Simon Rushworth
They’re one of the hottest new British bands around and April sees The Crave release their much anticipated debut album Breaking The Silence.
Part melodic, part sleaze and part good time rock and roll the lads will tour the UK with fellow UK trailblazers Heaven’s Basement and Dear Superstar on what promises to be a raucous triple bill this month.
And to celebrate what’s set to be a breakthrough year for the Brighton band we caught up with frontman Ryan Burnett for an exclusive chat.
rushonrock: What’s the story behind the debut album?
Ryan Burnett: “We started recording the album at the very beginning of November and we’ve been in and out of the studio every couple of weeks since. We did the final two days’ mixing at the beginning of February. At the moment our manager is in the process of setting up a label to put it out and once that’s done we’ll take it to all of the majors and see what happens. We don’t have the money to do a full promotion ourselves but the record will be available from mid-April on out own site and iTunes. It’s called Breaking The Silence and that’s what it should do.
rushonrock: How ready are you to release a full length record?
RB: “The record is the result of a lot of hard work on the road and in the studio. We’ve been touring as The Crave for five years now and we spent the whole of 2009 playing gigs. We could have used songs we already knew and loved for the debut album but we’ve been playing some of them for a long, long time. We wanted the album to reflect where we are now so most of the stuff which made the final cut was written last year.
rushonrock: Is it fair to say you’ve earned your stripes on the road?
RB: “We did nine tours last year! We did two headline tours and the rest were as supports for some cracking bands. We opened up for the likes of Hot Leg, Shinedown, Buckcherry, Deep Purple, Hinder and Theory Of A Deadman. We’ve had an amazing reaction to our music from fans who didn’t turn up to see The Crave – even from people who went to see a heavy band like Shinedown. In fact I’d go as far as to say we didn’t have one bad gig all year. We didn’t have one bottle thrown at us and I can’t really remember a boo.
rushonrock: Is the live arena where its’ at for The Crave?
RB: “We make a real effort at the end of every gig to meet people at the merch stand and talk to them about music and whatever. It shows the fans that we’re human and makes us feel good after coming off stage.
rushonrock: For Crave newbies what kind of sound can they expect?
RB: “I would say our style is good melodic rock. It’s not metal and it’s not pop. But we like to keep our harmonies going as well as the guitars. We all grew up listening to different bands and liking different music. I was shaped by my dad’s record collection which featured the likes Free, Bad Company and the Rolling Stones. Carlos is a massive Aerosmith fan and CJ is more into the rap metal scene. But we’re a good mix and our music reflects that.
rushonrock: Where can we catch The Crave in the next few weeks?
RB: “We’re out with Heaven’s Basement and Dear Superstar in February which will be a riot. I think all three bands are at the forefront of a new British rock scene and it’s exciting to be part of that. For now the three of us are pretty much out there on our own but I can see more rock bands of a similar style following our lead and coming through.
rushonrock: But there’s more?
RB: “Yeah, being The Crave we’ve slipped in a couple of headline dates including Newcastle and Glasgow and I know we’re playing in Newcastle the same night as Europe. We were actually offered that support but turned it down. We went out with Gotthard a while ago and their audience is very similar to Europe’s – a bit old for us and not really energetic. It’s a bit too ‘Dad rock’ for us and right now we want to plug into a younger audience.