Father Christmas

As an 11 year old Christopher Bingham would fall asleep to Carlos Santana's Abraxas - twenty years later he figured out where his ease with latin rhythm came from. He's a crystal clear tenor and he's been singing all his life. He was raised on show tunes, but the first album he ever purchased was Black Sabbath's Paranoid. His next purchase was American Pie - (remember Don McClean? They were on the radio at the same time...Go figure.) He wore the grooves out of both of them.

In 1979 he left his hometown of St. Louis to study jazz at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and stayed. He writes all the music for Gaia Consort. Several cuts on his CDs have received airplay on a number of college and commercial radio stations across the US and in Europe.

His guitar playing is like Bruce Cockburn meets Ian Anderson - fluid from one rhythm to the next. Stylistically, people used to compare him to David Crosby but lately it's been Bare Naked Ladies and Dave Matthews.

The late 80's and early 90s brought him to Seattle where he played all the singer / songwriter venues - The Backstage (opening for Greg Brown,) OK Hotel, The Tractor Tavern, Antique Sandwich in Tacoma, - Folklife, Music in the Park, even busking for a short while in the Pike Place Market. A variety of day jobs from wine bottler to legal clerk to handy man kept the roof over his head, as well as providing inspiration to do something meaningful with his life.

He released three recordings as Christopher Bingham, but, always one to follow his muse instead of the marketplace, he missed the grunge boat when it came through Seattle. (He did record at Chris Hanzek's studio where much grunge was made - Jack Endino even paid him $100 to move his session once for Babes in Toyland....) Even then he was interested in finding something to celebrate....

After a predatory encounter with someone posing as a music industry rep, Bingham put the music down for a year and worked his way out of debt.

In 1997, (finally buying a clue!) Bingham rejected music industry mythology and started making music to celebrate life and the Earth. He and his wife Sue Tinney debuted Gaia Consort at Nudestock '97 - and - surprise, suprise - the crowd loved it.

Summer 2002, Bingham is playing to a lot of Pagan audiences, celebrating much of that free spirited philosophy in his lyrics. People are responding, enthusiastically and on a grand scale. Oddly enough, success with numbers of people began to find him when he stopped playing coffeehouses and clubs, and started playing house concerts, festivals and self producing shows in rented halls. Now, when Gaia Consort performs, rooms fill - but don't look for him at your local club, cause he's not about selling beer. Look for Bingham, his life partner Sue, and the rest of his group some full mooned night, calling out the spirits in all of us, celebrating the Great Turning of the Year. And get on the mailing list so you know where to find him.

Some Festivals / Fairs / Clubs: Wic Can Fest 2002, Celebrate the Spirit, WV, Heartland Pagan Festival 2000, Pantheacon 99, Northwest Folklife, Oregon Folklife, Olympia Spiral Dance, Loving More Conference (1999, 2001), Okanogon County Fair, University District Street Fair, Ballard Seafood Fest, Fremont Fair, Magnolia Summerfest, Nudestock '94, '95 & '97, Wild in the Woods, Backstage in Ballard, Tractor Tavern, Ok Hotel, Parker's Ballroom, John Henry's (Eugene) Earth Day, (The Evergreen State College)

Split Bills / Openers: Greg Brown, Sheryl Wiser, Hand to Mouth, Bill Davie, Three Track Mind, October's Gate, Chuck Brodsky, Laura Love (Venus Envy) Erin Corday, Bright Blue Gorilla, Jim Page, Reggie Garrett, Trillian Green, Carolyn Currie, Rick Ruskin, Bill Bourne, Craig Olson, Katya Chorover, Jef Jaisun, Larry Murante

Some Benefits: April Divilbiss Legal Defense Fund, Tacoma Aids Walk, Native Forest Network, Hands Off Washington, Planned Parenthood, American Cancer Society, Victory Music New Year's Eve, and the New Beginnings Shelter.

Discography:
1987 Always the Sirens - cassette OUT OF PRINT
1993 - The Burning CD, Suddenly Naked
1995 - Angel and the Hanged Man CD, Suddenly Naked
1999 - Gaia Circles CD, Suddenly Naked
2001 - Secret Voices CD, Suddenly Naked