Biography
Chris Colepaugh assembled the Cosmic Crew in 1996 after growing up in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, pairing with bassist Lynn Daigle and drummer Craig Watson, who also penned lyrics for many of the guitarist’s compositions. The trio captured their first record, Galaxy, in a single session that same year and soon began steady performances throughout the Maritime provinces. After claiming victory in a talent contest, the band headed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to lay down 1997’s Mazes and Mirrors in front of live microphones, by which point Cameron Murphy had taken over the drum chair. Murphy exited in 1998, prompting Colepaugh to employ Kevin Macintyre and Danny Bourgeois as an alternating pair behind the kit; keyboardist Andre Leblanc also joined briefly before departing ahead of the 1999 album Sixteen Second Solace, which welcomed Watson back on drums.
Colepaugh handled every instrument himself on 2001’s Trip, although Daigle rejoined for live work and Remi Bourque stepped in for Macintyre. That year the group reached the finals of CBC-TV’s The Great Canadian Music Dream and maintained a heavy touring pace across Canada and the eastern United States. Colepaugh again performed solo on all parts for 2003’s In Time. In 2004 he relocated to San Francisco for several months of West Coast solo shows and songwriting, yet a gall-bladder operation and extended recuperation halted plans for the next Cosmic Crew release.
Colepaugh finally resurfaced in 2006 with In Your Backyard, which he recorded, produced, and performed entirely in his home studio; the album drew strong critical notice and raised his profile inside Canada. During the same period he contributed to Grady’s A Cup of Cold Poison alongside his friend Gordie Johnson, formerly of Big Sugar, and began collaborating with drummer Shawn Sasyniuk, who joined Bourgeois as one of the Crew’s two official percussionists. The three musicians documented their stage prowess on the 2009 live set Burning. Also in 2009, Colepaugh was enlisted to play guitar for award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and radio host Roch Voisine on tours through Canada and Europe. A year afterward he completed Missed a Page, which received the 2011 East Coast Music Awards’ Album of the Year honor. While Colepaugh and the band—now shortened to the Crew—continued road work, he sustained parallel commitments to Voisine and his side project Juggler’s Whole. In 2016 the guitarist announced that Chris Colepaugh & the Crew would issue a new album titled Stateless.
Colepaugh handled every instrument himself on 2001’s Trip, although Daigle rejoined for live work and Remi Bourque stepped in for Macintyre. That year the group reached the finals of CBC-TV’s The Great Canadian Music Dream and maintained a heavy touring pace across Canada and the eastern United States. Colepaugh again performed solo on all parts for 2003’s In Time. In 2004 he relocated to San Francisco for several months of West Coast solo shows and songwriting, yet a gall-bladder operation and extended recuperation halted plans for the next Cosmic Crew release.
Colepaugh finally resurfaced in 2006 with In Your Backyard, which he recorded, produced, and performed entirely in his home studio; the album drew strong critical notice and raised his profile inside Canada. During the same period he contributed to Grady’s A Cup of Cold Poison alongside his friend Gordie Johnson, formerly of Big Sugar, and began collaborating with drummer Shawn Sasyniuk, who joined Bourgeois as one of the Crew’s two official percussionists. The three musicians documented their stage prowess on the 2009 live set Burning. Also in 2009, Colepaugh was enlisted to play guitar for award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and radio host Roch Voisine on tours through Canada and Europe. A year afterward he completed Missed a Page, which received the 2011 East Coast Music Awards’ Album of the Year honor. While Colepaugh and the band—now shortened to the Crew—continued road work, he sustained parallel commitments to Voisine and his side project Juggler’s Whole. In 2016 the guitarist announced that Chris Colepaugh & the Crew would issue a new album titled Stateless.
Albums
