Chris Haskett

Chris Haskett (born 1962 in Washington, D.C.) is an American guitarist. He was a member of the Rollins Band^[1] from 1986 to 1997 and again for the band's reunion in 2006. He has also recorded or performed with David Bowie, Foetus, Pigface, The Cassandra Complex, Tool^[2] and others.

Chris Haskett grew up in Washington DC. He spent 1976-1977 in the UK where he was greatly inspired by the birth of the UK punk scene. Soon after his return to the US he was recruited into seminal DC band, The Enzymes. Heavily inspired by such diverse influences as Sun Ra, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, The Damned and Captain Beefheart, the band existed at the fringes of what would eventually turn into DC Hardcore. After the appearance of the Bad Brains on the scene, the band became moved to a more conventionally punk and reggae repertiore. The Enzymes recorded a number of sessions but never releases any.

In 1982 he moved to Leeds to finish an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. While there he joined Dave Coleman aka Surfin Dave's surf/trash band. Originally called the Beany T's, the band was rechristened the Absent Legends. The band played a good deal in the UK and released one LP. "In Search of a Decent Haircut" on Crammed Discs in 1985. The Absent Legends disbanded the following year.

During a return visit to Washington DC in the Summer of 1986, Haskett encountered longtime friend Henry Rollins. The two had been in regular contact since 1984 and often discussed musical collaboration. The serendipitous meeting turned into an improvised plan. DC bassist Bernie Wandel and Absent Legends drummer Mick Green were brought in as rhythm section and the result was the album Hot Animal Machine.

From 1987-1997, Haskett was the guitarist in the Rollins Band.

Post-Rollins Band, Haskett has done multiple, mostly low-profile, projects. Throughout the 1990s he played his own instrumental compositions live with various bands. Inspired by both Sonny Sharrock and the Grateful Dead, the instrumentation was usually guitar, bass, drums, drums. In 1997 he released the CD "Nonfiction" in collaboration with former Chuck Brown go-go drummer Brandon Finley. Other projects included collaborations with Reeves Gabrels at the end of the 1990s, the Preaching to the Perverted Tour with Pigface, the Cassandra Complex, Foetus ("Blow tour 2001"). He is also heard on the song "If I'm Dreaming My Life" on the David Bowie album Hours.

Now resident in the Netherlands, Haskett continues to record and tour.

Notes

1. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Biography: Chris Haskett". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
2. ↑ Orpheus, Rodney. "The Cassandra Complex - A Short Biography". The Cassandra Complex. Retrieved 2010-05-02. 

External links

• ChrisHaskett.com