Crash Romeo

Biography

Travis - Vocals, Guitar
Steve - Guitar, Vocals
Adam - Keys/Synth, Vocals
Lil Steve - Bass, Vocals
Ryan - Drums

Crash Romeo has the hooks, melodies, and classic song writing of power pop, meshed with younger punk aggression. They coexist nicely in both the rock scene and among more punk-influenced bands, nestled between influences such as Social Distortion and Face to Face. The band is made up of five friends, Travis Weber (vocals), Ryan Weber (drums), Steve Anderson (guitar), Lil' Steve Matthews (bass, vocals) and Adam Nordmeyer (synths, keyboard). These guys have been playing music for over eight years, and they are all self taught musicians under the age of twenty-five! Crash Romeo is named after a combination of the character traits that all of the band members share, referring to relationships and past experiences, especially as their previous band, Centsless. They feel that the reason that Crash Romeo runs so smoothly is that the members of the band know each other so well. A unique fixture within Crash Romeo's sound is the prominent synth parts in many of their songs. Says Travis: "We felt that adding synths and keyboards to our band would give a whole new and unusual element, and that giving us a lot of synth-driven melodies would make us more distinctive."

Crash Romeo's youthful exuberance is highlighted by the emphasis on fun in both their live show and offstage behavior. An example of this is at Bamboozle, when the band created an impromptu dance party in the back parking lot on the top of their van. This was no normal dance party: Adam was wearing a thong and Lil' Steve was wearing purple spandex. Not to mention that their van was sandwiched between A Static Lullaby's and Alkaline Trio's. The fun is translated into their lyrics, which cover a range of topics, from relationships to touring to life in New Jersey. One of their classic songs, "Story of a Centsless Life," refers directly to their previous band, talks about their personal experiences struggling to get recognized. Hardships included touring in a mini-school bus (a short bus, if you will), which broke down on the way to the Skate and Surf Fest, and had to get towed. Before that, they were using a 1978 RV with shag carpeting, a la the movie Spaceballs.

The band is busy recording an LP debut for Trustkill at Portrait Recording Studios with producer/engineer Chris Bandami, who will be adding his talents to create huge pop soundscapes, like he did when working with his previous clients, The Starting Line, Roses are Red, and The Early November. Says guitarist Steve Anderson, "We love Chris, and there is no one else that we would rather work with. We go eight years back to his old studio in his parents' house, and it has been non stop old stories the entire time of recording." The band lets on most of the new album is focused on relationships (of the female variety), but also on the past year of experiences leading up to the signing. They use metaphors to speak of personal stories, each of which dips into hilarity and ridicule, all of which attempt to make sense of their whirlwind of a year. The band even endeavors branching out of the power pop realm, with a darker song that swings, and one eighties dance influenced song called "The Hot Commodity," which mocks the urge to be head-strong and over confident, the way other bands do. Crash Romeo spent a ton of time perfecting the album, locking themselves in a basement for two months churning out songs, and then picking the best ones. Because of this deliberate process, they felt that everything they wrote sounded more mature then what they did with Centsless. "The main thing we did with the album is that we tried to make sure that there was no fluff. We tried to write the entire album around every song being a hit, not just one."

Crash Romeo has been sticking to the back streets of touring, doing mostly their own smaller tours on the East Coast, but they have also hit larger venues, like Bamboozle this past summer. Their song on the new album, "Heading West," is about the whole concept of finally getting a chance to leave New Jersey, because as a band, they've never made it past the Mississippi. The band's performances attract a wide audience, ranging from kids age 13 to kids in college. The fans have been extremely supportive, sending tons of mail, generating lots of buzz on Myspace, and even making their own T-shirts for shows. They are ready to explode into the national touring circuit this spring.

The band acknowledges that there is a blatant difference in their musical style as compared to the rest of the bands on Trustkill, but this difference is something that they treasure. Steve says, "As soon as we found out that there was a chance with Trustkill, we didn't even think of anyone else. We were ecstatic, because we knew right then and there that Trustkill would be the label that would be least likely to sign us." The band takes pride in blurring boundaries, and is ready to take the next step in their career. They feel that this is the culmination of years of hard work. "We have been working with bands and music for over eight years, and we kept ourselves open to the opportunity of making the band a full priority. We took jobs at pizzerias and flower shops, and other places that would understand if we had to take off. And here we are." The band was discovered by Trustkill through their good New Jersey pals BEDlight for Blue EYES, who tipped the label off to a show happening locally, and the rest is history.

A stand-out feature of the band is definitely their fashion sense, which is very obviously new-wave-punk influenced. The band isn't embarrassed to say that their style comes naturally, and they have been dressing in tight pants, Converse All-stars, and dyed Mohawks since middle school. "We do try to look good on stage. Everyone gets snazzed up for our shows, because it is important to us, but it isn't a stretch, because we have always dressed like this." Look for the album in early 2006, and look for a rigorous touring schedule in the Spring, read less

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