Chad Everett lives in Salem, about 20 miles from Youngstown, OH. He grew up in Cochranton, a tiny town in rural Western Pennsylvania. At 15-years-old, he picked up a Hohner acoustic guitar and learned to play “Good Riddance” by Green Day. Soon, he discovered classic ’50s and ’60s music, picking along to songs like “Secret Agent Man” and “Johnny B Goode”. This led him to seek out a jazz teacher, sparking a friendship with jazz pianist and saxophonist Bob Hamilton.
Chad brought his Ibanez semi-hollow electric guitar to lessons at Hamilton’s home, figuring out its technique from books and VHS tapes. Meanwhile, Hamilton provided an education in the language of jazz & blues from a piano perspective. Chad learned jazz standards like “I Got Rhythm,” “Body & Soul,” and “Autumn Leaves,” developing a unique chord-melody guitar style.
Chad further pursued his art at The University of Southern Mississippi, studying with saxophonist Lawrence Panella, a former student of Bob Hamilton. Panella taught him jazz and bebop standards such as “Yardbird Suite” and “Giant Steps”. Chad took two lessons a week with double and electric bassist Marco Machado, who refined Chad’s bass technique.
Now that he was living in a place with a different musical culture than Pennsylvania, Chad was feeling the pressure of playing with new musicians. Weekly jam sessions at the Purple Cat in downtown Hattiesburg had him playing tunes like “Spain” and “Sir Duke”. Many hours in the practice room eventually caught the attention of some professional musicians, earning him a name as far south as New Orleans.
Chad dove into the New Orleans music scene. He engineered and produced recordings with musicians such as Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. He played with Ben Joseph & the Lay-Lows (southern rock) and the Jeb Rault Band (blues rock). Chad also toured internationally with Holland America Cruise Lines’ show band as a bassist.
Throughout his career, Chad was producing original music. In 2023, Chad started CEM Music Company to publish his catalogue of soundtrack, ambient, electronic, rock, folk, and jazz music. He releases new music on Soundcloud, Facebook, & Youtube.
CEM Music Company 