Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris DeAnda.
Hi Chris, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born into a music family. It started with my uncles and his two sons. They had a Spanish Christian/Gospel band back in the 90’s and early 2000’s, touring throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. Essentially, getting to watch them play shows, is what got me to fall in love with music. There’s a VCR tape they had recorded, and I was in it, playing my cousins piano. At about 3 years old, I fell in love with drums (because all kids like loud things, and drums were pretty loud), so I started learning drums then, and was pretty good at them by 5 years old. After that, I grew up playing drums in church. Was even on the high school drumline, so drums has always been my passion. About my sophomore year of high school, I decided to start learning guitar. So I self-taught myself, just watching YouTube videos, just about everyday, after getting out of school. Quit it a few times but eventually just kept pushing myself and not give it up. At that point, I was playing drums and guitar for church. After high school, I had written a couple songs (Missin’ You and Out By The Fire), which are out on streaming platforms. I had played them for friends and family, and everyone loved them. I had no intention of wanting to record and release music of my own, I just had the thought of always wanted to play drums or guitar for a band. So in 2019, I started to put my feet in water, of wanting to record them. I had emailed quite of few studios and producers, just to see what I needed to do, to make it happen. I got one response, from my now producer Leland Grant at South Light Sound in Nashville, TN. We had a meeting and we made it happen. Took the trip to Nashville in 2020, recorded, and released the two songs. I had great traction on those, so I decided to write a few more, and release them, so I did. Towards the end of 2020, I had released an EP called “Where I Am, Where I’m Going” with three new tracks, plus the two I had released. To today, that EP is sitting at close 750,000 streams on Spotify alone, not to mention all other platforms, which could be close to a million or over, just by self-promotion and spending my own money, to get it to where it’s at today. Since then, I’ve been releasing music a few times a year. Over the past 2 or 3 years, I’ve had 5 nominations, 3 song of the years, and 2 music video of the years, for the Josie Music Awards in Nashville, TN, held at the Grand Ole Opry. I tour just about 45 weeks of the year and play show in numerous states. Still going at it, and showing no signs of slowing down.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not. Especially for me, that I have no booking agent/manager, no tour bus/van, I’m using my own money and personal vehicles to get me to where I need to be, besides flying, but then still, using my own money for that as well. But in the past 6 years that I’ve been doing this, it’s all been worth all the money I’ve spent to get me to where I am today and where I’m going to be, whether I end up getting all the perks or if I’m still going to be self-funding myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a country music recording artist from Texas.
I am just proud of where I am today, but also proud of everyone that has helped me get to where I am, including streaming my music and/or coming out to my shows, wherever that may be.
I would say that I stay true to myself. You know you hear stories about people in any industry, saying that “oh yeah, that person is the most nicest, down to Earth human being you’ll ever meet or yeah, that person isn’t the best person you want to meet”. So I just want to be one of the nice ones, because much like me, I have music artists that I love and want to be like someday, and knowing someday, there’s going to be someone saying the same thing about me.
What’s next?
Going to continue playing shows and releasing new music often. Move to Nashville. Start playing shows in new states, that I haven’t already, and get to meet new people. As well as, getting to travel across the pond and playing shows over there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chrisdeandaofficial.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdeandamusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrisdeandamusic
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/cdeandamusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisdeandamusic
- TikTok: @chrisdeandamusic
