RIP Chris Garges @cgarges

[drumsound]

It is with a very heavy heart that I must inform the TOMB that our wonderful Chris Garges (cgarges) passed away today.

Many of you know Chris as a stalwart member of our little community, and the owner of Old House Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Chris grew up in Charlotte and that is where his musical journey began. He was a member of the Charlotte Youth Symphony and studied with one of the Charlotte Symphony's top percussionists (possibly the Principal). He played in various bands in Jr High and High School. He caught the studio bug when he cut a demo with one of those bands.

He went on to the world renowned University of Miami School of Music where he was a Jazz Studies and Percussion Performance major. He played in various ensembles at the school, as well as playing gigs around Florida and the South East. He stayed in Miami and continued to gig after graduation.

He eventually found his way back to Charlotte where he played and worked in music retail for a time. He eventually landed gigs at Studio East engineering and played on countless sound-alikes, that have been used the world over. He was also on staff at Jay Howard for a few years. I may have those two gigs backward.

He eventually went freelance and worked in the greater Charlotta area, and occasionally worked outside Charlotte, including tracking a record in Bloomington Indiana that he later mixed at Electrical Audio. On his way to that gig, I was lucky enough to host Chris at my studio when we both tracked drums for (board member) Adam Sullivan's Great Magnet record.

As a freelance Chris worked at a small studio in Gastonia NC, called Old House Studio that was in a converted house built in 1873. When studio owner, David Black, passed away Chris was asked to take over by David's wife and his partner, Scott. Chris recorded a ton of music there and made upgrades and eventually bought out the owners and moved the studio into its current location in Charlotte.

Chris remained an active player, he held a weekly house jazz gig for over 15 years at a club called Blue. His instrumental band Bunky Moon released a wonderful record (that I had playing when I got the news from More Space Echo letting me know that Chris was gone). He played drums in the Mitch Easter Band for probably 15 years. About 5-7 years ago he was asked to join Charlotte legends The Spongetones. This was a band he'd watched as a kid, he had their records and knew their history, and then he got to be a member.

Chris has written a number of reviews for the magazine, and other online sources. He was a moderator here and one of the TOMB's most prolific members. He was a regular presenter at TapeOpCon, the Welcome to 1979, Webster University, as well as hosting educational events at old House.

This just scratches the surface of what Chris was as a professional. As a person, it's difficult for me to express how good a man he was. He was a warm and inviting person, always one with a story, or happy to share his knowledge on any number of subjects. He was a devoted husband to Carrie, another of the planet's most wonderful people. He loved cocktails and cooking, as well as a good running gag.

I first met Chris at TapeOpCon in New Orleans. When we were randomly seated next to each other at a diner at Lieuzzas. In attendance were Chris (I don't remember if Carrie was there that year), Andy Hong, Mark and Nancy Rubel, Mitch Easter, John Keane, David Barbe, and I'm sure a few others I'm forgetting. That general group made Saturday Night dinners a thing in following years and then transferred it to Pot Luck Con and the Welcome to 1979 Producers and Engineers Summit. Chris and I realized how similar our paths had been, both drummers, university trained. We'd both done time in music retail, and both loved Power Pop and had RADAR recorders. We became friends that night, exchanged cards, and stayed in touch.

Chris and I would talk on the phone for HOURS on end. We'd send each other mixes in progress when we were stuck, and send copies of records we were proud of. I can't imagine a better friend, mentor, advisor, or person than Chris Garges.

I'll really miss my friend.

[winky dinglehoffer]

That hits hard. We met a couple of times, talked at length after a Mitch Easter show he played here in Atlanta. Good guy, great drummer. Damn.

[jimjazzdad]

I enjoyed reading his posts and valued his contribution to TOMB. RIP Chris.

[Jarvis]

Holy shit! I only knew Chris from TapeOp, but he seemed like one of the sane ones. Too soon. RIP brother.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

Chris and I would talk on the phone for HOURS on end. I can't imagine a better friend, mentor, advisor, or person than Chris Garges.

Same. I'm so going to miss my phone ringing at 11pm, seeing it was him, shutting everything down for the night cause I knew I was gonna be on the phone till the really wee hours.

He was simply the best dude. So nice, so welcoming, so smart, so talented. He was the best engineer. He made the best sounding records. I'm not just saying that, his shit sounded amazing. Always did, and he just kept getting better and better, the last few things I worked on for him were just incredible.

I can't believe I'm never gonna hear him say "hey man" ever again.

RIP Garges, I'm really gonna miss you buddy.

[digitaldrummer]

wow. really just no words. My condolences to his family and close friends.

[pandemic]

woke to this sad news today... Rest In Peace Chris.

[I'm Painting Again]

aww no - his insight mattered

RIP Chris

[drumsound]

Chris and I would talk on the phone for HOURS on end. I can't imagine a better friend, mentor, advisor, or person than Chris Garges.

Same. I'm so going to miss my phone ringing at 11pm, seeing it was him, shutting everything down for the night cause I knew I was gonna be on the phone till the really wee hours.

He was simply the best dude. So nice, so welcoming, so smart, so talented. He was the best engineer. He made the best sounding records. I'm not just saying that, his shit sounded amazing. Always did, and he just kept getting better and better, the last few things I worked on for him were just incredible.

I can't believe I'm never gonna hear him say "hey man" ever again.

RIP Garges, I'm really gonna miss you buddy.

I heard it in my head the moment I read it!

[A.David.MacKinnon]

This is awful news.

[standup]

That’s terrible. I met him once in Baltimore, we chatted briefly.

I’m originally from Athens, GA, and knew Dave Barbe and John Keane a bit, reading drumsound’s first post.

He was probably in his 50’s? Seemed like he was kinda my age.

[roscoenyc]

I got to know Chris like a lot of you guys on here.
He was always cool and good with the information.

In 2011 I produced a band from the Charlotte area called South 85 and we did the record at Old House with Chris.
He was a wonderful guy and I feel very lucky I got to work on that record with him.

Very sad to learn about this news today. Love to all of his friends.

Thanks for starting this thread with all the background @drumsound.

[TapeOpLarry]

Oh man, first we lose Rob Christensen this year – see the upcoming End Rant I wrote about him and our Tape Op journey. Now Chris. I am so glad we did those few TapeOpCons despite the (behind the scenes) bad shit it left in my life. Meeting people like Chris, Mark Rubel, Tony, and so many others was an amazing reassurance that there were so many of us out there doing great work in "other" markets that didn't get on the cover of Mix or always work with big names. Chris was calm, considered, and always honest with his advice. Fuck. It sucks getting older... but let's keep Garges in our thoughts.

[markjazzbassist]

sad to hear this, i always enjoyed reading his posts on here. RIP

[emrr]

RIP