befreeyourself - About Us

The concept of befreeyourself comes from the North American native myth of counting coup. The most honour a warrior can achieve is to ride up to his enemy and put himself in a position to take said enemies life but, instead of doing so, chooses to give him one upside the head and ride away smiling in hopes of eventually creating a friend. This is the essence of forgiveness. You add to that the fact that creative talent does not add up, it multiplies and you have an ever growing, dynamic band of people known as befreeyourself.

Refer to Terry Christenson bio for a brief history of how Chris Hess and Terry founded befreeyourself in 2003.

Special Thanks To

Kindred/Kindling Project

Chris for his generous spirit and friendship in guiding me (tc) back from 12 years of climbing hard and writing in solitude. Chris not only produced and engineered our first project for free but collaborated and played many different instruments.
Daniel Joseph for donating some awesome guitar work.
Graham Ketcheson for finding time to rehearse and play percussion/drums with us despite raising a new family and working full time with 19 James.
Sabri Lariani for his amazing photography using mirrors and light and old dark room techniques to create unique images.

befreeyourself/eyes lit Project

Steve Ruppert for coming in off the road and inspiring us with his intense positive attitude for performing live. Being a long time friend of Chris's he contributed immensely to produce, arrange and collaborate on this second project. His song 'Mountain Madman' strips bare the very essence of climbing hard in the high lonesome.
Steve MacDowall for finding the time despite being a full time carpenter, raising a family and virtually playing bass with everyone in the area sooner or later. Collaborating with MacD for me was inspiring.
Graham and Sabri once again for their creative spirits and generosity.
Phil Demetro at Lacquer Channel for his skill on the gear.
Jeremy Howie, Chris Hess and Andrew Manwaring for filming over many adventures climbing, kite skiing and riding zip lines.
Valerie Ng for being the rocket girl on opening day ceremonies at Dundas Square.

befreeyourself/perspectives Project

Shawn Maguire for the work ethic from hell and the tenacity to whip me all the way back to good chops and sharper ears.
Simona Maguire for her awesome graphics.
Ken Christenson for his beautiful poem 'Castles In The Sand'.
Elio Gemini for directing, filming and editing the 'Worlds End' video.
Bruce Schell for stills and filming the long shot.
Gordon Hyland, Mackenzie Longpre and Neil Whitford of Ninja Funk Orchestra for not being elitist and contributing awesome performances. If you ever get a chance to check these guys out with Andrew Roorda on bass don't miss it.
Bob and Craig Harley for donating their brilliant talents on 'Windagos Present' and 'Motorcycle Underneath'.
Casandra Acker in Germany for her beautiful singing on 'Using My Love'.
OTIS OKG for his awesome rap on 'Be The Revolution'
Peter Schmidt, Steve Mushrush, and Karl Heinz Maier for their contributions in Germany.
Vanesa Moraless for her heartfelt song 'Their Lies' about the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.