Christopher Baio (born October 29, 1984) is an American musician, best known for being the bassist for the New York City-based

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson ...

. He also releases as a record producer under the mononym Baio, and his debut solo album ''The Names'' was released through

Glassnote Records Glassnote Records (also known as Glassnote Entertainment Group LLC) is a record label that was launched by American music executive Daniel Glass in 2007. The label primarily has a lineup of indie rock and alternative rock artists, most notably M ...

on 18 September 2015.

Life

Baio was turned on to music at an early age, purchasing his first album at the age of seven and going to his first concert, a live performance by the band Cracker, at the age of nine. Baio said that, as a child, he would go to sleep with ''Doolittle'' by

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

playing. Baio attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York, majoring in Russian and Eurasian Regional studies and minoring in Math, graduating in May 2007. He served as College Rock Music Director of WBAR during his time at school. Before graduating college and while recording Vampire Weekend's first album, Baio had planned to teach math for Teach for America for two years, however the success of the band led him to declining the position. He is a first cousin once removed of actor

Scott Baio Scott Vincent James Baio (; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chachi Arcola on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1977–1984) and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi'' (1982–1983), the title character on ...

, who played

Chachi Arcola Charles "Chachi" Arcola is a character played by Scott Baio on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' and its spin-off '' Joanie Loves Chachi''. The character of Chachi is the younger cousin of Fonzie, first appearing on ''Happy Days'' in season 5, beginning i ...

on ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' and Charles on the 1980s television program '' Charles in Charge''. He is also a cousin of actor

Jimmy Baio James Joseph Baio (born March 15, 1962) is an American former actor. He began acting on TV at the age of 13. Baio is best known for playing Billy Tate on ''Soap''. His last role was in the 1996 film '' The Mirror Has Two Faces.'' Career Baio f ...

. In April 2013, Baio discovered that he is related to Steve Buscemi. Baio's first cousin is

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

outfielder

Harrison Bader Harrison Joseph Bader (born June 3, 1994), nicknamed "Tots," is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. Born and rais ...

. His father is originally from

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

Musical career

During high school, Baio was lead guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist in a local Bronxville, NY band known as Underrated. Baio was in a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

-influenced band called the Midnight Hours with Vampire Weekend's current drummer, Chris Tomson at Columbia University, where the rest of the Vampire Weekend band members were also attending. Following the breakup of Midnight Hours, Baio was working as a DJ as a side job until Vampire Weekend was created. The band members got straight to rehearsing for their first gig, which was booked before the band had even started practicing. A year after Baio graduated, Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut album was released. It peaked at number 15 on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and number 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Additionally, one of the album's singles, " A-Punk" was voted the 4th best song of 2008 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine in addition to being featured in the film ''Step Brothers'' with

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

and

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in '' Days of Thunder'' (1990), '' ...

, and the popular UK television series ''

The Inbetweeners ''The Inbetweeners'' is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 until 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager ...

''. On June 14, 2008, they played

Central Park SummerStage Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, and a benefit for democracy in October. In January 2010, the band's second album, ''

Contra Contra may refer to: Places * Contra, Virginia * Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California * Contra Costa County, California * Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...

'', was released. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and on January 9, 2010 the band appeared on

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

. Then on March 6, 2010, the band appeared as the musical guests on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''; the second time the band had appeared on the show. Baio released his debut solo EP, "Sunburn," under his DJ name, Baio on May 21, 2012. ''

'' said, "A three-track set of undulating dance grooves that capture a vibe the bassist describes as 'hopeful melancholy,' it's the culmination of a hobby Baio took up half a decade ago as a student at Columbia University in New York." Baio drew a lot of inspiration from electronic and dance music and spent much of the past year on DJing due to Vampire Weekend's light tour schedule, and he said, "I'd lock myself in my little office in my apartment with CDJs and a mixer and just practice mixing all day. I did that quite a bit while we were touring the last record and realized when we finished touring that I really wanted to pursue it." His first completed track was "Sunburn Modern," which was inspired by a "nasty, modern art"-looking sunburn he got from a trip to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

with his girlfriend. His solo album, titled ''The Names'', was released in 2015. His sophomore album, ''Man of the World'', was released on June 30, 2017. On January 29, 2021 Baio released his third solo album, ''Dead Hand Control''. Though his earlier albums were pleasantly energetic – this one took a deeper and darker turn, being several octaves below his normal art. Flickr - moses namkung - Vampire Weekend

Flickr - moses namkung - Vampire Weekend

Musical influences

In an interview with the British newspaper column "Hugs and Kisses 23" Baio said, in reply to the question 'what his favorite album of all time was', "

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

's, ''

Classic Queen ''Classic Queen'' is a 1992 compilation album by the British rock band Queen. The album is seen as a US version of '' Greatest Hits II'' and was issued to capitalise on the renewed popularity of Queen in the United States following the release ...

''. I still like it. It could be Greatest Hits. It's the one with 'Bohemian Rhapsody' on it. They were selling it on MTV with an ad trailer featuring the guys from '' Wayne's World'' singing along to it in the car. I was maybe seven, and I was like, I really like that song, so I'll get that album." Vampire Weekend also used

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

as an influence saying to Columbia University's alumni journalist "they played extremely popular music but at the same time drew upon Eastern and Western sources. Whereas today, rock music has killed itself by being so white bread. We're trying to mix sounds that are old and new and sounds that are Western and that are not Western. I think that's our vibe." The band also has taken its style from a form of music called

Afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...

which is a mix between

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, funk, and

highlife Highlife is a music genre that started in present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its history as a colony of the British Empire and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It describes multiple local fusions of African metre and wester ...

, all cemented together by heavy traditional African influences.

Equipment

Baio's primary bass is an old hollow-body Kustom brand bass guitar in teal. He also is frequently seen using a Rickenbacker 4003 bass guitar and an

Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...

Jack Casady John William "Jack" Casady (born April 13, 1944) is an American bass guitarist, best known as a member of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jefferson Airplane became the first successful exponent of the San Francisco Sound. Singles including " S ...

bass guitar. In September 2019 on the Stephen Colbert show, Baio played a Kala Wanderer U-Bass, which is a “short-scale” travel bass that looks like a ukulele but sounds like a standard bass guitar.

Discography

Solo studio albums * ''The Names'' (2015) * ''Man of the World'' (2017) * '' Dead Hand Control'' (2021) Solo EPs * ''Sunburn'' (2012) * ''Mira'' (2013) * ''ON&ON&ON&ON / Missive'' (2014) With Vampire Weekend * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

Modern Vampires of the City ''Modern Vampires of the City'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. It was released on May 14, 2013, by XL Recordings. The group began to write songs for the album during soundchecks on the supporting concert t ...

'' (2013) *''

Father of the Bride The Father of the Bride is commonly one of the wedding ceremony participants. Father of the Bride may also refer to: * ''Father of the Bride'' (novel), 1949, by Edward Streeter ** ''Father of the Bride'' (franchise), media franchise based on the 1 ...

'' (2019)

Life

Musical career

Musical influences

Equipment

Discography

References

See also