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k4 "emperor" Pick of The Week
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K4 (Krescent 4) has unleashed their powerful music for the first time in a full-length release title...K4 (Krescent 4) has unleashed their powerful music for the first time in a full-length release titled Emperor. I have been waiting a long time for this and I am glad to say that having patience does pay off; well it has with this CD. Yes sir, the boys are back in town, they have arrived locked and loaded.
I always felt I was left wanting for more after hearing one of the K4 EP releases. It never seemed fair to have just a taste. Perhaps this was a good setup for me, it certainly created some anticipation on my behalf because I always felt this band was major league, just waiting for the right time and opportunity to cut loose and lay all there cards on the table. I think with Emperor K4 have reached a level of maturity as a band and it will be the final step in their quest for a worldwide following. It is cool thing to follow a band and watch them grow up and I have had the pleasure to do that with K4.
Kris Keller plays some great guitar on every track and Stimy is back to front the band with vocals that always seems to fit the momentum of the band at that particular moment. Adam Nine (bass) and Kurt Keller (drums) are a tightly knit rhythm section that allow Kris to lay down his pinpoint and powerful guitar licks to push their sound into hyperactive mode. Once again, the sound and production is clean, crisp, and electric from beginning to end. I would expect nothing less from this band.
Rock and metal heads will gobble up this music in a heartbeat and once the word gets out I cannot see why some of the major labels will not be pursuing K4. They certainly have what it takes, the appeal, sound, and looks of a young, exciting, loud, hard, and fast group ready for a challenge.
My picks for radio play are “Amorican,” a tough in your face reality check on life in America, and “No Consequence,” which flirts with being a ballad but jumps back and forth from a soft to hard. It gives the listener a chance to hear the overall talent and versatility the band is capable of yet they maintain their hard rock edge so they do not lose the core audience that is listening in the first place.
So there you have it, 12 new tracks ready to rock down the house and take K4 and their fans to a new level. I enjoy this band because they know how to mix it up regarding intensity, grit, tenacity, and just enough polish and production techniques to keep it real and fresh for all of us listeners Ready 2 Rock.
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Flawless
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With tracks produced by two-time Grammy nominated producer Brad Gilderman, how can this material go ...With tracks produced by two-time Grammy nominated producer Brad Gilderman, how can this material go wrong. The production is flawless the songs are tight and the vocals well done.
Production 5.0Lyrics 4.0Music 5.0Vocals 4.5Musicianship 5.0
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High Octane !
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Reviewer: Laura T Lynch
Krescent4 aka K4 is a hard rocking quartet based out of Michigan. The fo...Reviewer: Laura T Lynch
Krescent4 aka K4 is a hard rocking quartet based out of Michigan. The four have been collaborators and friends since age twelve. K4's sound is a blend of alternative rock and progressive rock. All six tracks on Rock are packed with potential and power. The production is clean, the playing tight and the vocals intense. Each song seamlessly flows into the next as stories of angst unfold. K4 is a high octane band and Rock runs full throttle down the hard rock road!
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Bang for the Buck
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Krescent 4,"Rock EP"
You get a lot of bang for your buck with this six song cd EP. It may only h...Krescent 4,"Rock EP"
You get a lot of bang for your buck with this six song cd EP. It may only have six songs but there’s a lot of punch in those six songs. Take the leadoff track “Cling” for example. The big U2 flavored guitars and urgent backbeat will immediately suck you in and if that’s not enough the hook of the chorus will seal the deal. “Picture Perfect” is even more in your face and has a heavier feel. They make the most of every song on the cd. For fans of Nickelback and Creed as well as fans of STP, Alice In Chains, The Cult and Soundgarden.
Review by J.R. Oliver
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KRESCENT4
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Ah, those crafty kids, always mispelling words in their band names;I think that's on the the modern ...Ah, those crafty kids, always mispelling words in their band names;I think that's on the the modern rock check list. They can go ahead and check off another one, as always they have the sullen, black-clad press photo. Catch these alt-rockers now before ther'yre bigger than Jesus.
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K4 Rock
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Krescent 4
By: Stephanie Crosby
Krescent 4 plays decent alt rock. I listened to six songs from ...Krescent 4
By: Stephanie Crosby
Krescent 4 plays decent alt rock. I listened to six songs from their latest EP, “Rock”, and was impressed by the crisp, professional sound and tight instrumentation. Their 4-piece group is capable of a dynamic range that reaches far beyond expectations. Bass and drums (Adam Nine and Kurt Keller, respectively) sound like the kind of rhythm section that every guitarist covets.
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K4 CHICAGO MUSIC GUIDE
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Thank you for taking the time for this interview, we greatly appreciate it! My PleasureSo, how did y...Thank you for taking the time for this interview, we greatly appreciate it! My PleasureSo, how did you Krescent 4 get together? Kurt and I are brothers (Kris) we started when we were only 8-10 years old. Luckily our mother was very supportive and bought us equipment. Then Adam came into the picture with bass and his neighbor Stimy was in a family of singers and there it was first song Rock n Roll by Led Zeppelin at ten years old. Playing our first county battle of the bands year we took second place opening the show for Zach Wild. (Zach actually blew the sound system up that night and we loved it)Your first album was recorded in 2001, how long have you been together before then? Well, we are in the ages of 26-28 years old so that equals a long time. We actually did three albums before that 2001 recording all recordings we won in battle of the band competitions. We have over 30,000 units floating out there across the country. Lot of years and records and we love doing it.Is there any reason you’ve only been recording EPs after your initial album? We have concentrated on EPs for quality not quantity. To do a full length record with a good producer and a good studio to our standards is going to cost at least $20,000. So we put out five or six song EP that just kicks ass with time spent not only on the song writing but the engineering, mixing, and mastering is the only way we will do at this point.Will there be another full length album coming anytime soon? If some one we agree with will invest in us for the time, studio, engineer, and producer we will be on board. We have come so far that we are not willing to settle for commercialism at this point. Yes, we do want to go be stream but creating are own niche with our own style and genre is the goal.What are your musical and non-musical influences individually and collectively? I love the way rock can make you feel. It is such a release for me to hear it play live and love it. The people that are involved in music are my influences the kids the fans the producers all of it is our passion. Our music influences are Muddy Waters to the Cult to Frank Black to Elvis.How does the scene in Michigan differ from Hollywood, New York or Chicago for that matter? Michigan
and Chicago’s music scene are similar comparatively to LA being very different. NY is just all scenes wrapped into one but still not as exploited as LA. Michigan is more laid back than LA is. People will come to a show in MI off the street just to see some rockin music. In LA people only go to see a very specific artist, once that artist is off stage that crowd leaves right now. It’s not good or bad it is just the way it is. In other words its all good.Have you performed outside the US yet? Yes, Canada
How many shows would you say you perform a month/year? Depends some times twice a month some times 6-8 times if we are on the road. When we write and record we try to stay off the road so we can focus on the project at hand. Recording means more to me because a good record will be around much longer than I will. If I can make music that is timeless I have finally made it as a person and a musician.Are you self managed? We are a little of both we have agencies we work with and we do things our self which I think you have to do today even if you are on a major.What would you say separates Krescent 4 from most other bands? We have two hours of original material, we can play acoustic and full on rock, we can write, record and manage everything ourselves, and we are the tightest band I have ever seen. Our loyal fans say we are the jazz musicians of rock.How did you hook up with Brad Gilderman, Vinn-E Dombroski and Al Sutton? We played a show case in LA at the Key Club he was invited to the show and he was impressed with the musicianship and invited us back. Vinn-E is from our area and he is the man on stage and off. And Al Sutton is also local and Kid Rock’s right had man he deserves more credit.How did you manage to get aired on Spike-TV and On Demand Cable? A indie lable we used to be signed to hooked up the spike TV gig with more shows to come. It is very cool to watch national TV in your living room and hear your own music playing out (and get paid). On Demand was a little TV station in Florida ran by students Swept Away TV and they did a small story and played a live video of the band that was aired for several months.What are K4’s plans for the next 6 months-year? Hit the road around M.E.A.N.Y. Fest. And release our new EP K4 ROCK that is on our site www.krescent4.com.We wanted to thank you again for talking with us today!!Hey we love people like you that want to know what it’s all about. THANK YOU!
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Krescent 4 - A Rock 'n' Roll Juggernaut
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"To be an original artist of any kind you must re-teach yourself to achieve original thought. I don'..."To be an original artist of any kind you must re-teach yourself to achieve original thought. I don't mind being compared but making your own category of music is our striving achievement."
Krescent 4 has been together for a long time; they grew up with each other through middle school, high school and college. Their first love for the studio came after winning a county battle of the bands in Michigan in 1991. They won a five-song original music demo. The other bands that competed were two and three times their age so when the youngsters took the stage and started playing original music the audience was blown away. The headliner of the battle that night was Zack Wilde, so Krescent 4 were in their glory and obviously totally energized by the event. A once in a lifetime event spurred them on to greater heights. Here they are now, several albums later, sounding like seasoned pros ready for the big record deal that will alter their lives and everyone around them forever. Are they ready for that kind of success? Just listen to their music and you will know instantaneously.
K4 is a rock 'n' roll juggernaut that will rattle your cage and keep you coming back for more. They do not blow you away with head banging shots of nuclear powered guitar riffs, yet their sound is very powerful and it grabs a hold of you and hangs on relentlessly. I made a few comparisons in my review of their latest release, a self-titled EP, which I said I would never do when I started writing, but I found that it was inevitable that I do so, and I always do it to compliment a group: "Think of STP meets David Bowie with hints of Burton Cummings of The Guess Who on vocals and you have the hard rockin' in-your-face band called Krescent 4."
Kris, the leader of the group, seems to agree in some ways. He commented, "I think in describing a band, comparisons are helpful for a listener to relate to a new artist, artists in general try to be original so comparing can get insulting." He also added, "I was actually surprised at first by the STP / Bowie comparison, although, after thinking about it, it was a very accurate comparison and a very interesting one." It got my attention that he said that because it has always been one of my concerns right along. I have always worried that I would hurt someone's feelings or insult them in some way by making a comparison; just the same, I have not received any negative feedback for doing so, I think people take it as a given when describing music. If I criticize someone, I in turn make myself available to receive it. That is the risk you take when you put yourself out their and create something for everyone to listen and evaluate. In the end, we all are better people for taki! ng that chance and expressing who we are.
Their EP really rocks the house; it is the kind of sound that wets your appetite for a full-length album with more of the same bone crunching guitars, backed by a heart pounding rhythm section to drive it home. To me, great rock music starts with an essential basic primal level of the music... then everything else is just icing on the cake. On the other side of the coin, when they play live, Kris mentioned that when people talk about whom they sound like, it is always different. As the venue setting and mood changes, so does the bands tempo and the atmosphere they create. I think most people do not think of rock music as being that versatile when in essence all music has that capability, which is what makes it so meaningful in people's lives. Kris put it all into proper perspective when he said, "To be an original artist of any ! kind you must re-teach yourself to achieve original thought. I don't mind being compared but making your own category of music is our striving achievement. "
When in the studio the band has learned that producers and different artists can be the key in creating something unique and special. One of their songs from the EP, "All My Love," is a complete musical paradigm shift. Instead of the rock down the house mindset, they brought in Jordan Lopez to play timbales, congas and piano for the song. The song is in contention for the next "Jason Friday the 13th" movie soundtrack. Kris thinks that by adding a surprise like that at the end of an album puts rockers in perspective and shows how you are capable of mixing up the material a little on a record, always keeping in mind to do it tastefully.
The future certainly looks bright for this group of rockers. They plan to keep doing the mid west club circuit for a few months then go back to LA a do a record with their independent label in five months, unless of course the luck of the Irish smiles upon them and they get picked up by a major label. They would like nothing more than to do a full album with a major and select a producer with a real budget so it would put them in a better position to make some amazing sounds. I have the feeling that they will produce another remarkable rock jewel regardless of the label or producer they associate themselves with in the future. When you have the right stuff, you got it, and when they go into the studio for the next round the magic will happen again, I just know it.
To wrap it up, Kris closed by saying, "Something the band has set in our goals is GOING GOLD. That is not so much to ask, but we do this business because we love it." Those are the words of an honest man doing his best to reach his dreams. That is something we all endeavor to do one time or another in our lives, its just a lot more fun when your making kick ass rock 'n' roll!
By MuzikMan,
MusicDish.com
Syndicated on over 30 webzines
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Krescent 4 (EP Review)
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Think of STP meets David Bowie with hints of Burton Cummings of The Guess Who on vocals and you have...Think of STP meets David Bowie with hints of Burton Cummings of The Guess Who on vocals and you have the hard rockin' in-your-face band called Krescent 4. If you love to rock there is a lot to like about this group. While this is a short voyage with an EP, you get a good idea of what these guys are capable of doing. They rock their asses off and take no prisoners. If that is the kind of high-energy that you will want more of I suggest you go to their website and snag up the rest of their back catalog as well as this unyielding CD.
This is aggressive music. "Lost Cause" reminded me of one my favorites Master's of Reality, complete with the thumping and purposeful bass line then the drop-of-a-hat- changing mood to a faster and more driven sound with the Jack Bruce/David Bowie like vocals. Then to really throw things out of whack and keep you off balance, they do a short piano instrumental that sounds like a new age cut to close out the CD. That kind of switch in atmosphere and sound tells me that there is a lot of talent in this band and that they are capable of creating any type of music they set their mind to, now that is impressive.
Well now you know that you do not have to waste any time in checking them out, they have a killer sound that will really get you off. Just do it, hold on to your bootstraps and get this music now.
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Krescent4 (EP Review)
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There's some hot rock on this 5 song EP from a band that mixes influences like Mudhoney, Soundgarden...There's some hot rock on this 5 song EP from a band that mixes influences like Mudhoney, Soundgarden and The Cult. Sometimes they don't absorb those influences completely into their own thing, but the resulting derivative music is still stormin'. We get another single-name vocalist (thank GOD! We were running low!) in Stimy, another brother combination (oh, whew!!) in guitarist Kris and drummer Kurt Keller, and a bass player named Adam Nine. I don't know if that's just his cool name or his model number. He can play, so I guess that's all that matters. They can all play, there's some decent writing going on and I suspect they'll absorb their influences more as time goes on.
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