Chris’s first professional music endeavors starts back in 1989. Louis Philippe, president of Reindeer Records, a record label based in Portland Maine, discovered Chris, along with his then collaborator and best friend David Mercer during Portland’s annual Rock Off competition. An annual event showcasing the best High School rock bands in Southern Maine. Louis commissioned Chris and David to write and record a song for an AIDS benefit album on Reindeer Records. The result was a song Chris and Dave wrote titled, “Fool’s Paradise”. Chris put together a trio named Small Fortune, also featuring Chip Ramsey on drums to record the song. Louis chose Barry Arvin Young, a longtime Portland musician, performer and sound engineer to produce the session for “Fool’s Paradise”. Chris and Dave performed shows to promote the release.