Mandolin Master Chris Thile has been a Star Wars fan as long as I’ve known him. In fact the first time I met Chris was in line to buy tickets for Episode I. I was living in Nashville at the time and had gone to the theater the day tickets went on sale. I was standing, well sitting, in line about half way back (I think I was number 204 in line) when I spotted Chris heading toward the end of the line with his mandolin slung across his back. I knew who he was, but he hadn’t a clue who I was. I figured us bluegrassers had to stick together, so I called out to him like I had been holding a place in line for him. He took advantage of the opportunity and came over. We introduced ourselves and discussed all things Star Wars. Chris is a wealth of trivia on the subject. He knows it nearly as well as he knows his mandolin. That day at the theater Chris played nearly the whole soundtrack from the original movie A New Hope. I remember he seemed to particularly enjoy the tunes played by the band in the Mos Eisley cantina. Since before then even, he had been writing songs and naming them after Star Wars characters and locations.
After all this time it seems the Star Wars galaxy is finally taking notice of Chris. A new feature on the Star Wars website is all about Chris. Just published yesterday, the article is fairly lengthy and speaks to Chris’ Star Wars obsession, but also his music obsession. It’s quite interesting and a very good read. If you like Chris Thile and Star Wars it’s a MUST read.
NOTE: If you ever have the opportunity, ask Chris to do his Yoda impersonation for you. It’s worth seeing.
