“Every day, every night, I try to put 100% in and I really play from the heart. I love what I do, and I’m going to put my heart and soul into it and just try to do the very best that I possibly can.”
If you were on the 2007 Brian Culbertson All Star Smooth Jazz Cruise, you got to see the hardest working musician on the ship doing what he loves. Every night, for most every concert and jam session, drummer Chris “The Wildman” Miskel was holding down the beat for the many, many, musicians that played for a very enthusiastic crowd of smooth jazz fans. It was a tall order, but Chris was up for the challenge.
Chris Miskel is a natural born talent. He began playing drums in church at the young age of 5 or 6, and has never taken a formal lesson. Chris is a Chicago native. He is a part of the Windy City’s great musical heritage, which continues to this day (and has been fairly well represented on this website.) The connection between Chicago musicians runs strong, and Chris counts a number of those musicians as not only his friends, but his mentors as well, including drummers Khari Parker, and Oscar Seaton. “I have a special place in my heart for those guys that helped me along the way, and that stick with me now.” In addition to Khari and Oscar, he names Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, and Vinnie Colaiuta as some of his other favorite drummers.
Chris has been a part of the Nick Colionne band for the past four years. He came to Nick’s attention through keyboard player, John Blasucci. Says Nick about his drummer, “Chris ‘The Wildman’ is one of the funkiest drummers around. He has the ability to push you and keeps the groove happening. I think he has not even reached his full potential yet and he is already a force to be reckoned with. He has amazing pocket and energy to boot. He is definitely the cat if you want to really go all out. He always starts at 100%.” In addition to Nick Colionne, Chris has also been playing with Brian Culbertson, joining him for the Soulful Christmas tour and other dates, as well. One thing leads to another in the music world, and, as a result of the Soulful Christmas tour, Chris has hooked up with Bobby Caldwell and done some dates with him, too. “He fell in love with what I do. I really love what he does. He said, ‘When this is over, I want you to do some playing with me.’ I told him I’d love to.” In between gigging with these and other musicians, Chris can be found around Chicago playing at an R&B club called A Touch of the Past on open mic night, and playing in local wedding bands. These experiences afford him the opportunity to keep his skills fresh by playing all different kinds of music, like both old and new school R&B, Latin, and soft background music. “You’ve got to keep your hands in the cookie jar and stay well rounded because you have to prepare yourself for any situation that anybody calls for. I don’t want to be limited. I plan to, as a drummer, go as far as I possibly can.” In addition to the secular music, Chris plays for his church on Sundays. When he’s not on the road, he can be found playing in his church. The church is his base, and he spends a lot of time there playing and practicing.
To prepare for the monumental task of learning music for the many headliner musicians featured on the cruise, Chris had to stay focused and concentrate on the task at hand. “It was kind of scary because I’d never been in a position where I had to learn so much music for one particular situation. It’s just trying to stay as focused as possible and just tell yourself ‘I can do this. I’m going to learn this music. I’m going to nail this music.’ You have to find a way to balance things. You have to find time to practice and learn the music.” And he did. He would spend hours at home listening over and over again to an artist’s music before going down to his church and practicing there for another 3-4 hours at a time. “When it gets inside of me and I kind of know where the music is going, then I take the time to go down there and just start practicing.” The end result of all of that concentration, determination, and practicing was what we saw and heard every night on the cruise.
It not only takes a great deal of talent to pull that off, but an abundance of energy as well. Every night was as high energy as the first. Chris never appeared to tire. He was like the Energizer Bunny – he kept going and going. As a matter of fact, when asked whether he was tired by the end of the cruise, he said he was just getting warmed up, and could have gone for another seven days! “It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun. It was a great experience, and I’m just glad I was able to come in. It makes it easy when you’re playing with good musicians. And then, you really love what you are doing, so that makes a big difference. That’s what made everything all come together for me.”
For Chris, music is not only his profession; it’s his hobby, too. When he’s not playing a gig, he likes to practice, or check out his musician friends as they play around town. He is a family man who enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, and doing dad things with his children, like going to the movies, hanging out with his son, and watching his daughter discover all the new and wonderful things that come with being a one year old.
Every musician has artists that they would just love to play for if given the opportunity, and Chris is no exception. He would someday love to play with Prince. “I love his music so much. I would wear that gig out.” In addition, there are other people on his list including Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Sting, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, and George Benson; however, Prince remains at the top.
Chris would like to expand his horizons and get involved with producing music. “I have a good ear for music, and I like things a certain way. If I can find a way to put that down, I’ll do that.” He would also like to, in the near future, work on his own solo CD. “Which is not going to just feature me as a drummer, but, some other guys that I like to play with.”
Fans of Chris’ look forward to whatever musical endeavors he decides to pursue. He is starting to come into his own. If indeed he has not reached his full potential yet, as Nick Colionne states, then it will be a treat to watch and listen as his star begins to rise. Whatever he does, we know he’ll give it his all. In the meantime, look for Chris on tour with Nick Colionne, Brian Culbertson, and Bobby Caldwell, in Chicago and around the country.
- Mary Bentley |
