Tonye Christopher

Soul / Indie / Acoustic

Dayton, OH

Billboard

Hey there, it 's Chris here. I'm currently in the process of producing my next studio album. I'm taking my time and doing it right, but rest assured it will rock. In the mean time enjoy the acoustic songs from The Puppy Love Letters, which are available on iTunes.

Tonye is pronounced "Tone- Yay" and is actually taken from my middle name Ebitonye. It's nigerian, and Tonye translates into English as "The one who brings." So when it comes to making music I go by Tonye Christopher because I have always been a kind of private person, never really willing to let people know what I'm about, and always the guy who makes jokes to avoid answering personal question. However, that guy you see playing the guitar on stage, in the studio recording music, or with a pen and paper writing songs lets you inside in a way I've always been to scared to do... he's the one who shows you who I really am. He's "The one who brings you Christopher."

Some more stuff about me... let's see... I'm Tennessee Born, New York grown, and Ohio is where I learned to roam. I'm 24, I like to go out pretty much anywhere with my friends and have fun, except the movies. My friends make fun of me for going to the movies by myself all the time, but I just prefer it that way, mainly because I usually sneak into a second one, and I live 50 feet away from a movie theatre... literally, it's a 2 minute walk... so it makes going to the movies a lot more like watching TV and a lot less like a grandiose theatrical event. Speaking of TV, my favorite shows are The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, The Hills, and American Idol. Truthfully, I don't even know why I watch those last two, but their fun to watch when I'm bored...DVR, what what! Aside from that, I stick to movies pretty much. My favorite kinds are Action, Sci-Fi (my dad's a Trekky), and Romantic-Comedies. I get a lot of flack for the Romantic-Comedies, but I don't know why you wouldn't expect that from a guy whose first album was entitled "The Puppy Love Letters."

Anyway, my favorite color is red, but I like wearing lots of vibrant colors in general. Sometimes I'll look back at previous outfits I've worn and notice a strong color comparison to the Kool-Aid packages at Wal-mart. My favorite food is a pepperoni, meatball, and onion pizza. (Would you like to kiss me now?) I probably eat pizza about 3 times a week minimum. General Tso's chicken is a close second on the ratings, but I don't eat it nearly as often.

I learned how to play the guitar because I used to be one of those people who would always say "Man, I wish I knew how to play the guitar." Now I do. I was a poet however long before I ever became a musician or a songwriter. My family is the most important thing in the world to me, even though I don't talk to them as much as I should...(I hate talking on the telephone a lot). My mom is a health teacher from Nashville, TN. More importantly, she's cooler than your mom. My dad is a mechanical engineer from Nigeria, more importantly he's smarter than your dad. My younger brother is in a hip-hop group called Renazonce. You can check them out at myspace.com/roczrenazonce. So all in all my fam's pretty sweet, and I'm just the outcast loser currently playing sappy songs on an acoustic guitar, but I love what I do, and I wouldn't change a thing.

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Tonye, Christopher consists of one man, Christopher Korokeyi. Chris went to the University of Dayton to become a Computer Engineer, and graduated as a Singer/Songwriter (with an engineering degree to boot). "I had been playing the guitar for about a year, and one day I was walking through the halls of the engineering building and I saw a sign that said 'Engineers Can Do Anything'." Of course the sign was an add for engineers applying to law school, but in typical fashion Chris internalized it to his own thoughts and desires.

For the past four years now, Chris has been traveling through the Northeast and Midwest playing at pubs and clubs, and opening for bands in larger venues. In 2007 he entered into the Canal Street Tavern's Battle of the Bands (One of the largest competitions in Ohio), and was the only solo act to make it to the sweet sixteen. His first album is available on iTunes and is entitled "The Puppy Love Letters". The album was written, recorded, and produced by Chris.

In "The Puppy Love Letters" Chris has created an arsenal of songs that deliver a nostalgic account of what it is like to be young and in love. His writing style is poetically playful and reflectively romanticized so that each line accents the self-portrait being painted by the sweet, simple melodies the songs employ. He has a great voice. Sometimes it's a raspy whisper, other times it's strong and soulful, but it's always unique and always great... And if you remember nothing about Chris you will rember his voice.

The weather report is in and the road less taken is looking very bright and sunny for this young singer/songwriter.

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