I walked into Famous Sams on Golf Links and Kolb Friday May 6, 2011 to find a semi-full bar with screams of delight. Unfortunately for me, they were cheering for the Dallas Mavericks dismantling my favorite basketball team, the Los Angeles Lakers. There was still 3 minutes left in the game and I didn’t feel like arguing with any of the local patrons on how great my team has been in previous seasons. I noticed Crash Academy, the band playing tonight, was still setting up their gear on stage. I decide to not watch my Lakers blow their chances of winning a single game in their series with the Mavericks and walked over to the band to introduce myself.
Rob Hill is the rhythm guitarist, Steve Young plays the drums, Raymond Mezler is the bassist and the lead guitarist is Tony Lopez. These guys have been jamming together for over four years. I told the band members that I have only had the opportunity to watch them perform once and it was actually at that same venue almost two years ago on a date with my girlfriend. I have a close friend that actually worked with three of the guys and had always told me how fun their shows are.
After the Mavericks defeated my Lakers, the locals at the bar began to slowly depart. They obviously didn’t know what they were about to miss as Crash Academy began their first set with a favorite song of mine, “Plush” by Stone Temple Pilots. They didn’t have anyone on hand to run the sound board for them so their first few songs were a little off tune with some feedback noises. Once they figured the settings, the band got relaxed and continued to play other great songs from Green Day, Harvey Danger, and even The Steve Miller Band. I really enjoyed the Rage Against The Machine riff they added in the middle of “Flag Pole Sitta”…very cool indeed.
All the guys in the band alternated singing the various songs on their set list. Even Steve, the drummer, sang a song or two and had back up vocal duties throughout the evening. I always enjoy watching more than one lead singer in a band. They had a good variety of music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. They even pulled off a Duran Duran song! Not many rock bands cover Duran Duran. I was very impressed with their version of the Foo Fighters “Everlong.” Steve really was banging the skins with a thunderous tempo on this one.
As the night progressed, the songs sounded tighter and the band was really grooving to their music. Raymond also impressed me with his vocal skills on a rockabilly song by the Stray Cats. I am a huge fan of the Stray Cats, so this was a treat for me. Tony was not to be outdone by his band mates and did an excellent job of singing AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
If you enjoy a potpourri of various rock genres, look no further. Crash Academy caters to all your listening needs. In between sets, Raymond asked me what I wanted to hear. I told him I would love to hear System of A Down. I stumped them because they don’t play any of their songs but I assured them that they had already played many favorite songs such as the “Whoo hoo” song from Blur which is actually titled “Song 2.” I highly recommend you go catch Crash Academy’s next show at Eclipse on May 20, 2011 on 1601 N. Oracle Rd.
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