Born and raised in Guelph, Chris started learning guitar at age 11, quickly moving on to playing in various rock bands and performing often as a teenager anywhere he could. Fueled by his own passion and spurred on by his music teachers, Chris went on to pursue music in a more serious way, attending two-consecutive years at the National Guitar Summer Workshop at Humber College, then earning his B.A. from the University of Guelph, with an area of concentration in Music, studying jazz guitar performance and ethnomusicology under Dr. Howard Spring.
Chris became a regular at the Jimmy Jazz Open Stage on Sunday evenings, honing his accompanying skills. Chris also served as the Musical Director for Curtain Call Productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair and Tommy, in which Chris led the band and played one of the guitar roles each year. Upon graduation, Chris co-founded and led the Prog-Metal band GODSEYEVIEW, as guitarist and primary songwriter. Chris also was involved with the Obsidian Theatrical Production of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, which involved Chris scoring, musical directing and playing one of the guitar parts for the rock-opera. Chris also sat-in for various jazz bands, including the Royal City Big Band, which had a recurring gig at the Rotary Club of Guelph Canada Day Celebrations at Riverside Park.
During these years Chris taught guitar for various music studios, eventually starting Deeves Music Studio with his wife, Theresa, who is an accomplished and established piano teacher, and ran the studio for 10 years.
In 2006 Chris shifted careers and entered full-time ministry as the Worship & Creative Arts Pastor at Lakeside Church. This job had Chris working with teams of volunteers, helping them work in a rock-band setting to provide music for modern worship services each Sunday morning, as well as playing guitar in a team on a regular rotation. These years also saw Chris learning the “tech-side” of music, learning about live-sound production/engineering, and video-production.
During 2018- 19 Chris studied vocal with Marion Samuel-Stevens, as part of his Masters of Worship Studies degree which he completed in 2020. In 2020 Chris transitioned out of full-time ministry, his passion and desire to teach music drawing him to Jam School to work both with private students and bands. Chris’ most recent musical exploration is on the Mandolin, which has provided a welcome challenge.
Chris has honed skills in working in various bands and ensembles, understanding the dynamics of rehearsals and preparations, knowing how to work with people to get them ready for the stage. Chris strives to bring the best out of his students and believes in a mix of passion and skill to develop great musicians.