Chris Haskett (born 1962) is an American guitarist. He was a member of the

Rollins Band Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both ...

from 1986 to 1997 and again for the band's reunion in 2006. He has also recorded or performed with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Foetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...

Pigface Pigface is an American industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin. History Pigface was formed from Ministry's ''The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste'' tour, which produced the '' In Case You Didn't Feel ...

, The Cassandra Complex,

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates b ...

The Joy Thieves The Joy Thieves is a musical supergroup, consisting of current, former, and touring members of bands such as Ministry, Stabbing Westward, The Rollins Band, Killing Joke, Pigface, Revolting Cocks, , David Bowie, Machines of Loving Grace, Mari ...

, and others.

Biography

Haskett was born in Washington, D.C. He spent 1976–1977 in the UK where he was greatly inspired by the birth of the UK

punk scene The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...

. Soon after his return to the US he was recruited into seminal D.C. band The Enzymes. Heavily inspired by such diverse influences as

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

The Art Ensemble of Chicago The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz group that grew out of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians ( AACM) in the late 1960s. The ensemble integrates many jazz styles and plays many instruments, including "little ...

, The Damned and

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

, the band existed at the fringes of what would eventually turn into

Washington, D.C. hardcore Washington, D.C., hardcore, commonly referred to as D.C. hardcore, sometimes styled in writing as harDCore, is the hardcore punk scene of Washington, D.C. Emerging in late 1979, it is considered one of the first and most influential punk scenes in ...

. After the appearance of the

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...

on the scene, the band became moved to a more conventionally punk and reggae repertoire. The Enzymes recorded a number of sessions but never released any. In 1982 he moved to Leeds to finish an undergraduate degree in Philosophy. While there he joined Dave Coleman a.k.a. Surfin Dave's surf/trash band. Originally called the Beany T's, the band was rechristened the Absent Legends. The band played a good deal in the UK and released one LP. ''In Search of a Decent Haircut'' on

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 ...

in 1985. The Absent Legends disbanded the following year. During a return visit to Washington, D.C. in the Summer of 1986, Haskett encountered longtime friend

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

. The two had been in regular contact since 1984 and often discussed musical collaboration. The serendipitous meeting turned into an improvised plan. Washington, D.C. bassist Bernie Wandel and Absent Legends drummer Mick Green were brought in as rhythm section and the result was the album '' Hot Animal Machine''. From 1987 to 1997, Haskett was the guitarist in the

. The band racked up close to a thousand performances across the globe and were known for a high-intensity blend of raw energy and profound musicianship. In 1994 they were nominated for a Grammy and performed live at the ceremony. This incarnation broke up in 1998 after finishing their tour on the ''

Come In and Burn ''Come In and Burn'' is the fifth full-length studio album by the Rollins Band. Released in 1997 on DreamWorks SKG, it is their major label debut. It is also the last album before vocalist Henry Rollins dissolved the band's "classic" lineup of g ...

'' album. Rollins kept the Rollins Band name with a new lineup of the band. The Rollins/Haskett/Cain/Gibbs lineup reformed briefly for the "As the World Burns" tour with Los Angeles rockers X. Post-Rollins Band, Haskett has done multiple, mostly low-profile, projects. Throughout the 1990s he played his own instrumental compositions live with various bands. Inspired by both

Sonny Sharrock Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock (August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he recorded and performed. One of only a few prominent guitarists who participated in the fir ...

and the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

, the instrumentation was usually guitar, bass, and two drummers. 1995 saw his first solo release ''Language'

a mixture of angular, dense, difficult acoustic guitar (some in duet with ex-Birthday Party guitarist

Rowland S. Howard Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career. Early life Rowland Stua ...

) and

tape loops Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive * Athletic tape, pressure-sensiti ...

inspired by

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, wit ...

. In 1997 he released the CD ''"Nonfiction"'' in collaboration with drummer Brandon Finley (of Dog Eat Dog). The CD was a fusion of electric jazz and the

go-go Go-go is a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area during the mid-60s to late-70s. Go-go has l ...

music that had been the soundtrack to his Washington, D.C. teen years. 2002 saw the release of

which showcased a more conventional approach to the electric guitar and allowed his debt to his heroes such as Zappa and Beck to show through. He reunited with Brandon Finley for 2011's ''Maybe Definitely'

(a play on Jeff Beck's title "Definitely Maybe") and another foray into the jazz/go-go territory the two explored on "Nonfiction". In 2014, he released ''The Courage Born of Conflicting Terrors'

in collaboration with Nick Enfield and Mirna Sodre. Other past projects included collaborations with

Reeves Gabrels Reeves Gabrels (born June 4, 1956) is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. A member and guitarist of British band the Cure since 2012, Gabrels worked with David Bowie from 1987 to 1999, and was a member of the band Tin Machine. ...

at the end of the 1990s, the Preaching to the Perverted Tour with

, the

Cassandra Complex Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be belie ...

("Blow tour 2001"). He is also heard on the song "If I'm Dreaming My Life" on the

album '' 'hours...'''. Now resident in Australia, Haskett continues to record and tour.

Equipment

Haskett was one of the first "indie" guitarists to put

Paul Reed Smith Paul Reed Smith (born February 18, 1956) is an American luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars, a high-end guitar maker. Early life Smith graduated from Bowie High School in 1974. He also attended St. Mary's College of Maryland wh ...

guitars in front of large audiences notably on the Rollins Band's 1991 tour on the first

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

. His customized PRS CE24's, later combined with the original appearance of the

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

Dual Rectifier series became a staple of modern rock. More recently, his association with Paul Reed Smith resulted in a unique 9-string custom which has the lower E-A-D strings coursed for a 12-string sound but leaves the high G-B-E strings single to allow easier bends and solos.

References

External links

ChrisHaskett.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haskett, Chris 1962 births Living people Guitarists from Washington, D.C. Australian people of American descent American rock guitarists American male guitarists Pigface members Alternative metal guitarists Rollins Band members 20th-century American guitarists Alumni of the University of Leeds 20th-century American male musicians Thirsty Ear Recordings artists Underground, Inc. artists