Chris Pureka

{{short description|American acoustic singer-songwriter (born 1979)}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Chris Pureka

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| image = File:Chris Pureka.JPG

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| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1979}}

| birth_place = Connecticut, U.S.

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| instrument = {{hlist|Voice | guitar}}

| years_active = 2001–present

| label = Sad Rabbit Records

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| website = {{URL|www.chrispureka.com}}

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Chris Pureka is a genderqueer{{cite web |last1=Pureka |first1=Chris |date=March 5, 2014 |title=Chris Pureka guest blog: Why I will not conform to gender stereotypes |url=http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/features/chris-pureka-guest-blog-gender-stereotypes-conform-genderqueer-431431.html |website=Female First |quote=First and foremost, I want to be recognized as a musician, but I also identify as queer and as genderqueer. |accessdate=April 30, 2017}}{{Cite web |last=Azzopardi |first=Chris |date=August 30, 2007 |title=Goodbye, guitar |url=http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=26714 |url-status=dead |publisher=PrideSource |accessdate=January 27, 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727151218/http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=26714 |archivedate=July 27, 2011}}

American acoustic singer-songwriter.{{Cite web

| last = Swartz

| first = Shauna

| title = 7 Out Musicians to Watch — Chris Pureka

| publisher = AfterEllen.com

| date = June 11, 2007

| url = http://www.afterellen.com/music/2007/6/outmusicians?page=0%2C3

| accessdate = January 27, 2010

| url-status = bot: unknown

| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120404131504/http://www.afterellen.com/music/2007/6/outmusicians?page=0%2C3

| archivedate = April 4, 2012

}}

Pureka has received positive reviews in the long-running radical feminist publication off our backs{{Cite news

| last = Young

| first = Angie

| author-link =

| title = An interview with Chris Pureka: Feminist. Lesbian. Singer. Guitarist extraordinaire

| newspaper = off our backs

| pages =

| date = July 1, 2005

| url = http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9705323_ITM

| accessdate =January 27, 2010

}} and other magazines. Their music does not deal explicitly with LGBTQ or political issues, focusing instead on emotional interactions between individuals.{{cite web|last1=Mirk|first1=Sarah|title=Exploring Heartbreak on Chris Pureka's New Album|url=https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/exploring-heartbreak-chris-pureka-new-album|website=Bitch Media|accessdate=April 30, 2017|date=April 5, 2016|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828102442/https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/exploring-heartbreak-chris-pureka-new-album|url-status=dead}}

Early life and education

Raised in Connecticut, they began writing songs at the age of eight and began playing the guitar at 16. They soon became a frequent performer at local coffee houses and open mics. As a young performer, they opened shows for such artists as Erin McKeown and Pamela Means while completing a degree in biology at Wesleyan University. After graduating, they worked in a microbiology research lab at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, eventually leaving to focus on music full-time.

Musical career

In June 2001, they recorded a self-titled seven-song EP in preparation for a three-month nationwide tour with lesbian folk poet Alix Olson. The EP, which was home-recorded in two weeks and featured Pureka playing back-up accompaniment on the mandolin and bass, was later mastered and reprinted for the 2005 summer tour.

In 2004, Pureka released Driving North, their first full-length album, earning rave reviews from fans and fellow artists alike. In 2006, they released Dryland, and toured the US a second time as a headlining act. The album received rave reviews and was featured on the Paste Magazine Sampler in February 2007.

In May 2007, Pureka was a member of the month-long New American Songwriter Tour in New York City, Philadelphia, and Massachusetts. The tour also featured Krystle Warren, Jesse Harris, and Ryan Scott.{{cite web |url=http://blog.masslive.com/soundcheck/2007/05/new_american_songwriter_tour_b.html |title=New American Songwriter Tour breezing through town |author=Kristen Beam |date=May 11, 2007 |work=Sound Check |publisher=masslive.com |accessdate=April 20, 2010}} In August, they played at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.

In July 2007, Pureka's song, "Swann Song" won 1st Place in the Acoustic competition on the independent music site Ourstage.com.{{cite web |url=http://www.ourstage.com/winners/2007/7 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131014434/http://www.ourstage.com/winners/2007/7 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |title=The Winners for July 2007 |author= |date= |publisher=OurStage.com |accessdate=April 16, 2010}} Because of their performance there, they won a spot to perform at the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore, Maryland, and performed there on August 5.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Pureka had previously also won the Acoustic competition in April for their song "31 and Falling".{{cite web |url=http://www.ourstage.com/winners/2007/4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715193007/http://www.ourstage.com/winners/2007/4 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 15, 2007 |title=The Winners for April 2007 |author= |date= |publisher=OurStage.com |accessdate=April 16, 2010}}

In October 2007, they were nominated for 2007's Outstanding Folk Act by the Boston Music Awards. They were also awarded an ASCAPLUS award in the summer of 2007.

Pureka sold over 7000 copies of their 2010 album, How I Learned to See in the Dark, independently, on their own label, Sad Rabbit Music, which they founded. During this time, they gained popularity by performing with artists such as Dar Williams, The Cowboy Junkies, Peter Mulvey, Ani Difranco, Martin Sexton, Jeffrey Foucault, Kris Delmhorst, Melissa Ferrick, Catie Curtis, and Girlyman.

On January 20, 2009, Pureka released a fourth album, an EP entitled Chimera. The EP has seven tracks; one new, original song (with a prelude as the first track), a reworked studio version of a song off of their 2001 EP, three live tracks, and a cover of Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor's Wagon Wheel. The hard copy of Chimera is complete with written commentary from Pureka on each track.

In April 2010, Pureka released their fifth album, How I Learned To See in the Dark, which they co-produced with Merrill Garbus.{{cite news |title=Best of What's Next: Chris Pureka |author=Cory Albertson |magazine=Paste |date=April 15, 2010 |url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/04/best-of-whats-next-chris-pureka.html |accessdate =April 20, 2010}}{{Cite web|url=http://host.madison.com/entertainment/music/article_74967464-51fd-11df-86ba-001cc4c002e0.html|title=Pureka's new songs cryptic and dark|date=April 27, 2010 }}{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/arts/music/23play.html | work=The New York Times | title=Vintage Rock and Midlife Heartaches | first=Jon | last=Pareles | date=May 1, 2010}}{{cite web|last1=Low|first1=David|title=Pureka '01 Confronts Her Sorrows in Third Album|url=http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2010/06/07/pureka-01-confronts-her-sorrows-in-third-album/|website=News @ Wesleyan|publisher=Wesleyan University|accessdate=April 30, 2017|date=June 7, 2010}}

In 2012 Pureka released a live album recorded at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC on January 19, 2011. It was recorded by Marsellus Fariss and mastered by Mark Alan Miller. Other musicians on the recording are: Andy Alseri, Sebastian Renfield, Julia Read and Jax Keating.

In 2016 Pureka released their first new music since 2013 with the album Back in the Ring.{{cite news|last1=Presley|first1=Katie|title=Songs We Love: Chris Pureka, 'Back In The Ring'|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/02/17/466930300/songs-we-love-chris-pureka-back-in-the-ring|accessdate=April 30, 2017|newspaper=NPR|date=February 17, 2016}}{{cite magazine|last1=Payne|first1=Chris|title=D.I.Y. Singer-Songwriter Chris Pureka Premieres Gorgeous Folk Track 'Betting on the Races'|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7271717/chris-pureka-betting-races-new-song-premiere-back-ring|accessdate=April 30, 2017|magazine=Billboard|date=March 22, 2016}}

= Songs on TV Shows and Soundtracks =

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! TV Show ! Song ! Album (Year)
2009 \| Brothers and Sisters S4E6 \| Swann Song \| Dryland (2006)
2011 \| Covert Affairs S2E13 \| Come Back Home \| Dryland (2006)
2012 \| Shameless S2E8 \| Wrecking Ball \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)
2012 \| Shameless S2E10 \| Hangman \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)
2012 \| Shameless S2E10 \| Land Locked \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)
2012 \| Shameless S2E12 \| Damage Control \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)
2013 \| Shameless S3E3 \| Time is the Anchor \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)
2014 \| Shameless S4E6 \| Damage Control \| How I Learned to See in the Dark (2010)

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! TV Show

! Song

! Album (Year)

2009

| Brothers and Sisters S4E6

| Swann Song

| Dryland (2006)

2011

| Covert Affairs S2E13

| Come Back Home

| Dryland (2006)

2012

| Shameless S2E8

| Wrecking Ball