Last week, when I introduced you all to The Armed Forces I mentioned how difficult it was for me to decide on who the second band should be. I was stuck deciding between AFMF and this next band. Both are truly truly amazing bands but in the end i’m glad I went with The Armed Forces as the second band because writing that review of them was so much fun and got me itching to post the next band feature for this blog. fyi: the fact that I am sharing with you how much fun it was to write a feature for the Armed Forces is a hint to you to check them out cause they are even funner in person and musically!
With that said, Allow me to introduce you to the next band on this Music Scouting journey. They hail from the far far away land of New York-ok so it’s not far away, unless you are reading this in Europe or Japan(ahthankyou). The Crash Moderns (www.thecrashmoderns.com) are a powerpop/rock band with songs that make you want to get up and dance. Their music stands out in the music scene with their infectious hooks and catchy lyrics.
I first came across them through the wonders of MySpace (well, early MySpace anyway!) I mentioned in the Pink Spiders feature that I found out about TCM through TPS, thanks to a fan-based promotion street team called the Dot Dot Clan (it has since disbanded) a team of sisters created the MySpace page to support and promote five bands, two of the five were The Pink Spiders and The Crash Moderns. When i discovered this “Dot Dot Clan” in late 2006, I was interested because of the promotion toward The Pink Spiders but it wasn’t till i logged onto www.myspace.com/thecrashmoderns and hit ‘play’ on their MySpace player when I was completely in awe and shock at how amazing their songs where!
I instantly fell in love when i hear “Pimp My Life” , “This Time” , “Everybody Hates Me” and “Hello World” -the four early TCM songs. In fact, I loved their songs so much that i can proudly say that The Crash Moderns were the very first unsigned band that I willingly spent more then just my time and attention on, they were the first unsigned band that I gave in and bought their EP online through their paypal. Up until that point I was never too crazy to spend money on a “nobody band” whose current cd only has 6-7 songs on it. Thinking back to the day I decided, “SHIT, man, this band is too amazing not to get their CD!” that $7 I spend on their then EP was money well spent.
When I got their CD/EP in the mail, finally I knew this band was something different. I knew this band weren’t just a bunch of snobs that guilt trip you into buying a CD just so they can score some money out of you. I opened up the packaged, excited to get the CD and pop that sucker into my CD player but when I opened it I was surprised by the fact that lead singer, Danny Roselle actually sat down and spent some time to write me a personalized letter that was written on special Crash Moderns stationary and even threw in another CD w/ the at the time, current 4 MySpace songs that originally made me fall in love w/ the band’s music.
The Crash Moderns are a blend of rock and roll, powerpop and a little techno-esk songs as evidence by “Where’d all the Scene Girls Go?” -personally my favorite TCM song to date so far. I think what makes them stand out from the traditional pop rock bands in today’s music scene is the keyboards/synths instruments made famous by band member, Tommy Eichmann, who brings new attention toward what it means to be a keyboard player in a rock band-this guy can bang those keys pretty spectacularly. He knows just how to get the audience to notice him as evidence by his tendency to climb the speakers on stage when there is a break in his keyboard parts in a particular song or coming over to the center of the stage to sing along with singer, Danny from the same microphone.
Probably the most memorable Tommy-ism from past Crash Moderns shows was when he first tried his keyboard trick at a University of Chicago(UIC) Battle of the Bands competition they played at in March 2008. Tommy decided to give the audience a little side show by continuing to play his keyboard as he raised it in the air from the platform it was originally resting on. This trick did not work to his advantage that night, as he almost dropped it but no worries because it still looked pretty radtastic. Tommy would successfully complete this trick when he tried again at their April 2008 Beat Kitchen show in Chicago!
For those of you wondering the results of that UIC Battle of the Bands….The Crash Moderns WON!!! They got a oversized $500(i believe) check as a reward. Thanks, in part by the enthusiastic fans that came out to that show to cheer them on, the other 11 LOCAL bands, i might add, did not get the crowd as enthusiastic as TCM did. That night held true to the statement, “Save the best for last!”
The Crash Moderns are definitely one of those “Holy SHIT, THIS BAND IS AMAZING!” type of bands that make me question why this band is not more popular then they are. I remember my first time seeing the band, they played in a small, underground bowling alley in the suburb of Downers Grove, IL in August of 2007. That day only about close to 13 people showed up, majority of people were fans like myself that found out about them through MySpace and developed a friendship with them after first discovering this band.To this day I remember when Danny Roselle greeted the crowd that day by saying, “hey guys, welcome to our living room!” Regardless of the less then desired outcome of show goers it was amazing first impression of this band live.
To this day, The Crash Moderns have made more of a name for themselves since 2007-2008 and have since had not one but TWO(2) songs featured on the-N teen drama, Degrassi: The Next Generation(“This Time” and “Everybody Hates Me”), not to mention they have had their song, “Pimp My Life” featured as the background song in the movie trailer for The Rocker (youtube it, it’s pretty siiick!). Not to mention being able to open up for a handful of well known acts like a few shows on the Bret Michael’s Rock of Love tour for the better part of 2009. Other bands they have opened with, The Pink Spiders, All Time Low, Sugarcult, to name a few. They have also gotten the chance to play at Austin’s South by Southwest festival last year with acts like The Pink Spiders and Dot Dot Dot. They also were able to go to JAPAN last year to play a show for the US. armed forces-the military branch (not to be mistaken for last week’s featured band, The Armed Forces-aka Armed Forces My Friends).
The Crash Moderns are currently in the studio working on new songs that they recently announced that they will be posting the songs very soon, early 2010 according to their MySpace.
To listen to some songs of theirs, in addition to a cover of the Munroe’s song, “What Do All The People Know” head on over to www.myspace.com/thecrashmoderns
And be sure to go pick up a copy of their debut album, “Good Night Glamour,Good Morning Disaster” at Hot Topic or through the Crash Moderns’ merch store: http://www.pimpmywardrobe.bigcartel.com/
I swear to you all, that is one badass awesome album, but no pressure, no pressure! :P
The Crash Moderns are one band that show no signs of slowing down and I can assure you, The Crash Moderns are here to stay.
If you want to know where all the scene girls went, i’ll tell you…They went to a Crash Moderns show, and be forwarned….they WILL Pimp Your Life!
you can follow all 5 members of the Crash Moderns on Twitter by going to:
www.twitter.com/dannyroselle -vocals/guitar
www.twitter.com/tommyeichmann -keyboards/synth/vocals
www.twitter.com/mikeyvranek -guitar
www.twitter.com/gregwirbickas -drums
www.twitter.com/costaanthony -bass
and just created not too long ago, www.twitter.com/thecrashmoderns
