attended the Institute of Audio Research in New York City where he earned a diploma in multi-track recording technology and eventually became an instructor under president Al Grundy. At age 20 he was, at the time, the youngest instructor to have ever taught a full course load at the Institute and was an active member of both the AES and SMPTE. Simultaneously, he was working extensively as a freelance recording engineer and live sound reinforcement tech - having provided his services to artists such as Liza Minelli, Elton John, Kim Simmonds (of Savoy Brown), Crocodile Shop and others. His work ethic and long list of credentials were uncommon for someone so young and, as such, caught the attention of Home & Studio Recording magazine which published a feature article on Collins in its October, 1989 issue.
Chris continued to perform with bands into the early 1990's, playing drums with NYC's The Devil Dogs and, occasionally, with his old friends in The Punch Line. In addition, he played drums, keyboards and a bit of guitar with long time friends Hale and Strete who had gone on to form Crocodile Shop - also engineering many of the early recordings for that group. In 1992, after leaving the Institute of Audio Research and after a songwriting deal with Kevin Henneman and Deborah Gibson fell through, Chris found himself as the bass player in a short-lived new group featuring Al Scherr of The Incinerators. That act never quite got off the ground and for several years thereafter Chris refocused his energies on computer technology - doing little in professional music. He has since become both CNA and MCSE certified.
Late in 1999, Chris did a brief stint as lead singer and occasional drummer for his brother in The Matt Collins Band - taking over full time drumming duties a few years later. In addition, a brief reformation of The Punch Line led to a headlining performance and the release of a 10-song CD which was recorded in Chris' own 40 track digital studio. Subsequently, Chris served as engineer/producer for New York act "4 Miles Out".
In 2004, Chris' first band Mod Fun performed a reunion concert at The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ in celebration of the reissue of their retrospective CD "Past...Forward" by Get Hip Records. The rekindled friendship among the original members and their renewed interest in making music together has lead to gigs in cities as far away as Nashville and Chicago as well as the release of a new double-length CD and multiple performances in an around New Jersey and New York.
2007 saw Chris produce his first solo album entitled "Eclectic Blue" for limited release. After catching the attention of BlowUpRadio DJ "Lazlo" and receiving airplay on his show, much of his original music from that record was showcased in a low key acoustic performance in early 2008.
Chris continues to write original music and work with Mod Fun and The Matt Collins Band.
