Chris Hero Snowboy
Chris started at the tender age of five in music, and took on the guitar by himself, copying chords he saw older kids doing at the Indian Residential School he was attending at Fort George Quebec in the late 60’s. From those few chords he learned, he graduated to his first rock band at 14, and from there, started exploring rock music, and experimented in writing his own songs. He never took his art very seriously in those beginnings, but still did it for fun. He also wrote poems, and started reading books and other materials to escape from the abuses he had endured while in Residential School. After raising his family and having lost interest in music, he picked up the guitar again when he became suddenly single, and now middle aged. Chris never gave up on music totally through the years, but again became inspired to start experimenting with music when he found himself living on the streets of Ottawa for about 6 months in 2006; from there, and after going into a treatment program for his addictions, Chris started writing again.
It’s been a long road for this “young” man, but his desire to heal from his past of being abused at that school has brought him here. Listen to the lyrics and hear his voice come out. Hear him and feel the words and music, because it may touch you. Chris never lost or gave up on music, but he did take a detour to raise his family of 4 boys, and today, he now has 6 grand children. “Little Boy,” being one of them, this song was inspired by the birth of Chase Wapachee Herodier, and it was written in a matter of minutes in Chris’ Vanier apartment in Ottawa Ontario. Chris has been given something special for all of us to discover, and it is happening now, so standby.
Chris has his roots in Country, Folk, Rock, Blues, Native, New Wave, and more recently, Alternative Rock. His melodies are derived from all those genres, where he can be heard singing like the Hip, and then turn to Native, and after, Rock. When he writes, he does not do the lyrics first, but starts with experimenting into a beat, and then starts to explore the realities of that day, or that moment, and starts to write. More and more, Chris is looking at Native, and how to integrate it into the mainstream. However, his philosophy is always, whatever comes to the spirit, heart, body and soul, will be what will be written and sung into a melody. The songs don’t always come easy, but they come when they do for Chris. He has not yet worked with his own band yet, but with some breaks soon, he wants to do exactly that where he can have a true band he can call his own, like, “my band.” Watch out for Chris in the future, because he’s not intending to retire just yet. Standby for “I Believe,” the song he wrote just before writing this bio. It is a catchy bluesy riff tune, with some catchy vocals.