Plan B

With the lure of Hollywood, Chris left Australia in January 1986, arriving in Los Angeles with $1200 in his pocket, pretty much everything he owned. Chris came to LA not knowing a soul. After staying at the Holiday Inn on his first night he moved into a boarding house owned by the mother of a friend of his back on the Gold Coast in the LA suburb of Los Feliz. He soon settled in and started checking out the different acts that were performing in and around the City of Angels. Chris was amazed at the talent that seemed to be everywhere, including the aspiring actors or screenwriters that were waiting on tables just to make ends meet. Chris met songwriter David Minasian through an ad in one of the trade papers. Both Chris and Dave liked what they heard, started writing new material and hooked up with well-known producer Randy Bishop. Together with Randy they wrote more material and before long were recording an album at Pasha Records next door to Universal studios. Some of the session players who worked on this album joined Chris and Dave in the formation of "Plan B". They were on bass, Stephen R. Bailey who recorded for Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brinker, on drums, who toured with Maynard Ferguson for three years and Ted Castellucci, who had just completed the George Bensen tour, on guitar. Jimmy Johnson, who played bass on some earlier tracks currently records and tours for James Taylor. To complete the album, they also recorded a few tracks at Salty Dog Studios in the Valley. Chris was especially happy recording here as one of his favourite bands, The Sanford Townsend Band, had recorded here also. It wasn't long before the five piece Plan B was rehearsing for gigs and playing in venues such as At My Place and Central on Sunset. Chris also sang duets with the wonderful female vocalist, Mara Getz, on several occasions. He remained in LA for almost two years. It was a very hard slog, and not being able to get a green card so he could work legally made matters worse. He managed to get a few recording sessions with different artists and attended various casting sessions, but found it difficult to survive. Living on other people's couches and floors finally got to him and he returned to Sydney, Australia in December, 1987.