Chris Holmes (musician)

Chris Holmes (Christopher John Holmes) is a musician who was born June 23, 1958 in Glendale, California and grew up in La Cañada, California. He was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). Together with Blackie Lawless he was one the founding members of the heavy metal band W.A.S.P..

Career

Chris Holmes is a lead guitarist who is among the break-out crop of rock musicians from the Pasadena area in the late 70's and early 80's. He played in the bands Buster Savage, LAX, and Slave before meeting Blackie Lawless and playing with Blackie in Sister. Out of Sister became W.A.S.P. Chris played in W.A.S.P. from 1983-1990 and again from 1996 until 2001. While still with the band Chris participated in the filming of the rock documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years [1] which included interviews with members of Motorhead, Aerosmith, Poison, Kiss, Megadeth, London, Faster Pussycat and others discussing their lifestyle and the metal genre in the late 1980s. Chris left W.A.S.P. after the Headless Children Tour (1989-90) and formed the band Psycho Squad. The song "Mean Man" from The Headless Children album was written by Blackie Lawless about Chris Holmes. He was briefly married to Lita Ford from June 1990 to July 1991. Holmes rejoined W.A.S.P. in 1996 and remained lead guitarist until 2001 when he decided to call it quits for good. He was briefly a touring guitarist for L.A. Guns, after they parted with Tracii Guns. In mid-2002, Chris was contacted by friend and former bandmate, Randy Piper to join Randy's band Animal. Chris relocated to Ohio to prepare for the upcoming Animal tour "900 lb Steam" Tour in 2003. The tour went off without a hitch and after the end of the tour, Animal decided to go back into the studio to record the next album with Chris. Unfortunately, Chris had prior obligations back in L.A. and had to move back home. Chris is currently helping produce music with a number of bands, including L.A. Metal legends XPELD, and is still cutting guitar tracks.

Guitars

Ibanez Destroyer (Black) - In an interview, Chris said that this guitar was borrowed by Eddie van Halen during the recording of the recording sessions that eventually became the Women and Children First album.
Jackson Customparts Star (Yellow, completely beaten-up)
Jackson Custom Rhoads (Black with white bevels)
Jackson Custom Rhoads (White, later sent back to customshop, wing cutten, slimmer neck and zebra/lion graphic added). Sold on eBay.
Jackson Custom Star (Black with Harley Davidson graphic and yellow bevels)Sold on eBay.
Jackson Custom Star (Budweiser graphic and reverse Strathead-neck)Smashed by Lita Ford.
Jackson Custom Explorer (Headless Children graphic).
He has also been seen with other guitars, but these are the ones he's been seen using over longer periods of time.

"The Metal Years" Interview

Holmes is infamous for his contribution to the 1988 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, during which he was interviewed while floating in a swimming pool, fully dressed and extremely intoxicated. This interview stood out in stark contrast to the more light-hearted and humorous interviews conducted by director Penelope Spheeris, which mostly portrayed rockers as good-natured (though often dimwitted) party animals. During the interview, Holmes smiled drunkenly at the camera, deeming himself "a full-blown alcoholic" and "a piece of crap" despite his band's success, and punctuated his remarks by guzzling from three bottles of vodka. At the end of the interview, Holmes upends a full bottle of Smirnoff over his head as he rolls out of his inflatable chair and into the water. To add to the disturbing atmosphere, Holmes' mother Sandy Holmes is also present during the interview, sitting at poolside with her own drink and trying to ignore her son's taunts. When she is asked how she feels about her son's partying, she shakily replies "I try not to think about it". However, in a documentary by VH1 about the history of heavy metal, Penelope Spheeris tells that she asked for Sandy's participation.

External links

• Official Chris Holmes Myspace Page
• A Tribute to Chris Holmes-Official Site
• A Tribute to Chris Holmes-MySpace Page
• Fansite
• Interview
• Restless Gypsy Fan Site