Local musician Chris Paradis releases new album Way Up Yonder

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

For such a small town, Sandpoint has always been blessed with an inordinately high number of talented musicians. One of the more prolific artists in town is Chris Paradis, whose multi-instrumentalism and intriguing mix of genres has earned him a following.

Paradis announced the release of his newest full-length album Way Up Yonder on Dec. 5. Available on all the streaming services under the band name Waterhouse, the album is a collection of songs that Paradis wrote, performed and recorded himself in a studio behind his cabin in Selle Valley.

While he plays a mix of jazz, folk and world music, Paradis’ musical journey began with heavy metal.

“Once, a friend taught me to play Metallica,” Paradis told the Reader. “I was hooked.”

Chris Paradis playing live in Sandpoint. Courtesy photo.

Paradis began playing the guitar at the age of 11. Growing up in New Hampshire, he later attended Gordon College north of Boston to study communications and creative writing, but, after graduating just a year before the Great Recession, found himself looking for meaningful work. He began teaching music lessons as a way to get by, but soon found he loved the experience.

It was after he joined AmeriCorps and worked as a wildland firefighter in Colorado that Paradis began his infatuation with the West.

“As soon as I was done, I wanted to come back,” he said. 

After some traveling through South America and working on organic farms across America, Paradis decided to leave the Boston area and lucked into what he described as a “dream scenario.”

“I found a cabin up here in Sandpoint, very randomly, and came here,” he said. “I wound up meeting a lot of wonderful friends and music students. It’s been a great place for making music and having a musical life.”

After starting out on the guitar, Paradis began exploring a number of different instruments, including banjo, mandolin, bass and ukulele.

“The first thing I try to figure out is what will excite my students to make them pick up an instrument and play,” he said. “There is a thrill playing something you love. For me, that’s what hooked me.”

After starting out with Metallica, Van Halen and ’90s grunge, Paradis studied under a jazz teacher and jumped head first into jazz and blues. Then, he studied with a fingerpicker for a while, which helped him enter the folk genre.

“Now, I’m exploring music from other parts of the world,” he said. 

The cover of the album Way Up Yonder. Courtesy photo.

The resulting sound is a unique take that lives somewhere between the genres, and Way Up Yonder is a strong offering that showcases his various talents. With thoughtful instrumental tracks intermingled with lyrical numbers, Paradis’ music draws a lot of inspiration from his setting in North Idaho.

“I feel inspired being here in Sandpoint, living in these beautiful mountains and lakes,” he said. “I do a lot of hiking in the summer, so nature is a huge inspiration with my instrumental stuff. I try to imagine I’m writing a soundtrack for my life and my listeners’ lives.”

Lyrical songs can be inspired by books he’s read, or, in the case of the third track on Way Up Yonder, a story about his family.

“That one was inspired by a news clipping my dad gave me about my grandfather,” he said. “He died before I was born, and his car was found abandoned on the side of the road. He was missing for three months, and managed to wander all the way from New Hampshire to New Orleans.”

Paradis said nobody knows what really happened, but after his grandfather snapped out of his amnesia, he called his family and they came and picked him up in New Orleans.

“I was fascinated by that story, so I turned it into a song,” he said.

Along with playing live at various venues around Sandpoint, Paradis teaches everything from guitar, to banjo, mandolin, bass and ukulele.

Paradis said he owes so much gratitude to the Sandpoint community for supporting his musical career. 

“I’m very happy to be here,” he said. “The real gift of this community is the music scene and how vibrant it is for such a small town.”

Find Way Up Yonder on various streaming services under the band name Waterhouse. Paradis will also be performing his annual Winter Solstice Livestream on Thursday, Dec. 21 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (follow the link on the Waterhouse Music Lessons YouTube page). His next live show will be from 6-9 p.m. at MickDuff’s Beer Hall on Saturday, Dec. 23.