There’s no time to rest for local musician Chris Baron

(Kristen Forbes is a freelance writer living in Tigard. To view her blog, visit www.krissymick.blogspot.com.)

By Kristen Forbes

The Times, Jun 27, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

Kristen Forbes / The Times

MUSIC MAN — Chris Baron takes a rare breather from his busy schedule. Baron performs with four local bands, including one that exclusively sings the songs from his first solo album, "Searchlights in Mexico."

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A glimpse into Chris Baron’s life is exhausting. The 26-year-old recently moved from Beaverton to the Woodstock area of Southeast Portland. He has a “day job” at New Seasons Market in Lake Oswego, which he has dwindled down from five to three days a week, thanks to the success of his music. Then there are his evenings – he plays live shows to support the solo album he released in February, in addition to performing with several other bands, typically four nights a week, Wednesday through Saturday.

He’s a member of Huge Sally, a funky folk trio (www.myspace.com/hugesally). He plays with an Incubus tribute band called Idiot Science (www.myspace.com/

idiotscience. He’s in a ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s cover band called Disorderly Conduct (www.myspace.com/disconrock). And finally, there’s the full band version of all the songs from his solo CD, “Searchlights in Mexico” (www.searchlightsinmexico.com).

Baron, who describes his music as “rock in all its different varieties,” has been recording music since he was 17 and writing his own songs since he was 12. He collaborated on three albums in college and has continually kept himself busy since graduating in 2004.

Last year, a road trip to famed music festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, inspired the material behind Baron’s first solo album, “Searchlights in Mexico.”

“I went to Austin for the first time with my very good friend for South by Southwest in 2007,” Baron says. “And we took a four-day excursion to Mexico. And while we were out in the desert, a lot of ideas came to me. When I got back, I went to my place in LA and started writing.”

Back up a minute — place in LA?

“When I need to run away, I go to either LA or Austin,” Baron explains. “I lived in LA for the first 10 years of my life, then I moved to Oregon, and then I went back and lived there for seven months at the beginning of 2007. And I go back there every four months or so for a long weekend.”

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