Origin Mexico City Years active 1998–present | Name Christopher Leyva | |
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Birth name Omar Christopher Navarrete Leyva Born March 31, 1980 (age 44)
Mexico City ( 1980-03-31 ) Genres Pop
electronic-rock
dance-pop Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, record producer Labels Black Cherry Group USA, Rmn Music | ||
Christopher Leyva (born March 31, 1980) is a Mexican-American musician, producer, composer and promoter active since 1998 recognized by the academy of recording arts "Grammy Academy" for his career and prolific songwriting . Founder of the recording label and management/promotions group, Black Cherry Music Group, as a musician Leyva is a multiple San Diego Music Awards nominee and has recorded solo as well as with numerous groups including Blizzard,Revolution 89' produced by Phil Solemn from The Rembrandt's, The Dead 67's and The Falling Doves. hough a longtime mainstay of San Diego’s music scene, Chris Leyva was actually born in a small town outside of Oaxaca, Mexico. He arrived in San Diego as an eight-year-old. An insatiable music fan, Leyva was soon hooked on the idea of rock’n’roll.
Contents
- Coffee house beginnings 2000 01
- Blizzard years 2002 to 2010
- Solo career 2006 Present
- Revolution 89 2007 to 2009
- Black Cherry Group
- Falling Doves 2014 present
- Solo Albums
- Falling Doves discography
- Compilations
- References
Coffee house beginnings (2000-01)
Leyva got his start in the now defunct Java Joes cafe in Ocean Beach, California that launched the careers of Jewel, Steve Poltz and Jason Mraz it is there where he honed his songwriting craft learning from the best songwriters in town.
He cites The Beatles, Nirvana, The Rembrandts as major influences, but it was a San Diego artist who pushed Leyva to pursue his own projects. “All the local musician’s were supportive” he recalled. “Particularly The Dragons and Convoy, but it was Steve Poltz who really pushed him to do it”. Leyva plays guitar, piano and sings in all his bands, though he considers the lost art of arranging to be his main talent. He fronts a band, Blizzard and also works with indie-rock trio Revolution 89.
Blizzard years 2002 to 2010
The journey began for Blizzard in 2001. Discovered by 91X Tim Pyles in a county wide battle of the bands. The band beat out over 500 local and more established acts in the region for the throne of best new artist. They were awarded an opening spot at 2001‘s 91X-Fest alongside of The Vines, Jack Johnson, Unwritten Law, Cake and many more.
Leyva's then-unnamed band got the local BeatleFair job after sending bookers three songs from the Backbeat movie soundtrack, claiming the recordings as their own. in order to play the gig." At the event, his group -- temporarily named the Backbeat Band -- performed cuts like "Long Tall Sally." After the set, Leyva remembers [Sheridan] came over to us and said, 'That sounded like a blizzard,' and the little light just clicked—a new band name was born."
The group performed almost 200 concerts in 2006 and appeared on the TV show Veronica Mars, filmed and produced in San Diego. "We're playing a Clash song in a garage in one scene.... For the shoot, they replaced our drummer with one of the cast members. [Our drummer] was a little pissed at first, but we got paid $1500 and were treated like royalty for a day, so he got over it."
Leyva has also appeared on the MTV dating show MTV Score. "The episode had songwriters who compete to write and play a new song, in a single day, to win the date.... I didn't get the girl, but that's okay. She wasn't much of a score, and the prize was a trip to Mexico, which is where I'm from."
Their statement of intent is right there in their debut album’s title: It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll. Blizzard is perhaps the best description of their sound: loud, brash and with countless influences swirling in its midst. Even the band’s name has a rock ‘n’ roll connection. It was bestowed upon them by none other than Beatles compatriot and rock legend, Tony Sheridan, at one of their first warm up dates. The duo of songwriters, Christopher Leyva (guitar, vocals) and Gerardo Baladon (lead guitar, vocals) teamed up with Adrian Ochiuzzi (drums) and Antonio Franko (bass)for their first three albums. The band honed their sound and skills through relentless recording and touring that saw them make several road trips around the U.S. and opened shows for a host of artists including: Dramarama, Modern English, Tom Petty, Jet, Unwritten Law and many others .The group became a perennial presence on the southern California concert scene.
A short list of facts would include that they were mentored by Danny Wilde & Phil Solem of the Rembrandts, and roadied for indie rockers Convoy. To date Blizzard released six albums with two more rumored to be in the vaults of recording studios. All the band's albums sound great – production by the afore mentioned Mr. Hill and others being uniformly top notch. But listening to the albums in sequence, it’s easy to hear a growing maturity, particularly in the lyrics, as well as wider cast net of influences. Nowhere is this clearer than on album #4, The Root of Evil (2004), which likely due to the departure of Ochiuzzi and Franko. It embraces acoustic, folk and country, but follow-ups, Curve of Evolution (2005) and particularly, Road to Excess (2011), which uses numerous musicians around the core of Leyva and Gerardo Baladon, also take their rock from a wider palette. It’s a denser more intense sound.
Solo career 2006-Present
Leyva's solo debut Singled Out, produced by Lee Coulter, was nominated Best Local Recording at the San Diego Music Awards, while his 2009 release 27 was nominated for two SDMAs. The latter is more electronic-based than his previous projects, having been mastered and coproduced by Chris Reynolds, whose local techno act Red Flag made the Billboard top-ten charts back in 1988 with their song “Russian Radio.” in 2010 he released "1957" "It's similar to John Lennon's Rock and Roll, 'Stand by Me' and Phil Spector's Be My Baby. Both songs marked the birth of rock and roll production. narrated by Alan Freed." is made with the same spirit of the originals and featuring a cast of great musicians. Leyva takes center stage on songs by Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Berry Gordy Jr. & Janie Bradford, Ben E king and Phil Spector, and Vera Matson. The cast also features the guitar work of Phillip Griebel, the dual rhythm section of Thomas Lord on bass, and Ryan Schillawski on the drums. Special appearances by saxophonist Blaise Garza and boogie woogie keys by Salvatore Filipelli. in 2013 Leyva previewed his solo full-length Summer of Life on May 23 at ArtLab in Normal Heights. with tracks from the record, “The album is a collection of [songs about] being a single guy in an endless summer, Leyva recorded the album while living in Ocean Beach.
Revolution 89, 2007 to 2009
Revolution 89: "The pursuit of happiness" 2008 SDMA Nominee for "Best New Group" produced by Phil Solem of The Rembrandts SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Less than a year after its inception, Revolution 89, managed to make a splash from just about the moment they left the rehearsal studio. Built around the drumming of Haley Allen, the group’s explosive brand of rock ‘n’ roll has attracted notice throughout the Southland. The key is that the trio, which also features Chris Leyva (guitar) and Jules Margo (bass) is always a terrific live proposition; their debut performance was at Los Angeles legendary Viper Room, with headline slots at San Diego’s House of Blues and Beauty Bar amongst their other credits. their debut E.P, "The Pursuit of Happiness." Produced at Miniature Studios in Minnesota by Phil Solem (of pop hit-makers The Rembrandts), the disc captured the trio’s intense pop-edged sound, though for the full force effect. The album scored a nomination at the 2008 San Diego Music Awards in the category of "Best New Group." Leyva also earned a nomination that year, for "Best Local recording. Revolution 89 is yet another Myspace success story. The bond amongst the musicians was strong from the start - meeting online and hitting the stage for the first time all took place within the space of a few weeks. Twenty-year-old Allen, a San Diego native had been a drummer most of her life. She’s studied under drumming notables Morgan Young and Brian "Nucci" Cantrell, with Kevin Figg, of Perry Farrell fronted Satellite Party and Extreme, an early mentor. A love of blues and classic rock is the foundation for their sound, however, she settled on the trio format for pragmatic reasons, The band toured throughout 2008, with their CD release show July 11, 2008 at San Diego’s House of Blues. The Band Dissolved in early 2009.
Black Cherry Group
Black Cherry Group was founded in 2006 with Reliable Records main man Jerry Segal. the downtown San Diego company. handles artist relations, concert promotion, and brand marketing. [Black Cherry Group] was envisioned as a company that could help artists with the nuts and bolts of the music industry.”
Falling Doves 2014-present
The Falling Doves, is a collection of old friends and professional touring musicians. Leyva stated the band plays an exhilarating brand of high octane rock and roll, topped with a pop edge that keeps the songs ringing in your ears long after the last strum has been played. Falling Doves whiskey laced vocals and lyrically confessional songs are paired with an aggressive performing style.The four piece band is comprised by Jason Knight on drums , Darcey Ciccone on bass/back up vocals and Mike Dorsey on lead guitar the band may be led by Leyva, but they are equal opportunity rockers, each involved from the writing to the production, each helping take Falling Doves to new levels. Currently promoting a new record called ‘Ready to go’. Their forthcoming debut album will be a collection of tracks from throughout Leyva’s career alongside new recordings.2015 the band will be on the road much of the year, promoting their debut album, with Europe planned for this summer, followed by their first U.S. Tour.