| Christopher Akin |
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Kris attended Marietta Christian Schools until 5th grade, where he transferred to Big Shanty Elementary School in Kennesaw, GA. He then attended Awtrey Middle School from 6th to 8th grade. It was there that Kris, under the tutelage of Earl Reece Jr., began his love of Performing Arts . In 1984 Kris attended North Cobb Comprehensive High School, until his graduation in 1988. It was during high school that Kris became an accomplished dancer and actor, receiving many awards for his 'avante garde urban-esque' choreography with the dance troupe, '''''Encore - Encore'''''. He was a performer/instructor at the prestigious Music/Arts/Dance/Drama (M.A.D.D.) workshops in Marietta, GA from 1983 until 1986. During his enrollment at Southern Technical Institute, where he studied , Widespread Panic , Grateful Dead , and Frank Zappa . It was not uncommon for Soul Palace to announce a hometown show 5 days before the event and sell out almost instantaneously. The Blue Racoon performance is one that will go down in history as a rare treat that resulted in the expulsion of 50 percent of the audience from the venue! After performing with Soul Palace (Ashley Gibson, guitar. '''David Anderson''', bass. '''Chris Primo''', keys/trumpet, '''Kris Akin''', drums and percussion) for 7 years, Kris decided to attempt lead vocals with the acoustic band, '''''No Strings Attached'''''. Moving from behind the drum kit to the front of the stage was a very fullfilling experience for Kris, and the experience found him being sought after on many different levels for his musicianship. Shuffling between Soul Palace and No Strings Attached left very little time for Kris to maintain a marriage to his then wife, Shelly. After Chris Primo was deported from the United States back to Ireland for his role in a major Marijuana traffiking ring, Soul Palace peformed as a trio for two more years. Kris and Shelly seperated in 2001. Kris abruptly departed Soul Palace in 2001 and moved back to his home town of Atlanta. He took a gig as a hired-gun for the Black Metal band, ''Force of Habit''. Although not as familiar with Speed Metal as he is with Progressive Rock (given that his two main influences in drumming are Bill Bruford and Alan White of YES ) he was offered a permanent position in the band. Known for their melodic metal and pyrotechnically enhanced shows, ''Force of Habit'' was signed to Insanity Records out of Germany. Having been quite familiar with the likes of bands such as, Mayhem and The Murder Junkies Kris promptly left the group and joined the pop-saturated band, '''''Liquid Pie'''''. It was with this band that Kris experienced his most successful time as a musician...if not monitarily, most definitely in exposure! One of his most thrilling moments came when he received a recording of Liquid Pie's radio special that was played in Sydney, Australia - where '''''Liquid Pie''''' enjoyed as much success as they did in the United States...if not more! During Capital Pride 2003, '''''Liquid Pie''''' played to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans - although the actual numbers are most likely around 50,000. Kris was given the opportunity to shoot two music videos from the album, '''''Diggin' In'''''. He received press in national magazines. He was able to achieve all that he had hoped to as a musician. The time that he played with this band were his most enjoyable and most exasperating. '''''Lindsey Christopher''''', the lead guitarist and chief song writer, was often referred to as Napolean because of demands made of her band. Only a friendship with '''''JP Stout''''' and the incredible vocalists, '''''Jan Marie Popovich''''' and '''''Arwen Smith''''' made this venture even remotely tolerable after the initial Honeymoon period was over. A couple years of that experience was about all Kris could stomach. On March 9th, 2006 Kris received what would be the greatest gift of his life, given to him by the woman that owns his heart - a beautiful daughter named, Alexandria Constance . He was married to Jennifer Lynn Stewart on April 4, 2006... |
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