Kris Anaya is a Sacramento musician, producer and multi-instrumentalist best known as the frontman of the local band Doom Bird, and a recurring fixture of the Sacramento indie scene as a sideman, session player and producer across many other local acts.[1][2][3] Before Doom Bird, he served as vocalist and guitarist for the Sacramento indie rock band An Angle, which was active from 2000 to 2008.[4]
At a glance
- Frontman of Sacramento's Doom Bird; also associated with An Angle and the local "supergroup" Contra.[3]
- Vocalist and lead/rhythm guitarist for An Angle (2000–2008), which signed to Drive-Thru Records in 2004.[4]
- Plays keyboard/keys, bass and contributes production work; described as a "frontman" of multiple projects.[1][5][3]
- Routinely sits in with other Sacramento bands as a guest, and produced records for local artists.[6][7][2]
- Active in the Sacramento scene at least from 2011 through 2016 across the Submerge coverage span.[6][3]
- Forms one half of the electronic duo Kris & Dusty with Dusty Brown, releasing their debut album in 2023.[8]
Local status
Anaya is consistently presented as a Sacramento-scene musician. He is identified as a member of Doom Bird, a band whose performances and members are covered as part of the local scene, and Contra is explicitly called a "local supergroup" with Anaya as frontman.[3] He repeatedly appears as a guest with other Sacramento bands at local venues, which marks him as an in-scene local rather than a visiting touring act.[6][7]
Evidence: "frontman Kris Anaya (Doombird, An Angle)" of the "local supergroup Contra," which "is composed of six excellent local players."[3]
Confidence: high.
Bands and projects
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An Angle — listed among Anaya's projects alongside Doom Bird.[3] Anaya was the vocalist and lead and rhythm guitarist for An Angle, a Sacramento indie rock band active from 2000 to 2008.[4] The band signed to Drive-Thru Records in September 2004.[4][9] Their discography includes three full-length albums — And Take It with a Grain of Salt (2002/2004), We Can Breathe under Alcohol (2005), and The Truth Is That You Are Alive (2007) — plus the EP 5 Days 5 Songs (2006).[4] Bassist Matt Sergent announced the band's breakup via the group's MySpace page on July 20, 2008.[4]
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Doom Bird — Anaya's primary affiliation; he is named as a band member and frontman, performing with co-member Joseph Davancens.[1] Doom Bird typically performs backed by a rotating cast of local guest musicians. Anaya described the approach: the band usually plays "with a large group of people for shows" to keep audiences engaged.[1] The group's catalog includes the song "Shape of Hearts," which other local acts have covered.[6] In 2013, Doom Bird released Cygnus, a concept record engineered by Robert Cheek, with songs inspired by works of classical composers including Debussy, Xenakis, Feldman, Clara Schumann, and Cage.[10][11] Doom Bird also released the five-track EP Twin Prime in September 2018.[12][13]
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Contra — a Sacramento "supergroup" fronted by Anaya. Its EP was compiled over roughly a three-year period and recorded/produced almost entirely by Anaya and brothers Zac and Dusty Brown, with drums engineered by Robert Cheek.[3] Anaya said the Brown brothers "pressured me into" finally releasing it.[3] Live, Contra is a six-piece of local players: Dan Block, Joel Daniel, Brian Gogineni, Dusty and Zac Brown, and Anaya.[3] The band did not sell its music, opting to give the EP away free at a Harlow's release show (Feb. 12, 2016) and post it to Soundcloud.[3]
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Kris & Dusty — an electronic duo formed by Anaya and Dusty Brown. According to SoundCloud, the pair draw on Anaya's experience in An Angle, Doom Bird, and Contra, and enlisted Zac Brown — guitarist of Tycho — to mix and produce their debut album.[8] The album The Great Escape (from Cyberspace) was released on May 11, 2023, documented by a release show at LowBrau in Sacramento.[8][14]
Role as guest performer and producer
Anaya appears across the corpus as a versatile collaborator within the Sacramento scene:
- Joined Roman Funerals (fronted by Evan and Matt Ferro, formerly of Bright Light Fever) on stage at the Townhouse, playing keys; Doom Bird's "Shape of Hearts" was covered during that set with Sacramento's Alternative String Band sitting in.[6]
- Performed as Doom Bird at the Crocker Art Museum's "Baroque Bash" (Jan. 13, 2012), backed by local guests including Krystyna Taylor (Exquisite Crops), Arjun Singh (Wallpaper) and Adam Wade (Golden Cadillacs).[1]
- Served as a special guest on keyboard for Two Sheds' farewell Sacramento show at Luigi's Fungarden (May 19, 2012), brought in to fill out the band's recorded parts live.[7]
- Played bass on several songs for Sherman Baker's album Seventeenth Street, recorded in part at The Hangar with Robert "Flossy" Cheek mixing.[5]
- Contributed production on I'm Dirty Too's debut full-length The Downhill Dive (recorded 2012, split between The Hangar and Dusty Brown's home studio), working alongside engineer Robert Cheek.[2]
Scene relationships
Anaya's collaborators trace a dense web of the Sacramento indie scene. He works repeatedly with Zac Brown — himself a member of Doom Bird, Dusty Brown, Tycho and I'm Dirty Too — and Dusty Brown, on Contra and on production.[2][3] The Kris & Dusty project continues that collaboration with Dusty Brown, with Zac Brown again contributing as producer.[8] Engineer/producer Robert Cheek recurs as a studio collaborator across Anaya's projects (Sherman Baker, I'm Dirty Too, Contra, and the Doom Bird Cygnus album).[5][2][3][10] His guest appearances connect him to Roman Funerals, Two Sheds, Sherman Baker, and the various local musicians who back Doom Bird.[6][1][7][5]