For two weeks, it was only about essentials: a Taylor guitar, two microphones, recording gear, a futon, some pizza and a whole lot of Arizona Iced Tea. To bring forth his first solo CD, Greensboro resident Christopher Scott staked out a decidedly solitary setting in Wilmington, transforming the spare bedroom of a music store manager friend into a recording studio during the latter half of July. Sequestered with the singular focus of getting songs out of his head and into the ears of his friends and new listeners, he pressed forward and emerged with “From Here For Now,” an eight-song CD. Stripped down to the basic elements, relying only on solo guitar and vocals, the songs range from intensely personal ballads to infectious, engaging tunes from a Virginia native who’s toured with Nashville greats and made North Carolina home. “I had to lay it out there,” Scott reflected recently. “I had to face down my fears, and show all my cards. I had to risk ridicule and rejection, and outright failure as a solo artist. But it didn’t matter what anyone thought, because the desire and need to get this out of my head overtook any fears I had. I have an incredible support network. All the takers are gone from my life. I have nothing but givers around me. And when that’s the case, I have no problem giving away my music.” Christopher Scott has an impressive musical resume. He spent four years with renowned slide guitarist Sonny Landreth first as a guitar tech, then as touring manager and ultimately as a backing guitar player on Landreth’s live album “Grant Street,” opening for Little Feat, Fleetwood Mac and Buddy Guy. Scott played with Leroy Parnell during a summer tour in 1999 in support of Parnell’s “Greatest Hits” release. With Parnell, they opened for Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, performed for over 100,000 at FanFare in Nashville and played the Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium. Even with thirteen years and two CD’s with the band Waterline, Scott still felt the drive to bring forth something entirely original: “I had a few songs well-defined ahead of time, but for others I came into the studio with just the basic idea and took those ideas all the way to completion. When you’re living in the studio, you listen to the same song, over and over again. You have to listen to it 30-40 times to hear the nuances. After a while you can’t hear anything; your ears are like bricks. You have to decide what you’re going to keep, and what you’re going to discard. It’s an amazing process.” It’s no coincidence one of the most compelling tracks on “From Here For Now” is titled “Solid as a Mountain.” Christopher Scott has not only broken new ground, he claims it with a defiance that is both fierce and tender. With nothing to hide behind, he has emerged on his own boldly, distinctively.