From Martial arts to music with Kris BarrasKris Barras is a British blues rock guitarist and singer.Kris began playing guitar at the age of 5, under the guidance of his musician father, Paul Barras. He performed his first-ever gig with his Dad’s band at the age of 9.
For most of his adult life, Kris used had an unusual side-job alongside his music career. Although now retired, he had a successful 10 year professional Mixed Martial Arts and Muay Thai career, which saw him compete and train in Las Vegas, Thailand and Singapore.
Kris picked up his first guitar aged just five -- two years later he upgraded to an electric and developed his signature style. At the same time, Barras was also training in martial arts, and although his music career saw him playing in various bands, touring the U.S., Europe, and the U.K., he also found himself competing in mixed martial arts contests.
Deciding that fighting wasn’t the direction he wanted to take, he fell back onto his first love, music. In 2014 he formed the Kris Barras Band, playing a mix of blues and Southern and classic rock. The following year they released their self-titled debut mini-album independently and spent the majority of their time playing gigs up and down the UK. The follow-up album, Lucky 13, appeared in 2016, once again self-released. In 2017 Barras signed to Mascot label Provogue and set about recording his third album. The Divine and Dirty.
The success of this album led to tours with artists such as Beth Hart, Joanne Shaw Taylor and GUN. Kris was featured as one of "The 17 Best Blues Guitarists in the World". He was voted number 13, alongside names such as Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Derek Trucks and Eric Gales.
I caught up with Kris a couple months ago to talk about his bands latest release Death Valley Paradise. We also delved into his songwriting process, his fighting career, his experiences playing live at some of the most iconic venues, life on the road and his frontman duties with Supersonic Blues Machine.
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For tour dates and merch - https://www.krisbarrasband.com
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