Barikada
- World Of Music - Svastara - 2008 |
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BIG KRUSH
P o r t r a i t
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Big Krush (USA)
P o r t r a i t |
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Big Krush, classic rock / rock / soul band from
Utica, New York,
United States of America.
Review By: George Thatcher Editor, Glory-Daze, www.glory-daze.com
Big Krush - "Big Krush" (2005, Independent) (Points:
7.5 out of 10)
Background: Here's a band from upstate New York that might
tickle the fancy of may readers here. They are the six-piece outfit Big Krush.
These guys
operate out off the East Coast but their music is influenced from the other
side of
the continent. L. A. styled west coast music is their game, with a nod
to the likes of Toto, Chicago and Player. Big Krush is the mastermind of Bob
Acquaviva, the band being in existance now for five years. Bob is also a producer
and
eng: by day at his acclaimed Acqrok Studios in Utica, NY, so gettng these
tracks
scrubbed up proved to be no problem. Trainspotters may know that Bob was
also the Track Engineer on Boston's most recent release "Corporate America".
The
Songs: The music of Big Krush has a very 'live' and spontaneous feel
to it, and they groove in much the way a club house band would. It also means
that
their live instincts come to the fore in the delivery of these songs.
You
get that impression with some of them, "Hold On Tight" and "More Or Less"
being a couple of examples. Take a listen to the excellent "Good About Me",
which
takes on Chicago like strains, as does "This Time It's Real", the horn-blast
and funky groove all hitting home. When the band turned down the excitement,
they can slow burn to tunes like the ballad "Love Is A Desert" or the
deceiving "37 Summers" ... a slow groovin' number until the firey solo from
Acquiviva
kicks in. Probably the best representation of their sound is found on
the pair
of "(Gotta) Love Jones" (prob my favorite track on the album) and "I
Can't Wait", both West Coast oriented but with a bit of street smart urban
attitude
too!
In Summary: Big Krush are currently finishing up their second
album, a little bit more in the vain of Player, and little more blue eyed soul
with an edge, says Bob. The band will do some local touring to coincide with
the release. In the meantime, fans of West Coast (or East Coast for that
matter!)
should hop on over to the Big Krush website, and investigate for yourself.
Bob F. Acquaviva - guitars, vocals; Vince Cavo - vocals; Jerry
Crimmins - vocals; Jose M. Lopez - vocals; Tim Mish - keyboards; Joe Restifo
- bass, vocals; Lenny Milano - drums, percussion.
Review By: George Thatcher
Big Krush
- "Big
Krush" (2005, Independent) (Points: 8.4 out of 10)
Out of nowhere comes
Big Krush, an American
band
with
a very strong calm AOR / Westcoast release like a mix between
Pablo Cruise / Little River Band (the close-harmony vocals), early 80s
Santana, Toto (the
guitar work and song structures) and King Of Hearts (the light sound).
Actually this
CD
is the most pure Westcoast release I have heard in ages. It is
similar in style to the AOR project of Frederic Slama, Alliance 1982
("I can't wait"),
Dakota
("Good about me") and Balance as well, so I think you now
know what to expect, namely a song based album with very melodic clean lead
vocals
in
the Toto / Franke
And The Knockouts style and songs a la David Roberts,
Jay Gruska and
Player, so the insiders then will understand we have something
really interesting here.
If anyone had told me this was a Japanese re-issue
from
a
1982
record I would
have instantly believed it. In fact, after sitting with this
album for a
week I finally found out the absolute best comparison, which
is not David Roberts, but good ole John O'Banion, so if anyone out there
likes his
1980s
records,
well then you're gonna love this Big Krush for sure. This
New York based band
is without a doubt a must-have for the Westcoast / AOR fans!
e-mail
at: acqrok@adelphia.net
Bob
Acquaviva - guitar, vocals; Vince Cavo - lead vocals, keys; Jose M Lopez
- lead vocals, percussion; Jerry Crimmins - lead vocals,
percussion; Tim Mishalanie - keyboards; Joe Restifo - bass; Lenny Milano
-
drums, percussion.
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