ABOUT
Chris Kennison
An Endless Passion for Music
For Discovery, for People, for Life...
I am a Colorado native. I grew up in Denver and moved to Fort Collins to attend CSU in 1976 after living in Hawaii while serving in the US Navy. I’ve been playing guitar and performing for about 50 years. I studied Classical Guitar as a teen, but remain mostly self-taught. More recently (2011-2022) I’ve been playing pedal steel and guitar in show bands in Arizona during the winter. I have a passion for Hawaiian music and Hawaiian steel and belong to the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association (www.hsga.org). I formed the Book ’em Danno Band in 2002 to further my learning of Hawaiian traditions in music. We a played on the Front Range of Colorado for many years until about 2010. Along with a passion for all things steel guitar related (pedals, lap, dobro, Weissenborn) I also enjoy playing finger-style guitar (like Chet). I love the endless journey of learning on guitar – and continue to try and improve. I recorded music for myself and others at Seldom Fed Productions recording studio Fort Collins, CO for many years from 1991 until moving to Montrose CO in 2020. There we did 100s of sessions for local musicians.
Over the years my formal musical experiences include Membership in many Colorado Front-Range bands; Book ’em Danno, Rounder, Cabin Fever, The West Brothers band, Country Time Band, Bum’Kin, Goatz!, Jimbo Darville and the Truckadors, Brad Fitch and the Tropical Cowboys, and Scott Allen with the Tropical Coyotes – and along the way had some fun Openings for Poco, Dan Seals, Doug Kershaw, Holly Dunn playing the ‘mud circuit’ in the west (Cheyenne Frontier Days, Greeley Stampede, National Western Stock show)and even a performance with the Ft. Collins Symphony. I worked with Doug Kershaw for a few years as a steel player and fiddle player. The last decade was spent on stage 5-7 nights a week with the Barleen’s Opry in Arizona, and as a side man at the Silver Star Theatre in Mesa AZ. In addition to performing and recording I also tried to manufacture some custom lap steel guitars. The Berkley Guitar company – BERKLEY GUITARS – was short lived and sold exactly 1 instrument. It was fun, and I learned I’m better at playing them than making them. These days I work as a sideman for various artists in Colorado and Arizona – and teach and do solo gigs. Aloha
So what is Seldom Fed (seldomfed.com) © ? While studying Colorado History at CSU, I came across the story of Sergeant John Timothy O’Keeffe – the “Pikes Peak Prevaricator”. O’keeffe lived on Pikes Peak on the front range of the Rockies near Colorado Springs around 1876. He was part of the newly formed U.S. Signal Service. He was a jolly Irishman who loved his whiskey and telling tall-tales. He was famous for the stories he told. His stories were often published in the newspapers of the time. (Gazette in Colorado Springs, CO) One of the most famous was the “Pike’s Peak Rat Story” which told of man-eating rats living at 15,000 feet. (really – look it up) His friend, and the author of most of the newspaper stories, was Eliphalet Price. Mr. Price was present when O’keeffe changed the name of his famous mule to ‘Balaam’ after he pawned the animal to bail out (“bail’im”) another drinking buddy, Cherokee Charlie! In addition to his famous mule, ‘Balaam’, he also had a not so famous dog! One interviewer ventured to his abode and noticed that the dog looked a little worse for wear. Upon inquiring, he was told the dog was called “Seldom Fed”. The name stuck with me. So, I have always wanted a dog named Seldom Fed, or some other reason to use the name. The association with music is clear. The guitar with a bite out of it is our logo. A creative CSU graphic art student named Randy Hickman helped me crystalize the concept.
It never ends
Passion never dies. It grows
Stay Curious and Strong
Keep growing and exploring, create beautiful things, love family and close friends, eat good food, and travel this wonderful world and share what you’ve learned.
