Chris Love will be among the many artists rocking the stage of Bulldog Bash 2005. The Memphis native is a soloist, guitarist and drummer, and will bring a performance to the Bash with energy and lyrics that students can relate to.
“All my songs are pretty much a documentary of the past few years of my life,” Love said. “From relationships with girls to the ins and outs of things, my music is basically music you want to have fun [listening] to.”
Love said he hopes to connect with the crowd through his high-energy performance from him and his band.
“I feel a lot of emotion from the crowd,” he said. “My band is just so ridiculous. When everybody is dancing and having a blast, I feed off of it really heavily.”
This is Love’s first visit to Mississippi. However, he is no stranger to performing for huge crowds and opening up for some of the most famous faces of music. Love has opened up for bands such as Maroon 5, Everclear, Switchfoot, Die Trying, Code Seven, Egypt Central, Underoath and Dead Poetic.
“I play with all these huge bands and meet all these people throughout the year,” Love said. “I am just excited to meet these people that are going to help me better myself and my career.”
“I’ve been given the chance to play in front of thousands of people and get my music heard by more people and be able to express myself,” he added.
Love also won the Jimi Hendrix Experience guitar contest, beating musicians from around the world and earning the opportunity to open up for Nole Redding and Mitch Mitchell in Los Angeles.
Besides opening up for chart-topping bands, Love has made a name for himself in Memphis performing in places such as The New Daisy Theatre, Mud Island Amphitheatre, The Hard Rock Caf?, Handy Hall, The Hi-Tone, the Memphis in May Music Festival, as well as performances in California, Texas, Missouri and Louisiana.
Before Love embarked on his solo career, he was in the band Love and War, which made a lot of progress in the music industry. Eventually the band went their separate musical ways, but they still remain close friends.
“It was me and four of my best friends, who are still my best friends to this day,” Love said. “We just didn’t get along musically, and as the years progressed, we all kind of branched out.”
Love said he enjoys the freedom of being a solo artist, where he can write and structure all of his songs himself.
“The band I have now are some of the top musicians in this area. My drummer has won the drum off in Memphis for the past three years, my bass player is a nationally acclaimed bass player and my guitar player is Public Enemy’s guitar player,” Love said. “The difference between being in a band and being a soloist is great. It lets me express myself completely musically and emotionally. I just do what I want to do as opposed to being a part of a group effort.”
Love said the band’s hard work pays off when his music can actually reach out and touch the audience on a personal level.
“I have some really pretty ballad-type stuff that reaches your heart,” he said. “Everything I do is very soulful. You feel everything that I am singing. That is the main goal.”
Bulldog Bash co-coordinator Lauren Burns said this is one of the reasons why Love was chosen to be included in Friday’s entertainment line-up.
“I’m really excited about Chris Love because he is an up and coming artist from the South. His type of music is a genre that MSU students can really relate to,” she said.