Local Band Spotlight – The Crimson Star – Interview
It’s been a busy 18 months for rock fourpiece The Crimson Star since they finalised their lineup in early 2013; two EPs, a tonne of great shows including a slot on a biker festival, a Planet Rock DJ who always has one of their plectrums in his pocket and music video involving a metre-long hotdog are just part of their story. Off the back of their latest release — the EP No Ordinary Love – we shine our Scene Spotlight on them.
Band name: The Crimson Star
Genre: Rock
When did you form?: 2013
Current lineup: James Shaw — vocals and guitar, Ross Edgington — drums, Chris Rowley — bass, Dave Musson – guitar
Influences: Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Black Sabbath, Alter Bridge, Soundgarden, Led Zeppelin
What’s the story of the band? How did you form and what do you count as your biggest achievements so far?
James and Ross have been making music together for years, having previously been in metal band Forlorn, who released a couple of EPs and an album. It was when they were in Forlorn that they first met Dave, who was a writer and photographer for Powerplay Magazine at the time. Dave reviewed their EPs and did some promo photos for them. They all stayed in touch and, years later, Dave successfully auditioned for the role of guitarist. Just before Dave joined, James and Ross met Chris and jammed with him on a couple of The Crimson Star’s songs, and then lots of Metallica ones! All four of us clicked — both in terms of our personalities and our musicality — and the lineup was set.
One standout was when we released our debut EP — New Road -last summer with a headline show at the Academy 3, which Ross had to play with one arm after he was knocked off his bike and left with a broken arm (but that’s another story!). The EP actually only features James and Ross, as they recorded it to use as a tool to attract a decent bassist and guitarist. New Road was received pretty well, with favourable reviews from The Midlands Rocks, Powerplay Magazine and The Musical Outcast, and we’ve had airplay on BBC 6Music, BBC WM, TBFM and a few more internet radio stations.
Another highlight was our Christmas show last December. We headlined at the Flapper and played the whole gig in festive fancy dress, raising £300 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital along the way. It was a cracking night!
We’ve had some big moments this year too; we’ve just released our new EP, which we’re really excited about and we also played the Planet Rock stage at the Bike4Life festival, a charity event attended by around 3,000 bikers. It was great to play outside and we made friends with Planet Rock DJ Darren Redick too, as he was the event’s MC; in fact, he now carries an official The Crimson Star plectrum in his back pocket at all times! Finally, earlier this year we made a music video for our song The Greed Effect. It features global competitive eating celebrity Randy Santel taking on a one-metre long hotdog in Walsall…you kind of have to watch it for it to make sense!
What has been the best thing that has happened to the band since you formed?
It may seem like we’re jumping the gun saying this, but it has to be our new EP — No Ordinary Love. It has three catchy songs that really showcase what we’re about and the production is polished, without being over-produced. Also, the guitars sound awesome!
Oh, that and doing a photo shoot with Birmingham Live’s Steve Gerrard of course — that bit goes without saying!
When and where did you play your first show?
Friday 19 April 2013 at the Actress and Bishop.
How did it go?
Brilliantly! We were second on the bill and the room noticeably filled before we took to the stage — in fact, we’re pretty sure we had the best turnout of all the bands on the bill that night. Our set went by in a flash and people seemed to like our songs and energy. It was a huge confidence boost and our live shows have just kept on getting better since then.
What’s the biggest show you’ve played so far?
It would be the Bike4Life festival we mentioned earlier. A nice big stage, lots of people watching, a short and sharp set that left people wanting more and the chance to showcase ourselves to Planet Rock radio — it was pretty ace!
What is your favourite venue in Birmingham to play?
The Academy 3 has always been great to play and we had a blast at the Victoria back in April when we supported Dead Sea Skulls and the Bastard Sons — it has a cracking live room and a great atmosphere.
What does the immediate future hold for the band?
We’re supporting I Am Giant at the Oobleck on Friday 31 October and then, it’s back to hard work for another big year in 2015!
Apart from yourselves, what other unsigned West Midlands band(s) should we keep an eye out for?
Piston played on our EP launch show last year and they’re making great waves for themselves this year — we’re hoping to follow in their footsteps once our new EP comes out. Also, we’ve shared the stage a couple of times with Face of a Stranger, and they’re great guys who can really write a big chorus!
If you could have any band/artist cover one of your songs, who would you want to do it and what song would suit them best?
Pearl Jam would do a cracking version of A Darker Shade, while a lot of people have told us that our song No Ordinary Love has a Queens of the Stone Age vibe to it, so it’d be cool to hear Mr Homme have a stab at it!
The Crimson Star — the links effect
Website: www.thecrimsonstarmusic.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecrimsonstarmusic
YouTube: www.youtube.com/thecrimsonstarmusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tcsmusic
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/thecrimsonstarmusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tcsmusic
Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/thecrimsonstarmusic
In a band in the West Midlands and want to be featured on Scene Spotlight? Email your answers to the questions that The Crimson Star covered, including a decent photo of your band, and we’ll be in touch! All genres welcome.