Chris Marsol 'Butterflies Lipstick Hand Grenades' album

At age 11, Chris Marsol was locking himself in the bathroom to write songs and record on a crude tape recorder. This was followed by many years of absorbing nearly every genre of popular music. The result is an album written, arranged and produced by Marsol entitled "Butterflys, Lipstick and Hand Grenades". Marsol and his buddies made this record the old-fashioned way; they got together in a room and played. Most mixtures of this type are a watered down, sloppy, undefined mess. This project, however, is unique, bold and confident with its own texture and attitude.

Chris Marsol, a San Francisco-based alt/rock/soul artist, is proud to announce the release of his new album, Butterflies, Lipstick, And Hand Grenades. The album, Marsol's sophomore effort, will be available October 20 via Clear Label Records.

With comparisons ranging from Lenny Kravitz, Res, Prince, Pete Yorn, and Ben Harper, it's readily apparent that Chris Marsol's music genuinely mixes and matches styles. As a proponent of blending and bending genres and bowling down musical stereotypes, the talent is something that comes natural for Chris, and that talent is on full display in the manner in which Marsol crafted his latest release. Chris says, "Honestly I wrote over 200 songs without ever planning an 'album release'," he says, "I would dream some of these songs and wake up in the middle of the night, grab my guitar or piano and start writing. After about 200 songs I had to record them, not to make an album but to get them out of my head so I would not go insane... literally."

This organic approach defines Chris's style and explains the eclectic mix of music found throughout Butterflies, Lipstick, and Hand Grenades. The new album also marks a new era for Chris, who believes he has finally found his niche, "I think you're getting a real glimpse into a time in my life. Live drums, more confident vocals, and a more simplistic and definitive approach." After countless hours and countless songs, that new approach will be on display October 20th with the release of his new album.

Born in San Francisco, Chris identifies with the historically revolutionary and diverse aspect of his home. Even though he wasn't around during the beginnings of the counterculture movement, the spirit of art, freedom, liberalism, and progressive thinking still illuminates the Bay Area to this day, and Marsol is a product of that environment. "As a child, I didn't distinguish between the many different genres of music I was exposed to. I only distinguished between what I liked and what I didn't like." At age six Chris was singing in his church choir and stealing the spotlight dancing at family reunions. By age eleven he was locking himself in the bathroom, writing and recording his first songs on an old tape recorder. At age 17 he taught himself how to play the piano, and as the years went by he would pick up a guitar as well, absorbing artists such as Pink Floyd, Cream, Stevie Wonder, Nirvana, Genesis, Terence Trent D'Arby, Stone Temple Pilots, D'Angelo, Radiohead, Hall and Oates and Elton John. Chris’s new album is a direct product of his diverse upbringing and wide musical tastes. Butterflies, Lipstick, and Hand Grenades, available October 20 via Clear Label Records.

Chris Marsol biography
Let's face it; they've got us all figured out. It's a formula no doubt. Multiply your age by your city and state, add your disposable income level then divide that by your ethnicity and they will surely be able to determine what kind of music you listen to and how to get you to buy it. And unfortunately, we as a society rarely disappoint. Yet we all know that Nirvana fan that used to sneak in her room when no one was privy and pop in that N' Sync album, all the while publicly detesting pop music. That was our first lesson in pop culture: things are rarely as simple as they seem. We like to pretend they are if for no other reason than that we like our world neat and easily digestible, i.e.: black and white. But in this pretend world of black and white that we've created, is it possible that any one artist can bring the rock lover, the soul lover and the pop music lover together in one blissful Technicolor orgy? If any artist can, it is Chris Marsol.

Maybe it has to do with his upbringing. You see, Chris was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, home of Haight-Ashbury, the centerpiece to the hippie movement, psychedelic rock, the Black Panthers, and, of course, the most ethnically diverse population in the country. Sure, he wasn't around during the revolution, but the spirit of art, freedom, liberalism, and progressive thinking still illuminates the Bay Area to this day and Marsol is a product of that environment, "As a child, I didn't distinguish between the many different genres of music I was exposed to. I only distinguished between what I liked and what I didn't like." At age six Chris was singing in his church choir and stealing the spotlight dancing at his family reunions. By age eleven he was locking himself in the bathroom, writing and recording his first songs with a crude tape recorder. At age 17 he taught himself how to play the piano. As the years went by he would pick up a guitar as well and absorb artists like Pink Floyd, Cream, Stevie Wonder, Nirvana, Genesis, Terence Trent D'Arby, Stone Temple Pilots, D'Angelo, Radiohead, Hall and Oates and Elton John.

The result is an album written, arranged and produced by Chris Marsol entitled Butterflies, Lipsticks and Hand Grenades. Marsol and his buddies made this record the old-fashioned way: they got together in a room and played. But taking black and white and turning it into something beautiful is not an easy task. Most mixtures of this type are a watered down, sloppy, undefined mess. This project, however, is unique, bold, and confident with its own texture and attitude - just as bold as black and white, but much more colorful and interesting. In this effort, Marsol seems to have had an extremely deep conversation with his influences without letting them overtake his musical vision. Listening to the entire album, if you are to find any single artist to whom Chris can be compared, my guess is you haven't been listening close enough. This, "I am a rock album that refuses to be defined as another rock album," approach is exactly what makes Butterflies, Lipstick, and Hand Grenades both well defined and utterly refreshing. What we are left with is an excitingly focused album where no two tracks sound the same. When asked about the meaning of the album title, Marsol just shrugs and says, "There is no meaning until you create one." How true those words ring, not just in defining the album title, but also in defining his music and his entire movement. It seems there is always a revolution going on in the Bay Area.

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Chris Marsol - Butterflies Lipstick Hand Grenades