Chris Gates planned on a future in politics until his aunt introduced him to the Beatles during a trip to Washington, D.C. Hearing “Love Me Do” changed his direction. He got his first guitar on his 10th birthday, taught himself Beatles songs and worked on his voice with his mother, a singer who held him to a demanding standard.

At 14, Chris played his first show with Burning Bridges at the Hemet Christmas Parade. He says he hasn’t taken a break from music since.

Today, Chris is the singer, rhythm guitarist and frontman for Kings of Karma. He and bassist Joe Berry have spent more than a decade building the band, including years of cover gigs around Temecula. Chris shares how they found their original sound, wrote about 80 percent of their original album "Bite the Bullet" during a 12-hour session in Joshua Tree, and later re-recorded th ...