Izzy Starchild and The Psychedelic Rose
Des Moines, IA | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
Christopher Lee Jenkins, 35, is the singer/guitarist for Izzy Starchild and The Psychedelic Rose, performing at 10 p.m. Friday at Vaudeville Mews, 212 Fourth St.
Q: Izzy Starchild is an alter ego you’ve had for a couple different projects. How did the persona come about?
It’s derived off a childhood nickname; my mom called me “Spaceboy.” She said my attention span was short. Izzy is like a rock and roll prophet from Mars, or something.
Q: Your influences include a lot of guitar-heavy bands. When did you first get into the instrument?
When I was like 10 years old I saw the Monkees and was instantly really into it. I saw a recording of Jimmy Hendrix right after and was obsessed. I asked my parents for a guitar and they broke down and got me one when I was 11. I started playing in bands when I was 19.
Q: Before you started performing you were doing poetry?
Yeah, music was me trying to expand the audience for my poetry. It can be kind of limiting when it’s just literature. If my music took off, I figured I could focus on poetry again and put out some books and stuff.
Q: You’re a Rastafarian. Does your religion have an impact on your rock?
I think so. It has a real positive attitude about it and a hopeful outlook. People sometimes mistake me for a reggae musician, but I’m more influenced by classic rock of the ’60s and ’70s. - Juice Magazine
Izzy Starchild is what you get when you cross a unique nickname (taken from the 2001 Mark Wahlberg movie “Rock Star”), ’60s garage rock, ’70s classic rock and punk, and late ’80s and early ’90s grunge with poetical folk rock from the likes of Bob Dylan.
“It’s like a fusion, you know? A conglomeration of different stuff,” says Izzy, whose given name is Christopher Jenkins.
A singer and guitarist from Des Moines, Iowa, who’s started to make a name for himself with groups like Izzy & The Rockets, Izzy’s grungy, distortion-laden guitar style screams Nirvana much more than Bob Dylan at first listen. But Izzy says the legendary folk rocker is one of his biggest influences nonetheless.
“I’m just kind of bringing back a poetic structure to song lyrics. A lot of that’s lost in modern-day music,” he says.
For his upcoming show in St. Joseph, Izzy will by going solo — just him and a guitar — but don’t expect him to hold anything back in Cafe Acoustic’s intimate setting.
“Make sure you come out and see me once,” Izzy says, “because you’re going to see something original and innovative.” - St. Joe Live
Discography
Live from JPH Studios 2007
The Jupiter Empyrean 2008
Izzy's Wicked Remedy 2010
Photos
Bio
Izzy Starchild is what you get when you cross a unique nickname (taken from the 2001 Mark Wahlberg movie “Rock Star”), ’60s garage rock, ’70s classic rock and punk, and late ’80s and early ’90s grunge with poetical folk rock from the likes of Bob Dylan.
“It’s like a fusion, you know? A conglomeration of different stuff,” says Izzy, whose given name is Christopher Jenkins.
A singer and guitarist from Des Moines, Iowa, who’s started to make a name for himself with groups like Izzy & The Rockets, Izzy’s grungy, distortion-laden guitar style screams Nirvana much more than Bob Dylan at first listen. But Izzy says the legendary folk rocker is one of his biggest influences nonetheless.
“I’m just kind of bringing back a poetic structure to song lyrics. A lot of that’s lost in modern-day music,” he says.
For his upcoming show in St. Joseph, Izzy will by going solo — just him and a guitar — but don’t expect him to hold anything back in Cafe Acoustic’s intimate setting.
“Make sure you come out and see me once,” Izzy says, “because you’re going to see something original and innovative.”
Links
