Blue Violin – An Xperience Interview

By Rob Smittix.

BV: Thanks for setting this up.

RRX: I’m glad we got you. Blue Violin, and it’s Chris Vuk, pronounced?

BV: Vook

RRX: OK, so you can actually play the name game with your full name. Chris Vuk, banana fana fo Fook, you could do that.

BV: Yeah, we did it when I was a kid. 

(Both Laugh)

RRX: Well, thanks for doing this. We love our beloved Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Seeing that you were coming July 18th, I thought … it’d be really cool to use that as an excuse to talk to you, and here we are.

BV: Awesome.

RRX: I do see that the tour is the Thunderstruck tour, and that’s a classic rock tribute. Can you tell us a bit about what we would expect?

BV: Yeah, so I’ve been taking this tour all around the world for the last year and a half. We were at the Sydney Opera House a couple weeks ago. We were at the Iceland Harpa Concert Hall, Asia, and all throughout Europe. Actually, we’re just kicking off this weekend in Maine, and yeah, on July 18th, we’ll be at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. The concert is the classic rock show, and I have some of the best classic rock songs in this program. We’ve got “Thunderstruck,” of course, that’s the namesake of the show. We’ve got “Hotel California,” we’ve got some Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven,” “Kashmir.” Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” “Bohemian Rhapsody” … just great music. And when I’m putting together these programs, the show evolves over the years. I add in new pieces, but I’m always looking for classic rock songs that translate great on the violin and then have just epic guitar solos. So we’ve got “Free Bird” towards the end of the show, which of course is the greatest rock guitar solo of all time, and it’s so fun to perform and burn through that on the violin. Something that’s really unique about my performance is that I also use a loop pedal really heavily throughout the show. It’s not just me getting up there and playing one single violin line; I’m adding and creating these big … sometimes six to eight-layer lines that make this a larger production style performance.

RRX: I love the fact that you’re taking songs and giving them a whole new life. Some of the songs that you mentioned, I mean, those are classics, but to hear them played on an electric violin. I mean, that’s a whole new thing.

BV: Thanks. People love the music, and they’re familiar with the music, and hearing it on the violin is something completely new. I think a lot of people go into the show saying, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I loved it. It was so cool, so interesting, so exciting. I’m a pretty animated performer, I have a pretty cool instrument. It’s an Aquila Bridge electric violin. I kind of roam, run around stage, dance a little bit as I perform; it’s a lot of fun. I also engage with the audience throughout the show. This will actually be my second time performing at … oh boy, it’s been a long time, 15-20 years ago at The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. So, it’s a return visit many, many years later. I’m excited to come back. 

RRX: Wow, it’s a very historic theater, but with you traveling the world, there are many other places much more historical than America. I’m sure you probably played in some other historic places, too.

BV: Oh yeah, a couple of weeks ago, we were in the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria. That’s where Joseph Haydn worked in his heyday. It was amazing performing in these beautiful gilded halls. Some of the places throughout Europe were certainly incredible, but here in the States, we got our beautiful venues, and Troy Savings Bank Music Hall is a gorgeous place.

RRX: It sure is. Now, obviously, you’ve performed alongside some greats and well-knowns over the years. But delving into your bio, I saw Sesame Street on there. Did you do Sesame Street?

BV: I did, yeah, maybe, 15 years ago. I did a performance with Elmo.

RRX: That’s so cool. That means you’ve really made it, man! That’s saying something right there. That must have been quite the experience. 

BV: It was pretty cool. It was a very unique and memorable experience.

RRX: Got any dirt on Elmo?

BV: Uh, he’s really tall …

RRX: In real life, yeah.

BV: When he stood up after he was done, I was like, Holy cow, he’s like 6′ 3″ or 6′ 4″.

RRX: I’m sure that was a unique highlight to your musical career, but you’ve obviously been doing it for a long time. Anything stand out over the years that you were like … man, that was really it for me? That made me feel like it was all worthwhile.

BV: Well, my career has kind of been in two halves. When I graduated from college back in 2006, I joined a group called the Boston String Quartet. I played with them for about a decade, we toured mainly nationally, just all around the United States. And then I had kids. I hung up my violin for quite a few years, and about three-and-a-half years ago, I did some soul searching during COVID. I picked the violin back up as a solo violin player and started touring, really just locally. I was living in Colorado at the time. That turned into national. For the last two years, I’ve been on the road, 9 to 10 months out of the year, touring all over the world. And I think some of the most special occasions I’ve had are just some of the collaborations that I’ve been able to have with people around the world, some of these beautiful halls, and just being able to play in these gorgeous places. We were in Bali a couple months ago, and I travel everywhere with my violin. When we see a beautiful place, I just pick up the violin, get my camera, and do a little TikTok video. Performing in some of the temples in Bali was such a neat experience being there. I think it was one of the most special and exotic experiences of my life being in a place like that. Music has allowed us to have the chance to travel as a family; we’ve been really lucky. We travel almost everywhere with all 6 of us: my wife, me, and our four kids. So that’s really a special thing that we get to experience. And my son, who is 12 years old, actually accompanies me for most all of my shows. We’ve got a special relationship performing together. So, I don’t know if it’s necessarily one thing. The lifestyle is just really enjoyable, and being able to do it together as a family is really special to us all.

RRX: You’re truly blessed. That’s basically about it, man. We’ll see you there, July 18th at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Was there anything that you maybe wanted to say to people, encourage them to come out?

BV: Yeah, the show will be a lot of fun. The music, although it’s classic rock, we’ve got a lot of different types of variety within it. It is a family show, so I’d love to invite folks with kids: bring them along, they’ll have fun. It’s a very active, engaging show, and we’ve got a beautiful place to do it. So I appreciate the chance to be on the show, Rob, and look forward to seeing you and your listeners there in a couple of weeks.

RRX: Sounds amazing. And hey, I’ll bring my kids and grandkids.