bIO
Poetry and song were magical to Thaxton from his earliest memories, with the first song he learned in 1990 on guitar being James Taylor's finger-style arrangement of "You've got a Friend". He played that tune for a couple formal senior high school year celebrations and a great bedazzlement with music began.
At Alma college through 1994, he studied classical guitar, piano, music recording engineering and sang in the choir. He began composing songs with Clay Brehm, an electric guitarist specializing in Jazz. They formed a band, surrounding original music with grunge covers.
In the summers in between college, he joined music with his joy of cycling -- The guitar strapped to his back and mic/cables stowed in the bike bag as he busked or did solo acoustic gigs in Traverse City, Mi.
After graduating from college in 1994, Thaxton and Clay formed the band Solid Ground, based out of the Detroit area and recorded a 12 song album of Alternative Folk Rock, with lyrics themed around Social Psychological reflections, both personal and public.
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Solid Ground Original Recordings by Christopher Thaxton
He married Ann in 1999 (who he graduated from high school with) and moved to the Grand Rapids area, doing IT for Meijer. He did sound for bands and some Djing before starting a duo with Alison Cole in 2003. Thaxton and Alison performed Acoustic pop covers combined with DJing.
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Alison Cole and Thaxton by Christopher Thaxton
In 2005, he started a bit of a musical sabbatical to focus on raising two strong daughters and triathlons; running the Boston Marathon in 2009. Covers continued to be rehearsed and original songs written at a summer lakeside trailer park community on Lake Michigan.
In 2014, the Thaxtons moved back home to Traverse City, where he completed the loop to return to professionally plugged in solo acoustic/DJ gigs and unplugged busking -- Guitars and foot percussion in tow in a bike trailer,
Throughout all of this time, Thaxton has brought live music as his 'dish to pass' to weddings, gatherings and special events.