Keith Howland | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Silver Spring, Maryland United States | August 14, 1964
Genres | Pop, rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1986 — present |
Website | Official website |
Keith Howland (born August 14, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was the lead guitarist for the veteran pop-rock band Chicago from 1995-2021.
Howland started playing the guitar at the age of seven, and he played in a number of bands during his school years. He attended elementary school in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from James Madison University in 1986 with a degree in communications. In 1987, Keith moved to Los Angeles and took a job with Andy Brauer Studio Rentals, which helped him to make invaluable contacts in the music industry. He also continued playing as much as possible, including a 1993 summer tour with Rick Springfield.
In 1995, Chicago was looking for a new lead guitarist following the departure of Dawayne Bailey. Howland was a long-time fan of the band and of their co-founding guitarist, Terry Kath. Howland appeared uninvited at the auditions, and attained a chance meeting with the band's bassist, Jason Scheff. He performed a last-minute audition, and was offered the job on the same day.
Howland has also pursued projects outside the band, including projects he has done with Chicago's former drummer Tris Imboden. Their collaborative effort is known as The Howland/Imboden Project, releasing two albums. The sound can be described as all-instrumental, jazz/rock/fusion. The eponymous The Howland/Imboden Project is a studio album, and Live At The Baked Potato is a live recording.
In November 2007 Keith released an album titled KeCraig. This album started as a jam session in November 2007 with his brother Craig.
Howland collaborated with former Chicago keyboardist, guitarist, and vocalist Bill Champlin on Champlin's 2008 solo album No Place Left to Fall. [1]
On November 15, 2021, Howland suffered a broken arm in an accident and took a leave of absence from the band. [2] On December 1, 2021, Howland announced his resignation from Chicago after more than 26 years, citing lengthy recovery time before being able to resume playing guitar, and the desire to begin the next phase of his life. [2]
Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a steady flow of session work beginning in the 1970s that has since established him as a prolific session musician, recording guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums spanning a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. Notably, Lukather played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980), and was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982). Lukather has released nine solo albums, the latest of which, Bridges, was released in June 2023.
Craig's Brother is an American punk rock band. They have released three albums internationally, two on Tooth & Nail Records and one self-released.
Richard Fortus is an American guitarist. He is a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2002. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler and fellow Guns N' Roses bandmate Frank Ferrer. Aside from lead singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Fortus is the longest-tenured member of Guns N' Roses, having been with the band continuously since 2002.
Night & Day: Big Band is the eighteenth studio album by the American band Chicago, and twenty-second overall, released in 1995. It is a departure from Top 40 material for a more thematic project, with a focus on classic big band, jazz, and swing music.
Chicago 25: The Christmas Album is the nineteenth studio album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-fifth overall, released in 1998 on the band's Chicago Records label. It is an album of Christmas songs. The album was re-issued by Rhino Records in 2003 as What's It Gonna Be, Santa? with six additional, newly recorded tracks.
Chicago XXVI: Live in Concert is a live album by the American band Chicago, their twenty-sixth album overall, released in 1999. Their second live album to be released in the US, it was Chicago's first of the sort since 1971's Chicago at Carnegie Hall and 1972's Live in Japan, though the band had released commercial VHS tapes of two concerts in the early 1990s.
Jeff Loomis is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In 2014, he joined Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy, and in 2021 he joined Graham Bonnet's Alcatrazz as well. He left Arch Enemy in 2023. As a solo artist he has released two albums and one EP.
William Bradford Champlin is an American singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the rock band Chicago from 1981 to 2009. He performed lead vocals on three of Chicago's biggest hits of the 1980s, 1984's "Hard Habit to Break" and 1988's "Look Away" and "I Don't Wanna Live Without Your Love". During live shows, he sang the lower, baritone, vocal parts originally performed by founding guitarist Terry Kath, who had died in 1978. He has won multiple Grammy Awards for songwriting.
The Box is a five-CD/one DVD career-spanning box set by the popular American group Chicago, compiled and released by Rhino Records in 2003. The set was authorized by the band, who helped choose material from their entire back catalogue.
Chicago XXX is the twentieth studio album, and thirtieth album overall, by the American band Chicago, released on March 21, 2006. It was Chicago's first album of entirely new material since 1991's Twenty 1.
Robert Troy Kimball is an American singer and songwriter best known as longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and session singer.
Bernard Shaw is a Canadian-English singer, and since 1986, the lead vocalist of British rock band Uriah Heep.
Steve Weingart is a jazz-funk keyboard player based in Los Angeles, California, United States, who has recorded and performed internationally with an array of well known musical artists.
The Best of Chicago: 40th Anniversary is a double greatest hits album, and the thirty-first album overall, by American rock band Chicago, released by Rhino Records on October 2, 2007. It consists of two discs containing 30 of Chicago's top 40 singles. It is the fourth compilation of past hits released by their label since beginning of the decade. Most of the songs on this compilation are presented as their shorter length radio-single edits, as opposed to the album versions. It also features "Love Will Come Back" without Rascal Flatts' vocals.
Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus is the twenty-first studio album, and thirty-second overall, by Chicago. Often referred to as their "lost" album, it was recorded in 1993 and originally intended to be released as Stone of Sisyphus on March 22, 1994, as their eighteenth studio album and twenty-second total album. However, the album was unexpectedly and controversially rejected by the record company, which reportedly contributed to Chicago's later decision to leave their services entirely. Even after the band acquired the rights to their catalog, the album remained unreleased until June 17, 2008, after a delay of fourteen years and ten more albums.
Keith Semple is a Northern Irish singer and musician. He originally had his own band Keith Semple Band. In 2002, he took part and was a winner in Popstars: The Rivals, consequently becoming a member of the boyband One True Voice (OTV). After the split-up of the band, Semple had a solo career before joining the Chicago-based rock band 7th Heaven in 2006 as their lead singer. In 2010, he took a shot at the ninth season of American Idol but lost his "golden ticket" place due to his legal status and residency considerations. In October 2012, Semple announced he would be leaving 7th Heaven to pursue his original music and announced the formation of his new band, SEMPLE. In September 2015, he auditioned for season 9 of The Voice as part of Team Adam. He was eliminated from competition after the top 24 round. In 2016, he formed the progressive rock band, The Cyberiam, where he serves as lead singer and guitarist.
Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three is the twenty-second studio album, the second full album of Christmas songs, and thirty-third overall by the American rock band, Chicago. The album was released on October 4, 2011. The collection includes a variety of holiday classics and a new tune, "Rockin' and Rollin' on Christmas Day", co-written by founding trumpet player Lee Loughnane.
Chicago XXXVI: Now, sometimes stylized as "NOW" Chicago XXXVI or Now: Chicago XXXVI, is the twenty-fourth studio album, and thirty-sixth overall by Chicago, an American rock band. It was written and recorded in 2013 and 2014, and released on July 4, 2014. Now is the band's first full album of new compositions since 2006's Chicago XXX, not including Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus, which was released in 2008 but recorded in 1993; and notwithstanding the occasional new tracks released in the band's many compilation and cover albums.
Chicago XXXV: The Nashville Sessions is the twenty-third studio album, and thirty-fifth overall album by the band Chicago, released in 2013. Recorded at The Sound Kitchen between tour stops, The Nashville Sessions is a collection of new recordings of songs from the band's back catalogue.