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sic Review: The Louisville Crashers @ Incredible Dave’s 9.2.11
By Dan Blanchard
My wife-to-be and I had the privilege of being part of the rapt audience for last Friday’s Louisville Crashers’ appearance at Incredible Dave’s (9236 Westport Rd. Rolling Hills Plaza, Louisville, KY 40242.) The Crashers are Mark Maxwell (lead vocals), Max Maxwell (drums, background vocals), Shane Isenberg (lead guitar, vocals), Jesse Vest (bassist), Howard Gittli (guitar, trumpet, vocals) and Geoff Gittli (sax, flute, keyboard and vocals.) Find them amd all the info you could possibly want (including music samples) at www.thelouisvillecrashers.com ).
Seamlessly transitioning from Stevie Wonder to Neil Diamond to Van Morrison to The Temptations to Maroon 5 to John Mayer (Waiting on the World to Change) to Bon Jovi to…(you name it!), this skillfully polished band personifies the concept: “range.” And they do absolute justice to every artist/band along the way.
While some brave groups may (foolishly) attempt to cover Train (Calling All Angels), Mark Maxwell’s lilting tenor voice graces every note of a rendition that is as effortless as it is precise. Background vocals, thoughtfully layered on Mark’s lead by percussionist (and brother) Max create consistent harmonies that are both crisp and tight, no better than in their rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine.”
The alto sax and trumpet are more than just a complementary after thought. Reminiscent of the funky “Tower of Power” horns of the 70’s, Geoff and Howard Gittli add a brassy power and drive that puts the “crash” in “Crashers.” Howard’s solo on “Waiting on the World to Change” was consummately brilliant. The two added energy, drive and depth to a well thought out variety of numbers, peaking with a simply superlative rendering of “Superstitious.” It’s one thing to capture the essence of the lead of a Stevie Wonder piece. It’s a rare and wonderful thing to hear a horn section make one feel the depth of a full jazz band experience. And if that wasn’t enough, Geoff leaps from keyboard to tenor sax to flute: his own solo on “Ain’t No Sunshine” was pure, lilting musical magic.
This band has a penchant for transitioning from number to number to number, barely pausing to catch their breath in between. And Mark gregariously spends as much (or more) time wandering through the crowd, regaling every table along the way–making the night of one young lady who was wheel-chair bound, when he sat next to her and crooned into her ear–as he does on stage.
The band’s magnum opus of the evening was the Crashers’ impeccable replication of Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4.” From Mark channeling his inner Peter Cetera to Shane Isenberg’s killer “shred” on the lead guitar solo to the Gittli brothers’ phenomenal “horns,” it was, by far, musically, the finest song of the night.
When you want to treat your ears to a night of “the best of” your favorite bands, you can do no better than a night with the Louisville Crashers, arguably the premiere local band in the city.
(Dan Blanchard is one of the founding members of Louisville’s own Water’s Edge vocal band (www.watersedgevocals.org) and a self-proclaimed music junkie.)
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Rhonda
This article says it all...The Louisville Crashers are AMAZING!
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4 hours ago
Teresab
He is absolutely correct they are the best most professional band In the country.
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About the Author
Rachel Ford
Rachel was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She is a graduate of the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in political science. Currently, she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Louisville. Her interests include exercising, sports, and spending time with family, friends, and my dogs. Rachel graduated high school at age 15. As a 16-year-old freshman in college, she had a literature review published in a college textbook. She is a former Mrs. Kentucky. In 2001, she signed a recording contract and had an album that was distributed and sold nationwide. She has also received numerous awards, accolades, and accomplishments in the political arena.
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- Derby City News
August 28, 2011
Sellersburg Celebrates! draws about 13,000 people
By JEROD CLAPP
Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com
SELLERSBURG — Whether they’d been coming for years or made their first visit Saturday, families across Sellersburg and other communities checked out what this year’s Sellersburg Celebrates! festival had to offer.
This was the 22nd year for the festival. Sellersburg Celebrates! committee president Larry Quinn said the event has been forced to change locations twice to accommodate more people because the event has grown every year.
“This festival is built around this community,” Quinn said. “The town is very involved, the police is invested in working out the traffic and safety of the people and they’re happy to do it.”
Quinn said the committee registered 118 booths this year, many of them selling local arts and crafts or other goods. He said the inexpensive cost of setting up for Sellersburg Celebrates! attracts a lot of vendors, businesses and craftspeople.
But another draw for families in the area is the fair fare. With rides, corn dogs, funnel cakes and shows, Quinn said he thought this year’s attendance would come in somewhere around 13,000 to 16,000 people.
Chris Conte brought his family to the festival to check out games for his children and see what local businesses had booths set up.
“It’s jut so great,” Conte said. “The town dresses itself up and puts itself on display.”
Conte’s wife, Mary Ann, said she was glad to bring their two boys, Seth and Saben, to the festival.
“It just gives us something to do as a family,” Mary Ann said.
But some friendly competition also drew in a few folks. Troy Harrell said he’s been coming to Sellersburg Celebrates! for about 15 years. He participated in a corn hole tournament Saturday.
“I like coming out here for the games and it’s something I like to bring my boys to,” Harrell said.
Janet Compton found a spot to sit with her funnel cake. She said she had come years ago with her children, but hadn’t been back for about 10 years after they had grown.
“I think it depends who you come with,” Compton said. “When you’re with your kids, you get a look at the games and rides. But for the rest of it, I think it’s a great little community event.”
Local musicians also brought in crowds from across Southern Indiana. The Louisville Crashers played Saturday night and several teen groups working with Mom’s Rock School in Jeffersonville provided live entertainment all day.
Quinn said bringing outside acts can bring crowds, but using local talent brings crowds that stay for the event all day instead of just one concert.
Quinn said he was glad to have a good staff to help him put the event together. With a completely volunteer staff of 23 people, he said the event really came together to entertain families in Sellersburg.
“What you ask for, they give you,” Quinn said. “We all refer to it as the labor of love. We don’t get paid, we don’t complain and we’re happy to do the work.” - By JEROD CLAPP Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com
July 4, 2011
Residents pack riverfronts for celebrations
Musical weekends highlight holiday in New Albany, Jeffersonville
By JEROD CLAPP
Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com
> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Jeffersonville and New Albany residents didn’t seem to mind saving the gas and staying at home for the holiday weekend, but a few out-of-towners came to see what the locals were checking out Sunday night.
New Albany’s Independence Day show at the Amphitheater and Jeffersonville’s Independence Celebration featured live music acts, including The Louisville Crashers in Jeffersonville and country stars Joe Diffie, Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin in New Albany.
Matt Dennison, president of the New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety and a member of the city’s riverfront committee, said he and Shelle England, riverfront committee chairwoman, spent a lot of volunteer hours putting together the free show at the New Albany Amphitheater.
“This is our big event,” Dennison said. “We felt like we had put on some good events before, but we worked to make this the big daddy of them all.”
Dennison said he thought this year’s crowd was bigger than any he’s seen at the waterfront.
England said it was exciting for her because the amphitheater hadn’t seen big names like Diffie, Kershaw and Tippin before.
“This was very different for us,” England said. “It involved bigger talent than we have dealt with for a while.”
Dennison said he was glad they were able to organize an event to entertain people from the area without charging them anything. He said little to no taxpayer money was used to fund the event.
After the music acts, the New Albany show ended with a fireworks display.
But locals weren’t the only ones who got in on the entertainment. Mike Pfaffenberger and Kelli Reinhart drove from Seymour to see the show.
Pfaffenberger said New Albany was just far enough away from home for the trip to feel like a getaway, but close enough to save money.
“I’ve never been [to the amphitheater] before,” Pfaffenberger said. “It’s very nice here, I’m actually surprised at how nice it is.”
He said while country music wasn’t really his favorite, he and Reinhart still had a good time.
Though thunder rolled, the fireworks show wasn’t deterred by threats of rain.
At the Jeffersonville show, the audience got more of a taste of classic rock music. Identity Crisis opened up the show, followed by the lead act, the Louisville Crashers.
Matt Rogers, a New Albany resident, was at the show in Jeffersonville and said he was having a good time.
“They’ve got great things out here for kids and adults to do,” Rogers said. “It’s great to be out here to support the city of Jeffersonville.”
Brian McEwen was at the Jeffersonville show with his wife, Angi. Brian said he’s enjoyed the shows at the Jeffersonville Riverstage before and wanted to see how the weekend celebration stacked up.
“We come down every time they have something,” McEwen said. “They usually have good musical acts you know and it seems like there are more and more people here every time.” - By JEROD CLAPP Jerod.Clapp@newsandtribune.com
Louisville Magazine, Louisville.com and the Louisville Crashers are teaming up to bring you an amazing night of music and dancing, and it's all for a good cause! Proceeds go to benefit Blessings in a Backpack, a wonderful charity that helps to feed hungry kids in the Kentuckiana area and across the country.
The Crash Bash is Nov. 24, 8-p.m. to midnight, at the Mellwood Arts and Entertainment Center (1860 Mellwood Ave.) This event is for people 21 and older. Admission is $10 with your donation of a new or gently used backpack, or $15 without a donation.
Bring your friends and family that are in town for the holidays.... or use this as an excellent excuse to get away from them.
Photo: Courtesy Louisville Crashers
- Louisville Magazine
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Bio
Mark Maxwell
(Lead Vocals)
A prominent member of the Louisville music scene, Mark began making a name for himself as lead singer and guitarist for the band Spanky Lee. He has performed with various groups throughout the years, sharing the stage with well known acts such as Cheap Trick, Eddie Money, Travis Tritt and Blake Shelton. Though most recognize him for his talents as an energetic and engaging front man and vocalist, Mark has also worked behind the scenes as a songwriter, producer, and manager for a number of artists. Mark has a long family history in music and is currently the owner of Mom's Music in Jeffersonville, IN.
Max Maxwell
(Drums/Vocals)
Max is a thirty-year veteran of the Louisville music scene. He has performed and recorded with numerous local, regional and national groups, including Trace Atkins, Kidd Rock, Chaka Kahn, N'SYNC, Michael McDonald, and Days of the New. Mr. Maxwell has also performed on the nationally televised Grand Ole Opry.
Shane Isenberg
(Guitar/Vocals)
Shane began his studies in guitar at age 12. He attended Musicians Institute (GIT) where he had the opportunity to study with many of LA's top musicians including Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson), Nick Nolan (Composer for Curious George), Scott Henderson (Tribal Tech), Barrett Tagliarino, Allen Hinds and Norman Brown, Shane is a graduate of Musicians Institute in Los Angeles, California. Shane's background includes scoring music for independent films, creating commercial jingles for radio, his smooth jazz music for iTunes as well as Musical Director for the VSC production of "Nobody Lonesome for Me". Shane currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky where he teaches and plays professionally.
Jesse Vest
(Bass)
Jesse began his career in music at an early age. The son of a guitar player and avid bluegrass fan, his first instrument was a banjo. At age 10, however, he discovered rock and roll. The banjo found its way to the closet and a bass player was born. Over the next several years he played and collaborated with various musicians, and found a creative bond with two of his classmates. This group would later become “Days of the New”, and the day after his high school graduation, Jesse Vest was on tour supporting the band’s debut album. The project turned out to be quite successful. Appearances on MTV, The Late Show with David Letterman, and opening shows for bands like Metallica and Aerosmith helped the band to become a platinum-selling artist in both the U.S. and Canada. Citing creative differences the band split up in 1998. Jesse moved on to co-found another band. Tantric, whose first album was released in 2001, enjoyed much of the same success. They performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and shared the stage with bands like 3 Doors Down and Creed.
Howard Gittli
(Guitar/Trumpet/Vocals)
Howard has been on the Louisville music scene for 25 years with popular bands such as : Shannon Lawson, Caribou, V-Groove, and VooDoo Lounge. Howard has also shared the stage with Foghat, Nazareth, and the Tonight Show Band. His musical studies have taken him around the world, and now feels that The Crashers are the ultimate in entertainment, and you will too!.
Geoff Gittli
(Sax/Flute/Keys/Vocals)
Geoff was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and played professionally for 28 years. He has played in numerous bands opening for the likes of Foghat, Nazareth, and Delbert McClinton. Geoff has played in bands with Shannon Lawson, Greg Foresman (with Martina McBride), and the Pink Floyd Experience. Geoff is currently the audio director for Northeast Christian Church.
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