Chris Chaney


Christopher A. Chaney is an American musician. He is best known as the current bassist of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band for six years. Chaney is also a member of Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders and Camp Freddy. A prolific and versatile session musician, he has played with a variety of recording artists ranging from Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash, Adam Lambert, Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Sara Bareilles, Gavin Degraw, Cher, John Fogerty, Lisa Marie Presley, Meat Loaf, Rob Zombie, Romeo Santos, James Blunt, Shinedown, and Celine Dion.

Biography

Chaney was raised in Mill Valley, California. He attended Berklee College of Music, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue music and played at the L.A. jazz club the Baked Potato and the Dragonfly in Hollywood. Chaney was first invited to tour with Alanis Morissette in 1995 on the Jagged Little Pill Tour and continued to work with Morissette until 2001, appearing on three studio albums and two live albums.
While working with Morissette, Chaney developed a reputation as a versatile professional bassist. He has since recorded and/or toured with a wide variety of artists. His next high-profile job was as the full-time replacement for Eric Avery in the 2002 reunion of Jane's Addiction, contributing to the album Strays. He then formed the band The Panic Channel with Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins; the group released the album in 2006. In 2006, he joined the band Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, formed by Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters. Chaney and Hawkins had previously worked together in Morissette's band. The group released the albums Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders in 2006 and Red Light Fever in 2010. Chaney is also bassist for all-star cover band Camp Freddy.
Chaney has played with several recording artists and over 25 film scores and soundtracks. Artists include: Celine Dion, Michelle Branch, Ben Taylor, Eric Hutchinson, Carly Simon, Rob Zombie, Joe Satriani, Andrew W.K., Tommy Lee's Methods of Mayhem, and Will Hoge. He joined Johnny Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls for the song "I'm Still Here" from soundtrack to the animated movie Treasure Planet. He is also featured on the 2007 album Little Voice by Sara Bareilles, and the 2008 album The Sound of Madness by Shinedown. Chaney has worked with James Stephen Hart on his project Burn Halo.
Chaney is featured as the primary bassist on guitarist Slash's 2010 solo album, Slash. In March 2010, Slash described Chaney as a "godsend", stating: "Chris is just the best session player that I know so I called him up. I didn’t want to use Duff McKagan so I was tryin’ to think of bass players and Chris I’ve worked with so many times and he’s easy going, and he learns quickly."
He is married to actress Tifanie Christun, daughter of Cheryl Saban and the stepdaughter of Haim Saban.

Influences

Chaney's influences include Geddy Lee, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorius, Marcus Miller, and Stevie Wonder.

Gear

Chaney is endorsed exclusively with Fender. He also has endorsements with Aguilar Amps and Dunlop. As of the June 2003 issue of , Chaney's gear listing for recording and touring is as follows:

Basses