Chris Worth

By Dean Robinson

For many would-be and wannabe singers, the Japanese recreational tradition of karaoke has served as the launch-pad for many imaginary careers in the spotlight. For true professional musicians Christopher Worth and Paul Stewart, however, one night of karaoke has led to a real, burgeoning musical adventure. Known to audiences simply as Paul and Chris (or Chris and Paul), the diverse duo has been blowing crowds away with their accessible brand of R&B and pop thrills. And to think that the journeymen owe their blessed union to an impromptu show at a karaoke club called Crooners.

"When I first moved back to town, I was asking people where can you go for a little fun and not get hurt," says vocalist Worth. "And the people said you've gotta go to Piere's. So I went to Piere's and it was just too crowded for me. It was a Saturday night. I went to the karaoke bar, but knew that I didn't really want to sing because I had given up. That was a part of my life that was part of the past. The lady who was hosting was looking for singers. I said I can't sing, ma'am, but I sang anyway and it went well. Then I see Paul's head sticking around the corner - he was managing the place at the time. He says to me, 'Hey. Let's do a song together' with that gravelly voice. So we did some songs and the people liked it. It just so happened that Paul was playing a dinner party the next day and the person he was playing for was there. The guy came up and said 'Hey. Can you bring that guy with you to the dinner party?' Between the two of us, we knew about eight songs, so I said sure. We did that party and then one thing led to another. You never know. You just never know how things are going to come together."

Since that fateful night nearly two years ago, Worth and keyboardist Stewart (of Paul New and the Crew fame) have been gigging steadily at local venues and across the Midwest. During a recent meeting at American Health and Fitness, Worth took time off from his workout to share details of his life since leaving Fort Wayne 15 years ago and his return to the Summit City.

In a small office a few paces from the workout area, Worth cools down from the sweat he's worked up - not unlike the sweat he works up during his relentless on-stage musical workouts. Although the large man looks young and fit enough to play fullback for any Big Ten university, Worth is very cagey about his age.

"You know, I don't really have any vanities - except for my age," he says. "It's not that bad. I've just never been comfortable with it. I think it's a fear of getting old. I couldn't wait to get to the age I'm at right now, but once I hit it, I was like 'Wow. I'm running out of time.'"

Fortunately for Worth, he's stuffed a lot of living into his time on Earth thus far. Having lived much of his life based in Cleveland, Worth has gotten a taste of the national music scene. Besides doing some west-coast studio session, Worth has had several opportunities to tour the country - once as a back-up singer for Earth, Wind & Fire.

"I was backstage and they had a little mic set up and I was singing back there," Worth says. "I wasn't on the stage. I was kind of like the extra voice. But they paid me.

"I made lots of connections from that. Yes I did - and ultimately screwed those right up."

A subsequent national tour with Worth at the forefront wasn't quite as fulfilling as the EW&F gig, Worth implies, as the singer wasn't happy with the deal carved by his former management team.

"I was on the road, and my management signed me to a really bad deal. When I got off the road, I was livid. I was furious," Worth says. "I said 'I can't honor this,' and they pretty much said 'we own you for five years, so you do what you want to do.' I decided to wait them out because it was a bad deal. But it was my fault. I'm not blaming anybody else, because I gave my management power of attorney. I was just hoping they'd be a little more choosy instead of just signing the first thing. But now I've got a second chance."

The second chance comes with some issues of its own, though. For instance, during a typical performance at the House of J&B, the interaction between Worth and his audience is often close, to say the least. Sometimes the hands-on interaction comes too close for comfort - only not for Worth or the audience.

"With the interaction thing, sometimes you get ladies who've had a little too much to drink - they're just out having fun," Worth says. "They're not really doing anything wrong. And my girlfriend would see that and boom! Right through the roof. And I'm trying to explain to her 'Don't take it personally. It's a job. I'm enjoying my job, but they're not taking it personally.' Sometimes she has a hard time dealing with it, and I can understand that. It's very tough. Every day's a new experience."

The singer says that his loved ones, his family and his daughter are of the utmost importance in his life. As Paul and Chris usually perform in and out of town up to six nights a week, Worth admits that the lifestyle can be tough on maintaining those relationships.

"I try to stay grounded in my belief system. I have a strong belief in God, and I try to keep my focus on that," Worth says. "And I try to also think that, as popular as you're going to get, one day it's going to be over - and you'll still have your loved ones that you have to deal with. You have to treat them right because if you go up, you're going to come back down. If you've done them wrong, they're going to remember that and they're not going to be as encouraging to you on the way down as they were on the way up."

With his full-length CD - Just a Smile Away - in the final stages of production (thanks, in part, to some backing by Piere's owner Stan Liddell), Worth believes that its release will give Paul and Chris some more juice.

"It should be out near the end of March. It [contains] a few songs that I had done before the contract problems and some stuff that I've written since," Worth says. "We're going to start working those into what we're doing in the main show so that we'll be more than just a cover act. Get some originals out there so I can start to sell some CDs - that would be just wonderful!"

Worth says that he and Stewart plan to collaborate on some songs for a "Chris and Paul or a Paul and Chris CD." The latter quote begs the question: So what's the real name of the act? Paul and Chris or Chris and Paul?

"It depends on where you go," Worth says. "You can look at the marquee at Bill's Bistro and it's Chris and Paul. You can go to some other place and it's Paul and Chris. It doesn't matter

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