Biography
Photo: Charlie Homo
Chris von Sneidern (CvS) is a San Francisco-based singer/songwriter and recording artist with thirteen critically acclaimed, self-produced albums
Deemed #6 of the all-time Greatest Power Pop Albums in Shake Some Action, by John M. Borack, CvS’s 2nd CD,Big White Lies, remains a strong seller worldwide. He regularly performs in the Bay Area as well as in Europe and Japan. He toured Spain in tribute to UK band The Clash, recreating the London Calling album in its entirety to sold-out crowds with Chuck Prophet. From 2017-2023 CvS was a front line member of The Flamin' Groovies. Since March 2020 his weekly online show attracts global viewers on YouTube and Facebook.
Born in Syracuse, NY, Chris spent countless hours playing guitar and dissecting the pop music of his youth. Upon moving to San Francisco at 19, he joined the band Flying Color. Two years later CvS was writing, recording, and performing his own songs, and left Flying Color. From then on, recording became a daily event for CvS, acquiring equipment and teaching himself to make his own demos, which were released in 1993 by Heyday Records as Sight & Sound.
Averaging one CD per year, CvS remained at home, ensconced in his basement studio, primarily alone. That continued until the peak of the Internet boom of 1999, when his rented house was sold and the studio was bulldozed. He ended up in Seattle for an 18-month exile, and spent his time writing and recording California Redemption Value. The songs are introspective, yet also a joyful celebration of his eventual return to San Francisco.
Why Isn’t Chris von Sneidern Famous?, the Academy Avenue Films documentary, is structured around six sit-down interviews that show the relationship and trust that gradually develops between the flattered but-reluctant subject, and the novice filmmaker. CvS looks back through the lens at the filmmaker and audience, questioning our assumptions about fame and success. The film premiered in the festival circuit, and aired on PBS in San Francisco in November 2010.
On TV, CvS songs are heard in “Line Of Fire” on ABC, “The Hills” on MTV, and “Mercy” on NBC.
CvS currently operates out of Hyde St. Studios in San Francisco. CvS has worked with a variety of artists, such as E (Eels), Ryan Adams, Paula Cole, John Wesley Harding and Jewel. CvS joined Neko Case on guitar in her kitchen for a track on the homespun CD, Canadian Amp. He lent his expertise to Golders Green, and 7 Park Avenue, adding instrumentation to demo material from the late Pete Ham of the ‘70s band Badfinger. More recently he worked on albums by Matthew Sweet and Todd Rundgren.
He also made a cameo appearance, playing himself in Lynn Hershman Leeson's 1997 independent film Conceiving Ada. CvS continues to tour as a solo act, with his 12-string guitar. He has entertained audiences with his music in Japan, Spain, and throughout the UK and USA.
Deemed #6 of the all-time Greatest Power Pop Albums in Shake Some Action, by John M. Borack, CvS’s 2nd CD,Big White Lies, remains a strong seller worldwide. He regularly performs in the Bay Area as well as in Europe and Japan. He toured Spain in tribute to UK band The Clash, recreating the London Calling album in its entirety to sold-out crowds with Chuck Prophet. From 2017-2023 CvS was a front line member of The Flamin' Groovies. Since March 2020 his weekly online show attracts global viewers on YouTube and Facebook.
Born in Syracuse, NY, Chris spent countless hours playing guitar and dissecting the pop music of his youth. Upon moving to San Francisco at 19, he joined the band Flying Color. Two years later CvS was writing, recording, and performing his own songs, and left Flying Color. From then on, recording became a daily event for CvS, acquiring equipment and teaching himself to make his own demos, which were released in 1993 by Heyday Records as Sight & Sound.
Averaging one CD per year, CvS remained at home, ensconced in his basement studio, primarily alone. That continued until the peak of the Internet boom of 1999, when his rented house was sold and the studio was bulldozed. He ended up in Seattle for an 18-month exile, and spent his time writing and recording California Redemption Value. The songs are introspective, yet also a joyful celebration of his eventual return to San Francisco.
Why Isn’t Chris von Sneidern Famous?, the Academy Avenue Films documentary, is structured around six sit-down interviews that show the relationship and trust that gradually develops between the flattered but-reluctant subject, and the novice filmmaker. CvS looks back through the lens at the filmmaker and audience, questioning our assumptions about fame and success. The film premiered in the festival circuit, and aired on PBS in San Francisco in November 2010.
On TV, CvS songs are heard in “Line Of Fire” on ABC, “The Hills” on MTV, and “Mercy” on NBC.
CvS currently operates out of Hyde St. Studios in San Francisco. CvS has worked with a variety of artists, such as E (Eels), Ryan Adams, Paula Cole, John Wesley Harding and Jewel. CvS joined Neko Case on guitar in her kitchen for a track on the homespun CD, Canadian Amp. He lent his expertise to Golders Green, and 7 Park Avenue, adding instrumentation to demo material from the late Pete Ham of the ‘70s band Badfinger. More recently he worked on albums by Matthew Sweet and Todd Rundgren.
He also made a cameo appearance, playing himself in Lynn Hershman Leeson's 1997 independent film Conceiving Ada. CvS continues to tour as a solo act, with his 12-string guitar. He has entertained audiences with his music in Japan, Spain, and throughout the UK and USA.
