Chris Curtis has music in the blood
The Curtis family is all about tradition in more ways than one. Whether it is country living or country music, father and son are all for it. Chris Curtis (Brian’s son) is now getting ready to move back to Stanstead where he grew up.
“I was the sixth generation Curtis raised on the family farm in Stanstead East. I currently live in Hatley with my wife, and two daughters. We are in the process of moving to the family farm,” said Chris Curtis in an interview.
He is in his 19th year working at Everest Equipment in Ayer’s Cliff, where he started a job as a student at 16. He also cuts lumber in his spare time but his true passion is music, something he shares with his father as they both play in the same band.
Music is also part of the tradition since his grandfather on his mom's side played a little guitar and loved music. His great-grandfather on his dad's side was Swedish and played guitar and loved to sing. His sisters were opera singers in Sweden.
“I am extremely fortunate to have a father heavily involved in music. He was playing in bands before I was born, and as a child I remember admiring him and his band at the time, “Silver Eagles”, playing at local dance halls on Saturday nights,” he explained.
He remembers how he was drawn right to the drums. He was also the typical
kid playing on buckets and whatever he could find to use as a drum set, playing along to the Silver Eagles recordings.
“I had very supportive parents growing up that never ever forced me into playing a particular instrument or following a particular genre of music. They gave me the time to practice and were always willing to drive me around for practices or gigs,” he said thankfully.
Curtis realizes now how his parents were attentive to his love of music as well as the wisdom of his father guiding him towards the right choices for a bright future.
“Right from the age of about five it was all about drums. But around the age of 9, my father made a deal with me. If I did a few years of piano lessons to learn timing and the basics of music, he would get me a drum set,” he reminisced.
“I agreed and he held his word and bought me a set a few years later. I then began lessons with the former drummer of Silver Eagles, the man that I had looked up to my entire childhood. Around the age of 12 I started playing around with bass, and then guitar,” he recalled.
The young man has since put his love of music to good use. Really talented, Curtis is still fairly young to have all these years of playing in bands under his belt. He is the kind of guy who is always appreciative for what life and music brings.
“I have been extremely fortunate to play with many great talented people over the years,” he said. He first started playing drums in a band called Fluke in high school when he was 13. By the time he was 14, he started playing in a band called Mountain Dew with his father, which is now named Slightly Haggard.
“It's now been 20 years that I have been playing with that same group of guys. It seems very rare for a group of guys to play that long together. I’m very lucky to be part of that group.”
Among other things, he played drums
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