Music not only has changed the world, but it has changed people too. I am one of those people. If it weren’t for my guitar teacher, Chris Vos, I wouldn’t love music and be the same person I am today.
Most people wouldn’t expect a farm boy to grow up to tour globally in a rock and roll band. But that wasn’t the case with Chris Vos. Chris grew up about an hours drive from Milwaukee on his family’s dairy farm. Music was a large part of his childhood, his mom being a singer, and he found inspiration from Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, and Johnny Winter. When he started high school, Chris bought his first guitar and started a band with his brother. This is where it all began.
When I was eight years old, my parents convinced me to begin learning guitar. I knew little about music, and I wasn’t sure what I would get out of playing guitar. But every kid wants to be a rockstar, so I gave it a try.
I took lessons in a small guitar shop called J. Hale Music, which is now the Sendik's Hartland Plaza in Hartland, Wisconsin. I still remember going in for the first time looking at the rows of guitars hanging evenly across the walls. It was the first time I’d actually been in a music shop so I was amazed at everything. Then I saw Chris: a military cap wearing, long bearded, rock n roll kind of dude. His voice slid clean and smooth like a slide guitar when he spoke. He was taller and bigger than me (at that time), but I wasn’t intimidated by him. His calm and cool personality made me feel comfortable. He took me to a small, almost closet sized room in the back of the store to begin my lesson. In that room is where my life changed.
All teachers should know it's difficult to teach a student something they’ve had no contact with before, let alone make them enjoy and work on it on their own. But the way Chris taught kept me entertained and yearning to learn more. We met each week on Mondays. I remember actually looking forward to the start of the week so I could go back and learn more. That would be a major achievement for any teacher if their students look forward to a Monday!
Chris is the kind of guy who will always accommodate and be there for others. He adapted that into his teaching too. If I had a cool song that I knew and enjoyed, all I had to do was tell him, and he would write it out so I could play it. This method always kept his lessons fresh and different. He also broadened my musical knowledge by introducing me to different types of music and showing me how to play them on guitar as well. He is the type of person that could talk to and tell stories for hours and I would never get bored. His personality and laughter shined like rays from the sun, making any person feel warm inside.
In 2010 Chris’ sunlight needed to shine somewhere else: in the city of Los Angeles, California. Chris’s wife had gotten a job for the L.A. Times. It was a great opportunity for both Chris and his wife Valerie. But this meant I would no longer be able to take lessons from Chris. Although I was sad because my friend and mentor was leaving, I was excited for Chris and the opportunities that lay ahead of him. And all his hard work did pay off.
Soon after Chris moved to L.A., he posted on Craigslist about his interest in forming a band. That’s when The Record Company was formed. In 2011, they began to record and rehearse, and from there it's only gotten better. In 2015, they were signed by The Concord Music record label, and in February of 2016, they released their first album “Give It Back to You.” There are too many successes the band has had to list, but some recent ones include opening for Buddy Guy and playing on the Conan O’Brien show. And The Record Company’s song “Off the Ground” is currently at number three on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Songs. Their success and opportunities appear to be growing and growing.
I have continued to closely watch and keep in contact with Chris and his band. In March of 2016, I saw him play at a sold out show at Turner Hall in Milwaukee. Watching him on stage brought a smile to my face thinking the same guy taught a kid to love, appreciate, and play music. His hard working, inspirational, caring attitude is why Chris Vos is not only my favorite educator, he continues to be my role model. And I am very thankful to call him my friend.