CRUSH
By: K.R. Laurent
Sweet child of mine; this hot-blooded band rocks the
house night after night. Performing in one of their favorite
venues in Vancouver, Wash., Club 199, CRUSH had the joint
jumping and grooving to the music.
This group of performers needs to be seen and heard to
understand the talent they have assembled. From the rocking
motion and onstage antics, to the connectivity to the audience, CRUSH
is the complete hometown rock show. The staple of their repertoire
has the band pumping out 1980s rock anthems and classic rock
songs.
Leo Curry nails the vocal lead lines song after song.
Dan Bowers is solid in the pocket of time where drummers
live and also is an accomplished vocalist. Troy Phipps hammers
the bass guitar lines with perfection and power, while Clay
Harn, on lead guitar, masters the rhythmic and melodic lines.
Both Phipps and Harn also share vocal duties.
CRUSH has an incredible room sound that is the workings
of sound tech Mark McMurphy. His mixing of full-spectrum
bass sounds with the clarity of the vocal performance adds
to the quality of the experience. The reason for creating
CRUSH a little over two years ago was the desire to get back
out and play music again.
When it was the dream to go out and play music for a
living, Harn, Phipps and McMurphy are well-versed. In the ‘80s
with the cover band Defiant, the three set out on the road
performing in the club circuit six nights a week. With five
years touring under their belt and pursuing that all-elusive
record deal along the way, they decided to focus their attention
on original music. They enlisted new talent, staying with
Defiant as the band name, as Bowers answered their ad and
came on board.
The new line-up in the ‘90s performed and recorded a
number of original CDs. As time went on, the band, as bands
do, burned out, lost enthusiasm and needed a break, besides
the other 1000 reasons to break up. The plug was pulled and
out went the lights.
As the years went by, the longing to recapture the early
years’ fire started to burn again. They decided to find a
new band name by each creating lists of names to share with
each other. It was a done deal when CRUSH appeared on two
of the lists they had. Focusing on the music, they decided
to go with what they cut their teeth on in the ‘70s and ‘80s
cover songs. It was a good decision. The addition of Curry
cemented the sound. The five of them work well together and
the enjoyment of the music is in the forefront again. CRUSH
rocks, cranking out classics by Journey, Ozzy, Van Halen,
AC/DC and Areosmith, to name a few.
CRUSH appears in many clubs around the area and is a
must-hear band. If you want to tap your toes or dance yourself
silly, CRUSH is the ticket. For more information, you can
find CRUSH on the web at: www.myspace.com/nwCRUSHlive or
www.CRUSH-live.com.
Club 199, presenting CRUSH this night, provides a fun
atmosphere with a full-service restaurant, featuring a wide
variety of appetizers, sandwiches, salads, and pizza to full
entrée dinners, a main stage, and dance area. They host live
entertainment on Friday and Saturdays, Karaoke Sunday through
Thursday. With a well-versed staff, Club 199 can provide
your choice of libations with ease. Besides their full menu,
they also provide indoor and outdoor catering services.
If you want to be entertained, or have a great meal,
check out Club 199, located at: 7005 NE Highway 99, Vancouver,
WA. 98665.
(See ad and Bandstand for CRUSH’s schedule.)
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