Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991 TAG: 9104120627
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
In simple words: It's music, it's a livin' and it's a life he loves.
Acoustic guitarist and singer Chris Saunders, 32, is an expert on the entertainment scene in Montgomery County.
He should be an expert; he's been performing in it for about seven years, playing the harmonica, dulcimer and autoharp, too.
And he has literally taken his music to the streets. He played once for the dedication of a new sidewalk in Blacksburg.
"We played everywhere," said Saunders of himself and a former partner, Ben Bennett, during the mid-'80s. " `You pay and we play,' was our motto."
Bennett and Saunders split, but Saunders never gave up wanting to go solo.
For the past two years or more, he has been able to support himself by playing in area clubs, bars and restaurants.
Saunders has a playlist of more than 230 numbers logged in his brain.
"I don't draw from a particular style. Whatever I think is good I'll try," said Saunders, who was born and raised in Christiansburg.
His repertoire depends on the crowd. If it's a '60s-type group, he'll jam on the Grateful Dead, some older Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
If it's a working-class crowd, he leans toward country music and plays tunes from Kathy Mattea, Dan Seals and others.
But Saunders is versatile.
He includes Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, The Who, Bad Company, Neil Young and even an instrumental number by Pink Floyd.
"If you stick around long enough during my act, I'll probably end up playing something you like!" he said.
But singing and guitar playing - and hanging out with his two children, Charlie, 7, and Mary Montana, 5 - aren't Saunders' only loves. He's a storyteller, too.
His interest in spinning yarns has been boosted by his success at it.
He got involved with a group at Virginia Tech, where he used to work.
Now, as a student at New River Community College, he works in the college's recruiting program and travels to area high schools, where he talks about going to college and life in the New River Valley.
"My stories are regional in nature," said Saunders, who hopes to teach public speaking and performance.
"They're original stories about things I grew up hearing. They revolve around my time spent in Riner when I stayed there on weekends with my grandmother."
He remembers what Christiansburg used to be like: cherry float sodas at Rite's Drugstore, Saturday as go-to-town-day, and that small-town atmosphere. He adds music to his stories because "music opens people up; it's the key."
Saunders is helping to form the Collective Heads, a four-person band in which all the members sing.
The group performs Rolling Stones and Van Morrison numbers, among others, and plans to set up some gigs in the area.
But Saunders, who dreams of working in a performance theater incorporating music, songs and stories, considers himself a solo act first and foremost.
"I get all the money when I play alone," he joked.
Chris Saunders is scheduled to perform at Maxwell's in Blacksburg on and on April 18, 25, 27 and 30.
Saunders is booked at the Farmhouse Restaurant in Christiansburg on April 19 and 20.
When you see him, ask him about other performance dates.
by CNB