Chris Cheney facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chris Cheney
Performing at Nibe Festival 2009, in Denmark
Background information
Birth name	Christopher John Cheney
Born	(1975-01-02) 2 January 1975 (age 50) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Rockabilly punk rock alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter producer
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass guitar
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Dew Process Deck Cheese Adeline EastWest EMI Modular Rapido Independent
Associated acts	Runaway Boys The Living End The Wrights Me First and the Gimme Gimmes The Matchsticks

Christopher John Cheney (born 2 January 1975) is an Australian rock musician. He is also a record producer and owns a music studio. Chris is best known as the main guitarist, songwriter, and lead singer of the band The Living End. He started this band in 1994 with his school friend Scott Owen.

Chris Cheney wrote many of The Living End's popular songs. These include ""Second Solution" / "Prisoner of Society"" (1997) and "White Noise" (2008). In 2004, Chris joined a supergroup called The Wrights. They released a cover of the long song "Evie". In 2009, Chris won the Song of the Year award for "White Noise".

About Chris Cheney

Early Life and Family

Chris Cheney was born on January 2, 1975. He grew up in Wheelers Hill, a suburb near Melbourne, Australia. When he was five, he saw his first rock concert. It was the famous American band Kiss.

Chris went to Jells Park Primary School and then Wheelers Hill Secondary College. Later, he studied Jazz music at Box Hill Institute of TAFE. He started playing guitar at age six. He taught himself by listening to AC/DC cassette tapes. A big influence on him was Brian Setzer from the band Stray Cats.

In 2001, Chris was in a car accident and injured his right leg. He needed surgery and couldn't play guitar for a while. His future wife, Emma, was also in the car but had only small injuries. Chris and Emma got married in 2005. They have two daughters, Charlie Bella and Scarlett Lyric.

In 2010, Chris and Emma, along with their friends, opened their own recording studio called Red Door Sounds. In 2011, Chris's father, Noel, passed away. Later that year, the Cheneys moved to Los Angeles, California. Chris said that life there was just like normal life, but in a different country. In 2020, the family moved back to Melbourne.

Music Journey

Chris Cheney met Scott Owen at Jells Park Primary School. They started their first band together in 1992. It was called The Runaway Boys. They named it after a Stray Cats album, which was one of Chris's favorite bands.

The Runaway Boys played cover songs by bands like Stray Cats and The Clash. Their first paid show was at the Richmond Club Hotel. They often played at the nearby Corner Hotel. The band had a few different drummers over time.

The Living End

In 1994, Chris and Scott started writing their own songs. They added Joe Piripitzi on drums and formed The Living End. They released two short albums called Hellbound (1995) and It's for Your Own Good (1996). The second one had their first song played on the radio, "From Here on In." Chris and Scott wrote this song together.

In 1996, The Living End sent their second album to Green Day. Green Day was touring Australia at the time. The Living End then got to open for Green Day. This helped their song get played on the radio station Triple J. Later that year, Travis Demsey became their new drummer. In 1997, The Living End released another short album, Second Solution / Prisoner of Society. Most of its songs were written by Chris. This album became very popular, reaching number 4 on the Australian music charts. It was the best-selling Australian single of the 1990s.

On October 12, 1998, The Living End released their first full album, The Living End. It went straight to number 1 in Australia. The album included popular songs like "Save the Day" and "Prisoner of Society". The band became famous worldwide. They played at big festivals like the Warped Tour in the United States and Reading and Leeds Festivals in the United Kingdom. Chris wrote many of their other top songs, including "Pictures in the Mirror" (2000) and "Wake Up" (2006).

In 2006, Chris told his bandmates he wanted to leave the band. He was having a tough time and found it hard to write songs. But he got through it and started writing again. In 2008, The Living End released another popular song, "White Noise". Their album with the same name came out later that month. In 2011, they released their sixth album, The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating, which reached number 3 on the charts.

Solo Music

In March 2022, Chris Cheney announced his first solo album, The Storm before the Calm. It was released in June 2022. He also released the song "California" from the album. Later, he released "Football Team" and "Corner Shop." Chris also announced a tour in Australia to support his new album.

Other Music Projects

Chris Cheney has worked with many other musicians. In 2003, he played with the Australian rock band You Am I at the Big Day Out festival. They played a song by The Clash to honor Joe Strummer. In 2004, Chris joined a supergroup called The Wrights. They performed a cover of Stevie Wright's song "Evie" at the ARIA Music Awards. Other famous musicians were in this group too.

In 2005, Chris sang a duet with Sarah McLeod on her song "Private School Kid". Later that year, he joined Green Day on stage to play "I Fought the Law". Chris also appeared on the TV show RocKwiz twice. He sang with Chrissy Amphlett and Suzi Quatro.

In 2009, Chris played with his childhood heroes, the Stray Cats, on their Australian tour. He performed four songs with them. That same year, Chris took part in concerts across Australia. He joined other musicians to play The Beatles' White Album in full.

In 2010, Chris recorded two solo songs. One was a cover of Crowded House's "Distant Sun". The other was a Christmas song he wrote called "Street Parade." Chris also started producing music for other bands. His first work was for the band Celadore in 2011.

In 2017, Chris filled in as a guitarist for the band "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes" on their tour. Chris also wrote a song called "I Won't Let You Down" for Jimmy Barnes' 2019 album. In 2021, he formed a new rockabilly band with Jimmy Barnes and Slim Jim Phantom. In 2023, Jimmy Barnes announced a new supergroup called The Barnestormers. It includes Barnes, Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom, Jools Holland, and Kevin Shirley. They released a self-titled album in May 2023.

Chris's Gear

Chris Cheney mainly plays a Gretsch White Falcon guitar. He uses special effects like distortion and modulation to change his sound. Gretsch Guitars even made a special guitar model just for him!

When Chris goes on tour, he brings about six guitars. He uses four main guitars and the others are backups or for different tunings. He uses Wizard Modern Classic amplifiers and cabinets.

Guitars Chris Uses

• Chris Cheney Signature G6126TCC
• Gretsch White Falcon 6136
• Gretsch White Falcon 6136 (from the 1990s)
• Gretsch 6120SSLVO ('06 Model)
• Gretsch 6116TVP "Power Tenny" (2006 Model)
• Gretsch 6118 Double Anniversary
• Other Gretsch and Gibson guitars

Music Albums

Solo Albums

Albums with The Living End

• The Living End (1998)
• Roll On (2000)
• Modern Artillery (2003)
• State of Emergency (2006)
• White Noise (2008)
• The Ending Is Just the Beginning Repeating (2011)
• Shift (2016)
• Wunderbar (2018)

Awards and Nominations

Jack Awards

Chris Cheney has won several Jack Awards:

• Best Lead Guitarist – 2004, 2005, and 2007
• Best Male Artist – 2006

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are given out every year by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).