Chris Poland
| Chris Poland | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 1, 1957 Dunkirk, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Thrash metal, instrumental rock, jazz fusion, progressive metal, heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Combat, Enigma, A&M Records, Grooveyard, Tone Center, Mascot, Sanctuary |
| Associated acts | Megadeth, The Circle Jerks, Damn the Machine, Mumbo's Brain, OHM, OHMphrey, Dave Reffett |
| Website | chrispoland.com |
Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is an American musician, best known for being the former guitarist for American thrash metal band Megadeth from 1984 to 1987 and again for some session work in 2004. During this time he recorded the albums Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (1985), Peace Sells... But Who's Buying? (1986) and The System Has Failed (2004). He is currently the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz fusion band OHM, and is known for having appeared on several projects and albums from a variety of different genres.
Poland began playing the guitar in high school in Dunkirk, New York. He later replaced a former guitar instructor, Richard "Max" Maxfield, in the Cambridge, NY-based rock/jazz power trio, Welkin. He moved to Los Angeles in 1977, where from 1977 to 1982 he was the lead guitarist in The New Yorkers, a Jazz/Rock fusion band, also featuring Robert Pagliari on fretless bass, Gar Samuelson on drums, Stu Samuelson on guitar, and Don Roper on saxophone; James Pollack (sax) and Luis Vaskin (trumpet) were in later versions of The New Yorkers, who recorded 2 studio demos. He says that he learned timing, rhythm and feel from playing with Gar while adding that playing with him made him a better player. Even before The New Yorkers, Poland and Samuelson jammed together in various bands in the Dunkirk, NY-area.
In 1984, Poland's bandmate from the New Yorkers, Gar Samuelson, became the drummer of thrash metal band Megadeth. Megadeth had been co-founded the previous year by Dave Mustaine (who previously played for fellow thrash metal band Metallica) and David Ellefson. After seeing Samuelson perform live with Megadeth, Poland went backstage and suggested an impromptu audition as a lead guitarist. Poland thereafter became a full-time member of the band, along with Samuelson (drums), Mustaine (lead vocals, guitar), and Ellefson (bass).
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