Searching the Internet again for bands I feel are really up and coming, I came across a band with such energy and drive, that have already worked with such huge names as Nickleback and Wolfmother and their music is featured on Star Trek: Of Gods and Men.
The band? Electric Crush - I interview them here:
Banxy : How did the band form?
EC : Shane DiGeorge and Joey Villafranca… Shane on vocals, Joey on bass - that’s were it all began – back in High School. After that they were in a band called Seven Mile Island. That eventually led to an ad placement for a lead guitarist, which was answered by none other than Michael O’Campo. That moment really defines the birth of the Electric Crush “sound”… Shane’s vocals against Mike’s guitar melodies and hard rock edge. That sound has changed very little since the old days and continues to be a magical formula.
Fast forward 4 or 5 years… Zero was playing guitar for another band that was signed to Crop Circle Records at the time. He would show up at EC shows with the label reps and was always very supportive of the band. Circumstances arose which allowed the opportunity for Zero to join EC – things have never been the same since. Zero’s energy and stage performance were the missing ingredients needed to propel Electric Crush to the next level. The big “over-the-top” show that was always envisioned by the Label was now a reality. Zero really brings “the edge” to Electric Crush. We most recently finished the lineup with drummer Aaron Harvey.
Banxy : Where did the name "Electric Crush" come from?
EC : Originally we went by the name ‘LIFTER’. When we were signed to Crop Circle Records, we were told that we had to change our name… there had been a band in L.A. named LIFTER with a song out on the radio in the mid 90’s – so the search was on for a new name. Our Producer/Manager, Keith Chester came up with the name – he wanted something big and “over-the-top” sounding… something that was a little retro yet modern at the same time. We felt that the name really encapsulated our sound which is modern but borrows from the past as well. It means different things to different people, which is always good in a name. As Shane likes to say... “it’s all about the love for the music – an Electric Crush.”
Zero does a Back Flip off Stage |
Banxy : Recently the band has worked on music for "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men" - are any of the band Star Trek fans?
EC : Zero’s the biggest Star Trek fan in the band. He’s very much into Sci-Fi and Super Heroes, and animation. When the call came to do Star Trek – he was very excited about the possibilities. The rest of the band members were familiar with the various Star Trek movies and T.V. Series to one degree or another. Everyone knew that it was an opportunity that could not be passed up.
We were currently touring the East Coast when we got the call… the next thing we knew our tour was being cut short and the bus was being redirected towards Hollywood. We bought a bunch of Star Trek DVDs and watched them on the way to California - learning more about the characters and history of Star Trek. Irish filmmaker Tristan Barnard, who was part of a film crew doing a documentary on Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with Matchbox Twenty’s Adam Gaynor, was also part of the film crew for Star Trek ‘Of Gods and Men’. Adam and Tristan co-directed the new Electric Crush video ‘Between The Lines’ on the set of Star Trek, in between filming of the actual movie. On the final day, some of the extras didn’t show up to the set so Director Tim Russ (Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager) selected Shane, Zero, our Stage Manager Craig Williams and our Personal Manager Keith Chester to fill in for the missing Star Fleet members. The rest was cinematic history – haha. In the final scenes of the movie… Shane. Keith and Craig do a scene with Captain Kirk’s girlfriend, Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand of the original series). They are in a battle scene on a Destroyer Class Ship – one too many photon torpedoes leads to their demise. That particular scene was actually the last scene to be filmed for the movie, so we attended a little “on set party” with the cast and crew afterwards – it was a great experience.
Banxy : Where do you get inspiration for your music and lyrics?
EC : Everyday life… we never stray too far from the “Life Experience”. We’re not known for being politically driven, or religiously motivated in any of our writing. It’s not that we don’t have views on these topics… we just don’t feel like singing propaganda to the masses. We connect with our audience through mutual experience – the experience of everyday life.
Banxy : What's the strangest thing that's happened on tour?
EC : Meeting Adam Gaynor and Tristan Barnard was an unexpected surprise… but far from strange. Having to cancel the remainder of our East Coast tour to be whisked away to a film set in Hollywood with a bunch of Vulcans, Klingons and Romulans was pretty strange. Some of the crazy people that we’ve met on the road – they’ve been strange. Fitting a 12’ tall bus through a 10’ tunnel in New York was really strange. Joey getting too drunk in South Carolina and passing out in an alley where no one could find him – that was pretty strange too. By the way, we did eventually find Joey.
Banxy : What would you like to see the band achieve within the next year or so?
EC : Last year was a great year… we played Sturgis, met Adam Gaynor from Matchbox Twenty, toured the East Coast, went to Los Angeles to Film a music video for Star Trek, then stayed in L.A. to work with Adam Gaynor. While we were there we played the Sunset Strip several times at the Viper Room and Wiskey A Go-Go. It really was a great year.
This year we really need to take it to the next level… a major distribution or record deal through someone that shares our vision and is passionate about seeing it through. Movies are very cool as well – we really enjoy that whole process, so getting on a big soundtrack is something that we’d like to achieve this year. The Tonight Show or Conan wouldn’t hurt either.
Banxy : The band featured in the movie "Clash" with the track "Time 4 Me 2 Go" - what type of movie would you most like to see your music associated with?
EC : Action movies would be cool… horror movies too. Actually, any movie that you can rent at blockbuster or has the word “Blockbuster” in the ad – that’s the movie for us.
EC in the Sky Lounge |
Banxy : The band have performed with Nickleback, Three Days Grace, Black Crowes, Wolfmother and many more but, are there any bands or artists that you would like to create music with?
EC : We’d love to work with some of the legends in the industry… like Aerosmith, the Stones, etc.. Shane is a big Matchbox Twenty fan, so he’s already realizing his dream working with Adam. Shane is also a big fan of the Goo Goo Dolls. Michael likes a lot of the newer bands – he’s really into a lot of stuff like, Switchfoot, Head Automatica, Hinder, Nickelback, Our Lady Peace, The Used, 30 Seconds To Mars, Jimmy Eat World, Muse, Silverchair, the list goes on and on. Zero has such a wide range of interests – everything from Michael Jackson to Rob Zombie. Who knows where the four winds will take Zero. Joey likes stuff like A Perfect Circle, Aaron is into Dream Theater. All in all – we like so many different bands that it would truly be an honor to work with any of them.
Banxy : If you could liken the band members to Cartoon/Comic book characters, who would they be?
EC : Zero would be some kind of cross between Superman, Spiderman and The Crow… Shane would be Sergeant ROCK, Joey would be Shaggy from Scooby Doo – complete with a Mystery Van. Michael could be Peppy Le Peu? He’s always bouncing off the walls and chasing after the ladies – Mr. Suave. Aaron would be the Coyote from the San Antonio Spurs. – GO – SPURS – GO!!!
Banxy : Do you have any upcoming Tours/Albums etc you would like to tell us about?
EC : Actually we are in the process of two new albums… one will be released in June of this year called ‘Walking On Fire’ which is comprised of new songs that we have been playing live but aren’t on any album yet… it’s kind of a “catch-up” album that will also include Part 1 of a Rockumentary that we filmed in April. We are also in the song writing phase of the album that we are doing in Los Angeles with Adam Gaynor producing. Sessions will probably resume around August of this year. We’re really looking forward to both projects. It’s going to be a very busy year.
Electric Crush, Thank you.
You can visit Electric Crush's Website here:
http://www.electriccrush.com/
And their MySpace here:
http://www.myspace.com/electriccrushus
