'I want to fuse as many of the experiences I've had in my life and portray them some how in my music. From the loudest booming clubs to the softest spoken bluegrass rooms. I want everyone to walk away from my songs saying they got something from it.'

- Chris Clouse

On occasion, a live acoustic performer comes along that almost makes you want to throw the studio albums in the garbage. People like Eric Clapton are like that, and Nirvana unloaded a masterpiece on a stage at the MTV studio in New York. Their fingers diligently move across the strings with the skill of a spider prancing about a web — a complete mystery to most — causing squelches from the friction of skin sliding down a string. Those noises become as much as an expected part of the song as the lyrics, something you wait for when you hear it on the radio, perfection from imperfection.

Clouse may not be on the cover of Rolling Stone, have a platinum record or a Grammy … yet, but he is inching closer and closer to that level. Since releasing his debut album in 2003, this San Francisco resident has made a presence for himself in the world of acoustic music on the West Coast. His breakout single, “Living A Lie,” hit the top 25 on Clear Channel in Northern California, and his 2004 single, “Trace Elements,” hit the number seven spot on RealNetwork’s Rhapsody online station. Since beginning his career at 13, he’s won numerous awards and has performed with the likes of Johnny Cash and Third Eye Blind.

A native of Spokane, Wash., Clouse began his musical career with the fiddle at 6. Just seven years later after repeating as state champion in Washington, he would take the second place in the National Old-Time Fiddle contest, which earned him a feature in National Geographic World magazine next to Nike spokesman Tiger Woods. Perhaps in a movement to find his style and not follow the devil down to Georgia, Clouse traded in the fiddle during his high school years in favor of a guitar and fronted a country-western band, but he says that it was in college, while attending Belmont University in Nashville, that he began to develop the sound his fans have come to associate with his music.

Clouse’s style might be described as acoustic rock, mixed in with hip hop percussion and electro elements, he then mixes with accents such as fiddles and DJs to create a unique style — a sound that transcends genres. Often described as an “old soul,” this 25-year-old’s lyrics are obviously written from the heart and recount feelings from experiences everyone can relate to. Catch a listen for yourself and see what all the hype is about while you still can.

Press Reviews

"Clouse sasses conventional grooves pouring house beats, fiddle, pop, acoustic guitar and funk over the crowd and letting it take hold. This is not soul-patched, coffee house, folksy dribble. This is music to move to. Were lucky to have yet another largely renowned artist call San Francisco home in between gigs" - Nitevibe Magazine (San Francisco)

"Las Vegas' best kept secret!" LV Weekly (Las Vegas)

"...the guy is magnetic. Just ask the ladies grooving on each other in front of the stage; and he has that look about him that says, 'I'm dangerous/ yet sensitive'. Now please excuse me while I grind on my ax and croon about love." -Xania Woodman Las Vegas Weekly (Las Vegas)