TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Singer Is Striving To Make It Big As An Entertainer

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHERYL BENTLEY, The Suncoast News

Published: January 19, 2008

Updated: 01/18/2008 09:44 pm

NEW PORT RICHEY - Chris Stein is a year out of high school now and still waiting for his big break.

But the 19-year-old River Ridge grad hasn't let go of his dream of being a singer.

At one time, Stein had appointments with 10 record companies and legitimate interest from one. But then financial issues intervened to quash that opportunity.

Time for Plan B.

Stein attends St. Petersburg College and plans to transfer to the University of South Florida in Tampa to get a performing arts degree.

"I'll work from there," he said.

In the meantime, he sings in productions organized by his grandfather, Ed Holder, who rents space at local venues about twice a month.

While Stein is only one of many appearing in Holder's shows, "I pretty much get a little more performance time than the other performers," he said.

Stein - who is 6-foot-8, hence the nickname "Tree" - tailors his material for his audiences, which are mostly older people.

"I do 'Unchained Melody' and 'New York, New York' kind of music," he said.

Stein describes his singing style as "contemporary meets R&B."

Being able to sing is too important for him to toss his dream aside, he noted.

"It's kind of an out-of-world experience," Stein explained. "When I'm on stage, I'm in my own world, because I feel good from singing."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT