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 (2007), 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 this
year in tribute to UK band The Clash, recreating the London Calling
album in its entirety to sold-out crowds with Chuck Prophet.
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. CvS has spent the
latter half of 2005 touring the USA as a solo singer, with his 12-string
guitar.
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 also made a cameo appearance, playing
himself in Lynn Hershman Leeson's 1997 independent film Conceiving Ada.