Biography Born in Colorado, and raised in Belgium and Massachusetts, Chris was drawn at an early age to music by the likes of Elton John, Cat Stevens and Neil Young.  By his late teens, Chris had picked up the guitar, and soon after began to develop his own songwriting skills.  Chris found himself relishing in its dual worlds of spiritual fulfillment and frustration, unknowingly transforming a hobby into a passion. Upon completing college in Washington, D.C., Chris headed for the turbulent waters of Los Angeles to pursue his ambition of becoming a recording artist. In 1997, Chris released his debut independent album American River.  Co-produced by Laterzo and Denny Weston, Jr., the L.A. Music Connection called it “an engaging collection of American folk rock, and the essence of a rustic album”.  After two years of playing the local scene and touring throughout California and the Southwest, Chris had garnered solid album reviews, as well as airplay on both NPR and small market stations. By this time, Laterzo had laid the groundwork for his 2nd album WaterKing and teamed up with Denny Weston to co-produce again.  The core band for this album made use of some notable talent such as Tad Wadhams on bass (Sheryl Crow), Hank Linderman on electric guitar (America, Timothy B. Schmitt) and Buck Johnson on organ (Matthew Sweet, Shawn Mullins).  Released in late 2000, WaterKing’s eleven original songs weave among the blurred boundaries of rock, folk, and alternative country.  WaterKing is a natural follow-up to American River, and its songs continue to reveal an artist devoted to melodic arrangements and placing the song center stage.  The Performing Songwriter Magazine states: “Laterzo is first and foremost a gifted melodist with an ear for hooks that sink in more deeply with each listen.” Touring over the last few years- most notably his recent tours in Europe- has brought Laterzo many new fans.  Chris has been a featured artist on ASCAP’s ‘Quiet on the Set’ and the musical guest on the number one national television talk show in The Netherlands ‘Barend en van Dorp’. The fall of 2004 brought the long awaited release of Driftwood, Chris’ third full length album.  In realizing Driftwood, Laterzo opted to take on full production and engineering responsibilities.  Chris admits that recording Driftwood entailed six months of grueling learning curves, anxiety, and setbacks, but notes it was the most rewarding and personally fulfilling project to date.  “The end result is that I achieved exactly what I had envisioned- an album that has a real homegrown and live-in-the studio band vibe and feel.  I specifically kept the instrumentation simple (drums, bass, guitars, piano, pedal steel), and strictly ruled out layering guitar tracks and the use of all the bells and whistles of modern recordings.”