Progressive rockers SWEET CRYSTAL have been around for a while now, releasing various releases from LPs, EPs, singles, and more. The band already has all new material already set for the next release expected this Valentines holiday! The band talks of their music and more below.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
I’m Marq Andrew Speck, lead vocalist and keyboard player for 24-time Detroit Music Award winning band SWEET CRYSTAL (www.sweetcrystal.com). Along with founding members guitarist Bill Blatter and drummer Steve Wieser and now joined by newest member and bass player Martin Kuchar, we have been at the forefront of the Christian rock scene here in Michigan even before this genre had its own radio and broadcast outlets.
2. What’s the origin of the band’s name?
The name of the band reflects the message of our music and mission referring to passages in the Book Of Revelation that describe a river of sweet water flowing out from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Sounded like an amazing sight to see and place to be…so we adopted it and never looked back!
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Basically, we are considered a Detroit band and have been since we started this journey. In the beginning, we opened up for such classic rock acts as Bob Seger, Foghat, Nazareth, Steppenwolf and many more before finding our true path into the Christian music field. The local scene is active but the ‘pay to play’ mindset has crept in and that can be a deterrent to getting the bigger gigs especially for bands just starting out. Locally, we’d suggest looking into the music of Second Hand Mojo (https://www.reverbnation.com/secondhandmojo) and David Winans’ Pi (https://www.reverbnation.com/davidwinanspi) for a completely different side of what’s coming out of Motown these days.
4. How would you describe your style?
We started out totally influenced by the progressive rock English music scene of the 60’s and 70’s: bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep all left their musical marks on our writing and playing. We also listened to a lot of American bands like Kansas, Journey, Rush and Spock’s Beard to keep our creative juices flowing. This latest album ‘7th HEAVEN’ continues where our last release ‘Got Your Six’ left off: songs of hope and inspiration featuring our signature guitar sounds, synth melodies, straight ahead drumming with just a few chanting monks thrown in for good measure.
5. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
Including this new one: 2 Full CDs, 5 EPs, 3 vinyl 45’s (back in the day – very hard to find now)
6. Do you have any new music in the works?
We just finished our latest release “7th Heaven” – which happens to be our 7th CD as well – and it is slated to drop everywhere (digital downloads, streaming and physical CDs) on Valentine’s Day (2/14/22) making that holiday… even Sweeter. We previously released 4 singles from “7th Heaven” during 2020/21 with video support (on our YouTube channel and other social sites) but thought waiting until this New Year (with the very challenging last two years behind us) might be just the spark our fans and audiences would appreciate to make 2022 a much happier New Year indeed. Our complete discography can be heard over at our Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages.
BANDCAMP: https://sweetcrystal.bandcamp.com
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sweet_crystal
7. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
Even though 2020/21 were a very tough years for us - and everyone for that matter, what with the closing of most venues and other places to play out - we had the great experience of Live Streaming a 30-minute performance from our personal studios Nightcrier Music here outside of Detroit. It’s up on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/AW776sHKAes along with a lot of other online and live event videos that give a pretty sweet view into all things Crystal. It turns out this was a great way for our fans and new audiences to experience who we are and what we offer musically while relaxing at home or anywhere they can get the web. We miss the live audience feedback of a concert appearance but this at least kept us smiling.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
New songs already being recorded for our next release ‘8’ this time around featuring more lead vocals from (guitarist) Bill. New promotion company (Rogue PR) taking the reins for a while to get the Sweet Crystal brand into more markets. Booking shows and benefit concerts to play again as we all get back to normal. Basically we plan to remain exactly who we are for as long as can.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
WEBSITE: www.sweetcrystal.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/SweetCrystalBand
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/c/SweetCrystal
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sweet_crystal
REVERBNATION: www.reverbnation.com/sweetcrystal
SPOTIFY: http://tinyurl.com/y76vcpqg
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sweet_crystal
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Our trademarked slogan “Reaching The World, One Song At A Time” ™ pretty much says it all about our music, message, mission and ministry. We are here to reach out to a world with songs of hope and inspiration; a musical light at the end of every dark tunnel you might be going through because chances are good – we’ve gone through those very same tunnels ourselves and definitely have found a way out.
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