LIVE PERFORMANCES

Chip and the band are currently reharsing for some exciting concert dates in the near future. Leave us your email address and we’ll keep you up to date of the wheres and whens of these upcoming performances. Clik here to send your request.

BIOGRAPHY NOTES

Chip Degaard was born and grew up in Chicago. His diverse musical influences range from the strong Blues, R and B and Boogie Woogie sounds from the city, to the classical music which his father played professionally in the metropolitan area. He was also heavily influenced by the exciting big band jazz sounds, which he was a part of as a jazz drummer in college where he performed alongside the Big Bands of Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton.
As a keyboardist/vocalist, Chip has played with Little Anthony, The Drifters, The Coasters, Sam the Sham, Lou Christie, the Platters, Fabian, Tommy Roe, and the Shirelles, to name a few and also shared the stage with such diverse acts as Little Richard and Elvis Costello. For the last 8 years, Chip has been the keyboardist/vocalist with Kenny Vance and the Planotones with whom he has toured extensively both here and abroad. Chip is also a prolific songwriter, having written over 100 songs, including writing and recording the musical “Songs from the Island”, which was primarily influenced by Chips fascination with the “human condition” which led to working with psychiatric patients in a rather large facility in NYC.

Aside from playing, writing and performing, Chip is the president of the CHIP DEE ACADEMY OF MUSIC, specializing in all aspects of music “from instruction to production”, and music education for the entire range of the special needs population.