The Crash Kings
The Crash Kings is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The members are vocalist-keyboardist Antonio "Tony" Beliveau, his brother and bassist Mike Beliveau, and drummer Jason Morris. The band's self-titled debut album Crash Kings was released May 26, 2009 on Custard/Universal Motown. "Mountain Man", the band's first single, was released to U.S. modern rock radio stations in October, and entered Billboard's Alternative Songs chart the following month. It reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative Radio charts in March 2010.[1] The band is known for using analog keyboards such as the Clavinet with distortion effects and a whammy bar in place of a typical lead guitar.[2]
The Crash Kings | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, hard rock |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | Custard, Universal Motown, Universal Republic, Republic |
Website | www.crashkingsmusic.com |
Members | Antonio "Tony" Beliveau Mike Beliveau Tom Roslak |
Past members | Jason Morris |
History
Brothers Mike and Tony Beliveau grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, a suburban city north of Boston.[3] Tony started playing piano by age six, and started to write music during middle school. After high school, he briefly studied jazz piano at the University of North Texas before deciding to return to Boston and ultimately attend the Berklee College of Music where younger brother Mike was already a student. After Berklee and relocating to Los Angeles, Tony sent Mike (who had relocated to New York) some recorded tracks he had been working on. Impressed with the tracks and Tony's singing, Mike packed up and moved to LA a week later.[4]
A few months after the band's formation, the band drew the attention of songwriter and record producer Linda Perry, who met with vocalist/keyboardist Antonio Beliveau, and signed the group to her Custard Records label.[5] After the band performed for Sylvia Rhone, president of Universal Music Group's Motown Records, The Crash Kings were led to Dave Sardy, who produced the band's eponymous debut album for Custard/Universal Motown.[5] Released on May 26, 2009,[6] the album reached number 30 on Billboard's U.S. Top Heatseekers albums chart.[7] The album's first single, "Mountain Man", entered the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in November and peaked at number one on March 28, 2010.[8] The band has toured with such artists as Chris Cornell,[9] Anberlin, Stone Temple Pilots,[10] David Cook,[11] Jet, The Bravery,[12] Mason Jennings,[13] and Rooney.[14]
The band completed recording and released a new album titled Dark of the Daylight. The band had a great amount of difficulty releasing the album and turned to online crowd sourcing site Kickstarter in order to release it.
Personnel
- Antonio Beliveau - Lead Vocals, Piano, Clavinet, Keyboards
- Mike Beliveau - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Tom Roslak - Drums, Percussion
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
U.S. Heat[7] | ||
2009 | Crash Kings
|
25 |
2013 | Dark of the Daylight
|
17 |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak chart positions[15] | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Alt [8] |
U.S. Main. Rock |
U.S. Rock [8] |
CAN | CAN Alt [16] |
CAN Rock [16] | |||
2009 | "Mountain Man" | 1 | 32 | 13 | 54 | 2 | 2 | Crash Kings |
2010 | "You Got Me" | 19 | — | 48 | — | — | — | |
"Non-Believer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
2013 | "Hot Fire" | — | 30 | — | — | — | — | Dark of the Daylight |
References
- "Chart Beat Wednesday: Crash Kings, Carrie Underwood, STP". Billboard. 2010-03-31. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Arsenault, Nici (2013-08-26). "CRASH KINGS - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A CLAVINET?!". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- "10 to Spin - Crash Kings". Speakers in Code. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
- "Crash Kings: November 2012 Cover Story". Performer Magazine. 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
- "Rocking Hard Without Guitars" (PDF) (Press release). Custard Records. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crash Kings: Crash Kings > Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- "Crash Kings - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- "Crash Kings Album & Song Chart History". Billboard (Nielsen Company). Retrieved 2010-01-23.
- Sadof, David (2009-09-13), Chris Cornell and Crash Kings' Pianist Tony Beliveau Perform 'Imagine' on Conan O'Brien, Examiner.com (Clarity Digital Group)
- Ross, Mike (2009-11-12). "STP a Tribute Act to Themselves". Edmonton Sun (Sun Media Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- Grogan, Leigh (2009-08-21). "Idol's David Cook Headlines Opening Night of Fair". The Sacramento Bee (The McClatchy Company). Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- "The Bravery, The Dustys, and Crash Kings at - Events". The A.V. Club (The Onion). 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- "Crash Kings - 1 Lucky Winner Contest". Altsounds. 2009-08-12. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
- "Crash Kings, Rooney Tour Dates". IndependentMusic Blog. 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- "Crash Kings Album & Song Chart History". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- "Canadian Active/Alternative Charts | Media Source". Mediasource.proboards.com. Retrieved 2020-04-02.