Chris Bovard Memorial Fund

With heavy hearts, we ask for your prayers and support for Chris Bovard, his wife Neala, and his family,

 

Chris collapsed at home unexpectedly last week and passed away on Saturday, January 22nd. We are graciously asking for your financial support to assist Chris's family in covering expenses during this difficult time..  In addition, local musicians will be hosting a  "Bovi Benefit for Chris Bovard" on Sunday, March 6th at the Valley Inn Duboistown.   There will be many great auction items, prizes, events, live music and surprises.  100% of all proceeds go to his family or you can donate here to support the cause.

 

Chris was a musician, husband, father, grandfather and friend to all he met. Bovi always had a smile on his face, and people gravitated towards his friendly and engaging personality. He was happy to share his musical knowledge, life stories or a good joke with anyone that he met. Chris influenced so many peoples' lives with his kindness, generosity and love of music. Just take a minute and read the hundreds of remembrance posts on his Facebook page. They will make you smile or laugh because you knew that was just like Chris and shed a few tears knowing how much you will miss him. So I thought there is no better way to celebrate Chris's life than to share a few of the highlights right from the many posts of his friends and family.

 

 

 

"Chris Bovard "Kahuna"

Chris Bovard 'Kahuna' - A curious child at the tender age of three - he wears a cowboy hat boots and has a death grip on a "Casper the Friendly Ghost" guitar for the first time. It left its mark on his soul.

Five years later when he was eight, he finally played his guitar for someone other than family, his first public performance. The audiences' reaction was more than enough to propel him into the world of music with aspirations of becoming a recognized professional.

Chris Bovard - At fourteen he had already played often with several bands in public, and by the time he turned sixteen he was professionally teaching others at an Orlando, Florida music store.

Off and on, during certain stages of his development Chris was much like other young artists. Common in nature, following the general musical trends of the period, but unlike most, Chris' inner ear was hearing melodic, harmonious voicings far more complex and intricate than were being offered at the time.

Chris Bovard was greatly influenced by many superstars over the years, but the five, which made the strongest impression on him, were certainly the giants.Chris found himself caught up in the soulfulness of B.B.King, the explosiveness of Johnny Winter, the raw power of Jimi Hendricks, the elegance of Mason Williams and the reckless precision of the great Danny Gatton. Chris credits Danny with much of the development of his specific "chord to lead to chord" technique, which exemplifies so much of Chris' style. He also makes mention of the impressions left on him by playing on stage with Poppa Chubby at a venue in Hawai'i.

Being self-taught can be as much a revealing experience as a restrictive one. Without a teacher telling you where NOT to go, if you are a 'Chris Bovard', you find yourself trolling in murky waters where hidden treasures may lie. Chris managed to find many such treasures over the years while paying his dues in and around the Honolulu-Waikiki tourist club circuits. Some very serious masters, whom he studied while spending so much time in Hawai'i, drastically influenced much of Chris' individual expertise. He says Hawaii is a huge mixture of races, cultures, colors and music, and it seems to show in his hard to pin down style, definitely "blues" based with a kind of jazzy funky monkey pop edge and a country half twist. Kind of like a twisted slingshot, you're never quite sure when to duck!

Chris spent the early and mid-eighties in Waikiki performing with a riveting pop' club band called "Sonya and Revolucion", moving on in the late eighties to "BMW" (Brittingham, Miles and Woford) which performed in a Steely Dan kind of venue.

Just as the nineties hit, he hooked up with a Blues and R&B trio affectionately called the "Swinging Johnsons", which probably demanded more lead time from him than any group up to that point. Chris laughingly refers to the time he nearly broke into the television scene by appearing as a lead guitar player in a band on a set scene from a MAGNUM P.I. episode in a club called "Tijuana Tokyo". It aired in the late eighties but generated no specific breaks for Chris at that time.

Since returning to Pennsylvania Chris has been hard at work with several groups attempting to capture that particular "signature sound" which he says is now very close to being realized with his current project, which is called the "BLIND CHITLIN KAHUNAS". They are, indeed, a marvelous concoction of raw power with a rich, fully flavored mix of Blues, Jazz and Funk. Look for a live CD to be released soon (2 CDs were released).

Another recent "Pennsylvania Project" close to Chris' heart is his friendship and work with the talented "finger style" guitarist, David Paul. The "unique" combination of such a strong, gifted finger style master and a blues "chameleon" seems to have created quite the sensation in the Northeast. Chris is very thrilled and happy with his work on David Paul's three various CD-DVD combinations, including "Island Dreams", "New Kid in Town" and the very soon-to-be-released "Deal Me In".

Chris Bovard is ambitious; despite being known locally as an 'egoless guitarist', he is a serious contender, and in the Northeast, Chris Bovard is slowly but surely winning large numbers of converts to his camp. If you have heard Chris perform twice, you don't need a third to know who's playing. (Yes, the sound is THAT recognizable!) Yet, despite all the attention he is drawing, his character remains humble, helpful and laid-back, no pressure from THIS KING. Through a combination of his work with David Paul and his part in the concept and design of this guitar, Chris is overjoyed and extremely excited to have been chosen as the title subject of a 'Signature Model' being created by "HERITAGE GUITAR INC" and is proud to represent one of the top manufacturers in the world. He says he could not have hoped to work with a better group of people than the owners and employees of The Heritage Guitar Co.

Over the years, Chris has held nearly every make and model of guitar built in the world in his hands at one time or another and states that this Kahuna Signature Model creation is the perfect blend of woods, steel and heart for anyone attempting to duplicate his skill, technique and sound, or create their own.

Any master might tell you that skill, talent and technique are all important tools in developing your own personal sound, but all masters will tell you that the Instrument is a crucial factor. " HERITAGE GUITAR INC." has created many 'perfect guitars' for individual performers, and now - they've done it again with the "Kahuna" CHRIS BOVARD Signature Model guitar."