In this week’s 10 Questions we get to know Crash World, an indie music duo from Vancouver, Canada.
Their song ‘Devil’s Right Hand‘ is currently featured on the NAS Spotify playlists
You can follow Crash World on their website and on Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, Tik Tok and Bandcamp
1. Tell us a little about where you are from.
Graham and I (Glen) are from Vancouver, Canada. However, Graham was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
In July of 2014, Graham and I ran into each other at a Nick Cave & The Bads Seeds show. We have a deep love of that band. The opening act that night was the late, great Mark Lanegan. That night Mark performed with only the accompaniment of guitarist Jeff Fielder. Although Jeff was playing an SG, it was still so intimate. The music just seemed so powerful and connected to the audience on another level. It was the final piece of the puzzle for me. So simple, so real, so raw. Nowhere to hide sonically. Just two voices and an acoustic guitar. It was all about connecting on an intimate level with an audience. That’s what I was moving towards.
A few days later Graham and I got together for lunch and we discussed the idea of an acoustic based project. We agreed to give it our best and the rest is history.
We rehearsed for over a year learning a lot of covers from different genres. Initially I didn’t push to write songs for the new project. I wanted to let the music we were playing from the 1920’s all the way to the 1990’s and beyond, infuse the writing that would come. We were playing Jazz, Ragtime, Blues, Country, Folk and Pop/Rock. It was all going into our repertoire. So over time when I began to write, the canvas had gotten bigger. The flood gates opened and many of those songs later became a part of our debut album in 2022, So The Story Goes.
The question was always going to be, “Do we record as an acoustic duo?” or “Do we go all in and provide everything the songs are demanding as far as arrangements and instrumentation go?” Well we went with latter and had one of the most amazing and fulfilling musical experiences of our lives. Making that record was magic. And it has been received with great appreciation and praise. For this we are definitely humbled and grateful.
As far as growth since the album I’d say we have continued to mine the territory we staked out with the album. Stylistically it is broad and ambitious in scope which we are very proud of.
So since So The Story Goes was released we have continued to release a series of singles that have broadened and strengthened out style and sound.
2. What inspired Crash World to start playing and making music?
Like a lot of young people it was the influence of my older brothers that got the ball rolling. My earliest musical memory of real significance was one of my brothers giving me his LP of The Beatles – Yellow Submarine S/T. Six songs on Side 1 and the Orchestral Score on Side 2. I’d say Side One changed my life. The world went from black & white to technicolor. It just fired my imagination and I couldn’t get enough. In those early years some other album’s my brothers betowed upon me were Neil Young – Harvest, The Who – Live At Leeds, Jethro Tull – Aqualung, Todd Rundgren – A Wizard/A True Star and then The Who – Quadrophenia plus many more I discovered on my own. What an era to be experiencing music that was new and exciting.
At age six was also when my dear Mother asked me if I’d like to take guitar lessons. So I did for a few years with a kindly local lady. Once I got my first electric guitar around the age of ten it was all learning by ear. And what an education it was.
My earliest musical memory of real significance was one of my brothers giving me his LP of The Beatles – Yellow Submarine S/T.
3. Who are Crash World’s biggest musical influences?
For me part of the magic of Crash World is a giving back. It’s a way of sharing and conveying styles and elements of music that really turned my head as a young music fan. These classic touches still give me shivers and it is so glorious to be able to indulge the songs we record with as much or as little as they seem to be calling for. As a songwriter, I hear the finished version in my head, but to bring that to life is a lot sometimes. But in the end it is enormously satisfying to do so.
My influences are different than Graham’s, that’s for sure, but we do share a lot of common ground. I draw from Ian Hunter, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, early Elton John, The Faces as I have deep love of Ronnie Lane, and on and on down that road. And I love the great side players of history like Nicky Hopkins on piano and Paul Buckmaster’s string arrangements are amazing.
Graham would lean into darker places and definitely more eclectic corners.
As I mentioned one huge common ground for Graham and I is Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. We’ve seen them many times over the years and have even done some theme performances where we do an entire night of their music. Arranging full band arrangements for one acoustic guitar is a big challenge, but very gratifying for me.
We have been described as genre fluid and also Progressive Canadiana. Those descriptions resonate pretty well with us.
Pitch Perfect, a Chicago publication said of us, “Crash World exists in the yellow glow of Edison bulbs, leather couches and dark hardwood.” That’s pretty cool as well.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
I live to make music and create. Writing music is my passion and Crash World is my vehicle. I simply want to write and record the best Crash World music we can and share it with the world. Everything beyond that is bonus territory.
Connecting with music lovers is a gift that can’t be under appreciated. Establishing Crash World and continuing to grow our audience is enormously gratifying and is ever evolving.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
Songs come in various ways, but generally a great lyric line or theme gets the juices flowing. And then it’s a matter getting out of my own way and let the song flow out and find its way. Then it’s detail work like melody, lyrics and arrangement. Lyrics get a lot of my attention and I strive to never waste a word. In the end, everything is just how I mean it to be, for better or for worse.
Once the seeds come its the acoustic guitar in my hands to find the musical part of the equation. That leads to chords, riffs, tempos, rhythms and most importantly melodies.
I do a great deal of preparation before going to the studio where we work with a producer who has brought a great deal of empathy, energy and understanding to the table regarding what we do and how we do it. We are very lucky to have developed an incredible team that contributes to the recording of Crash World’s music.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
There are simply too many to mention, I couldn’t possibly pick just one. However, I will throw one out there that has me in its spell once again. “Long, Long, Long Time” by Tears For Fears. The melodies, vocal performance, production and writing are incredible. The craft is at the highest level. Great songwriters.
The melodies, vocal performance, production and writing are incredible.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
I always remember Steven Tyler referring to the creative process as “letting the little kid out”. So yeah get in that sandbox and create. Don’t be limited, the sky is the limit. You are creating something out of nothing, so why impose boundaries on yourself. Just get out of your own way and let it happen. It’s a joyous process.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
I’ll just say the entire Crash World project is something both Graham and I are very proud of. The recording of So The Story Goes in two separate studios, two separate teams with some very heavy cats playing on those sessions was a life long dream come true, simply because we made an album we’d always wanted to make. It cost plenty but was worth it to record in that manner. Big goals, big studios, big results. A thrilling experience.
It cost plenty but was worth it to record in that manner.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
A Crash World show that comes to mind, was an outdoor summer performance for a street festival. When we got there and set up, the very young fella that was helping set up turned out to be the sound-man. When I asked where the other side of the PA was, he said, that is the PA. I said, “Wow, we do occasionally touch on an old-timey vibe, so I guess we’ll lean in to it because today we’re playing in MONO”. So we cooked in the hot summer sun, coming out of this tiny speaker, wondering if the audience could even hear us.
Later a friend of mine mentioned he’d seen the show. When I mentioned to PA and the various PA adjustments throughout the performance he said, “Yeah, I saw the sound-boy running around.” I thought that was pretty funny…”sound-boy”.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
I’d say over time, giving your all to projects that fell apart or imploded. Those times especially when you’re young can seem quite devastating. But over time all of those experiences lead you to the person you will become. And the ups and downs are somehow all worth it.
At this point we’re on a pretty consistent high with Crash World, with plans for the next several years. I’d recommend long term planning, because with the many hats one must wear as an Indie artist these days, it helps to have a plan so that you can prioritize the creativity, and not get swallowed up by managing only the social media and business aspects of what we all do.
Lastly, finding NAS has been a safe haven of artistic integrity, inspiration and community. Just the most incredible oasis in the wasteland. Like a great song, Ed Eagle created something special where previously nothing like it had existed. And then all the support that has made it so strong. Amazing!
Lastly, finding NAS has been a safe haven of artistic integrity, inspiration and community.
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