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The Craze - Introducing the Craze
The Craze are a wonderful Rock & Roll inspired garage pop/rock band, who write melodies influenced from the past 30 decades.
Excellent driving basslines, direct vocal style, late 70's new wavish drumming and almost cheeky guitar playing.
Songs are incredibly simple sounding, but are the kind you find yourself humming in the shower for ever after, and there isn't a single track out of place on the album.
Lyrically this stuff rocks, too. It draws obvious influences from the lads youth and environment, it all fits in very well.
The album has a warm 70's sound, produced by Gary St.Clair, was recorded and mixed at Imagine Recording - CA. I have found that nothing is beyond their reach, so what you hear is what they play. Spin 'Tonight' and 'Let Me Know' !
The Craze members are Jesse Vaz - guitar/lead vocals, Chris Pastor - guitar/vocals, Rudy Roque - bass/vocals & Ainsley Hubbard - drums/percussion. The band has a tight sound that goes straight to the point with tracks like 'Turn On My Radio', 'You' & 'Get Ready To Go'
All 12 songs are great , there's not one that sounds rushed, not one that is a filler. Introducing the Craze is a catchy pop/rock set with some catching tunes. At the end of the day, this debut album comes highly reccomended. - MP3 Hardplay
"The Craze is one of the most original things I've heard in the last year. Fresh, catchy pop/rock nuggets....so tasty you could eat 'em!"
- Polychronopolis – Waitt Radio Network
”The Craze are the spiritual descendant of the frat and party rock your pop and grand pop keep telling you about. Young cats feeling their way, but the only way they are looking for is the way to the next party. A high-octane bunch that play in abandon without being sloppy about it. This is the next breakout rock band that will go the distance”.
-Chris Spector -
- Midwest Record Recap
“Every once in a while, a band comes along with such talent and charisma that an entire city chooses to adopt them. The Craze, from Palmdale California, is an intoxicating blend of pop, dancey rock and smart, almost familiar music with infectious choruses”
-Melissa Garten- - Live Magazine - PHX, AZ
Top-notch melodies, great hooks, killer songs!!
“Jesse, the lead singer, brings this thing to life. He has that something that Lennon and McCartney had that takes you inside the song. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes The Beatles, The Cure or Duran Duran”.
-Staycenator - iTunes user review - iTunes
Just when you think you have me pegged for an all hard rock kinda guy may I introduce you to The Craze. Evoking all that you loved about New Wave (go ahead, you can admit to liking the stuff), The Craze belt out some very angular rock and roll and on songs like Never Knew they throw in some great classic hard playing rock and roll, regardless of how you want to classify it. Kiss Yourself doesn’t do much for me but the aforementioned Never Knew and Turn On My Radio rocked my socks and Baby Blue is a beautiful, melodic mid-tempo rocker that gets better with every listen.
The thing I have always liked about rock and roll, and the reason I refer to The Rock and Roll Report as a “niche-free zone” is that I refuse to pigeon-hole the site and by extension myself to one rock and roll niche. Whether it’s stuff like the New Wavey sound of The Craze or the harder edge of the previous blitz bands, it really doesn’t matter to me. Good rock and roll is good rock and roll and I know it when I hear it. Why would anyone want to limit their enjoyment of music by limiting their choices? That’s beyond me.
Anyhow, enjoy The Craze by heading over to their MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thecrazetheband and have a listen and then watch a video and enjoy. - rockandrollreport.com
The Craze - Get Up! EP Review
Tracklist:
1. Shakin'
2. Middle Of The Night
3. Rock & A Hard Place
4. Get Up!
5. One More Time
6. The Executive
The Craze is back! After an impressive debut album (well and a not so widely spread EP before that), they now bring you their sophomore album. The Craze carries on in the same fashion. Great rock & roll songs with hints of classic rock, new wave & powerpop. The refreshing, yet recognizable sound is still there and the formation, though it has gone through slight changes (new bassist) is tighter than ever. You can hear they have fun playing the songs and the energy and enthusiasm jumps right in your face. It's infectious, just like this great EP. The only downside is that it's so short. But with this kind of quality, we'll be hearing a lot more from these guys!
Shakin'
The album starts off with the catchy and rhythmic Shakin' which will get you up on your feet, no question. With great enthusiasm and energy The Craze is starting off this party with a blast.
Middle of the Night
Middle of the Night is an obvious radio single candidate. With great riffs and a very catchy rhythm that you can dance to, clap along to, sing along with, etc. etc. and easy-to-remember lyrics this song will easily get stuck in your head for days to come. It has the typical The Craze sound and effect. I think it hardly matters what they play/sing, The Craze music is music that makes you feel good, feel happy.
Rock & A Hard Place
Then we come to a very creative, alternative song. It's somewhere in the middle of so many things I can think of that it basically stands on it's own. It's one of those songs that if you strip it down and listen to every segment seperately you can really hear how good it is. Everything works together perfectly and The Craze really shows they are ready for 'the big leagues' with Rock & A Hard Place.
Get Up!
The title track of the EP. It's a somewhat slower alternative rocker with that typical catchy The Craze-ness. That what we can't get enough of. In these times of bands that all sound the same, it's good to have this band that is not afraid to do something different. And they do it well. Get Up! would be interesting to hear stripped down completely, in an acoustic, unplugged version. It will probably sound completely different, but I, for one, would be really interested in hearing the contrast.
One More Time
I think I heard a previous carnation of this song before, or else I heard another song by The Craze that sounds quite similar. If it's the song I'm thinking of, they changed it, and they absolutely made it better. It sounds much clearer than in my memory and much more catchy. The rhythm instruments and vocals have an important interaction on this track and once again The Craze shows that they aren't only rhythmically very balanced but that melodically they are also very talented.
The Executive
The Executive is an updated version from a song that appeared on The Executive EP. I haven't listened to the old version in a really long time, but what I do know is that if you hear this version, there's no real need to listen to the old version. The Get Up! EP version tops it by miles and miles. And in my opinion, together with Shakin' and Middle of the Night this is the 3rd radio single candidate. The old version was the song that got me into The Craze, the new version is an absolute confirmation that this is one of the best musical discoveries I have ever done!
The Craze impressed many with their debut full-length "Introducing.. The Craze". I had the privilege of seeing them perform and believe me when I say that an experience like that makes this band even better. I listen to a lot of lesser known bands, but I am convinced that The Craze should definitely be taking the road out of the unknown into the well-known. They have the quality and the energy, they have the professionalism, and they have the will. All they need is a bit of luck and your support, and if you ask me, there's no question about it that they deserve it. This band is a promise and something, once discovered, that we must cherish. - Inner Ear Media
Discography
Introducing The Craze - 2006 Dynatone Records
Get Up! (EP)- 2008 Dynatone Records
Currently spinning on:
KROQ - Los Angeles, CA
KUSF - San Francisco, CA
KUPD - Phoenix, AZ
KFMA - Tucson, AZ
KTCL - Denver, CO
KTEG - Albuquerque, NM
KRCK - Palm Springs, CA
KKZQ - Antelope Valley, CA
KHTR - Spokane, WA
KZGL - Flagstaff, AZ
KFEB - Poplar Bluff, MO
KLHI - Maui, HI
KGRG - Auburn, WA
KUBQ – La Grande, OR
WFNX - Boston, MA
WHHZ - Gainesville, FL
WKZQ - Myrtle Beach, SC
WCNR - Charlottesville, VA
WEND - Charlotte, NC
WXFH - Savannah, GA
WQXA - Harrisburg, PA
WRZX - Indianapolis, IN
WBTZ - Burlington, VT
KFMG - Des Moines, IA
KAVC - Amarillo, TX
WHRL - Albany, NY
WPNH - Plymouth/Manchester/Concord, NH
XM Radio - (XM 29/U-Pop/Jet Blue)
And on internet radio stations around the world:
Photos
Bio
Let The Good times Roll!
“We should probably do a cover of that song because that’s pretty much what The Craze is all about,” says lead singer and guitarist Jesse Vaz. “And we hope that’s the feeling people get from our new EP “Get Up!”. ”
The Craze’s debut full-length, 2006's ‘Introducing The Craze’, quickly became a favorite with independent tastemakers at radio including the legendary Jonathan L at KUPD in Phoenix AZ, Capone at 91X in San Diego, Dwight Arnold and his ‘Sunday Night Music Meeting’ and Waitt Radio Network PD Polychronopolis. The tracks 'Turn On My Radio’, ‘Kiss Yourself', ‘Baby Blue’, and ‘Take It How You Want It’ all received considerable airplay and turned listeners across the US on to the fresh new sound of The Craze. It also opened doors for the band to tour.
And tour they did. Jesse, lead guitarist Chris Pastor, bassist Rudy Roque and drummer Ainsley Hubbard quickly became a crowd favorite, able to stand alongside The Black Keys, Trapt, The Gin Blossoms, Authority Zero, Army of Freshmen and a host of others, simply because their shows make people feel good.
“If we can give people just a few minutes of relief from the drudgery of their day-to-day lives – you know, just put a smile on their face, then we have accomplished something,” says Ainsley, who along with Rudy is still only 18. “We want to bring people together, ” Ainsley continues. “When you look out at the crowd and see people of all ages and from all walks of life smiling and singing your lyrics, it’s a good feeling. That’s what drives us to be better performers and songwriters”.
Touring for over 150 dates also got the band thinking about the normal routine of doing a full-length album and then touring for a year and a half behind it. “We had this idea of putting out EP’s with new music every 4 or 5 months to keep things fresh for us and for our fans,” says Jesse. “You have to play the songs that people know and expect or you’re cheating them, adds Rudy. “But we have so many ideas for songs and we were writing in the van and dying to get back to California to record”.
So, after their appearance at SXSW in 2007, the band took a break from touring and returned to the studio later that summer.
“We did our first album so quickly,” says Chris, “because we were dying to get out on the road and we wanted to have music for our fans to take home from the shows”. “By the end of the first album” he continues, “we were getting really comfortable in the studio and we knew that this time there was a lot more we could do creatively”.
Indeed, on Get Up! The Craze’s fanbase will find plenty of the freewheeling spirit that made “Introducing The Craze’ such a word-of-mouth success. “The new stuff sounds big,” says Jesse, “We had the studio locked out for months and really got to try all of our ideas.” “Our producer Gary has a ton of cool vintage gear like the Linndrum which is the drum sound on ‘The Cars’ and ‘Prince’ records,” adds Ainsley. “We love those sounds and it was cool getting to play with that gear and see what it could add to our sound.”
“Another big addition in the studio were the guitar amps that Kustom gave us to record with,” adds Chris. “Their Coupe series all-tube amps have the sound I was always hearing in my head,” he continues. “They’re retro and modern at the same time – kind of like us,” he laughs.
And it is that unique blend of old and new - 60’s guitars, new wave dance beats and rock energy that sets The Craze’s sound apart from the crowd.
“We've made a really good album,” concludes Rudy. “And I think we’ve captured a lot of the energy of our live show on these songs.”
“We can’t wait to get back on the road and play these songs for our fans,” says Jesse. “Our shows are always a party and these are feel-good party songs”.
Let the good times roll indeed.
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