For well over 35 years, the trio of musicians that make up SWEET CRYSTAL - Marq Speck (lead vocals, keyboards), Bill Blatter (guitars, vocals) and Steve Wieser (drums) – have been at the front lines of the Michigan Christian rock scene, even before there was a definable label for this genre of modern music.
Forming the band right after high school, the band spent the 80’s touring clubs and arenas throughout Eastern and Midwest United States and Canada, opening for such diverse acts as Bob Seger, Nazareth, Steppenwolf, Foghat, Rare Earth and Stryper. They released the debut 6 song EP/cassette “Power-N-Glory” on the Nightcrier Music label in 1985, produced by Henry “H-Bomb” Weck, himself best known as the drummer of Brownsville Station (“Smokin’ In The Boys Room”) and gold-record producer of Blackfoot. Active touring came to a halt in the 90’s with most their studio time spent in penning and recording songs for independent films, corporate client events and personal music projects. In 2003, taking advantage of the internet’s worldwide reach, SWEET CRYSTAL released the CD “Still Standing…”. So far, the songs have been gathering accolades and airplay from such diverse locales as the Netherlands, Germany and New Zealand. 2006 saw the re-mastered release of “Power-N-Glory: Resurrected Masters” to the same excitement as the original.
One new incentive is that they have just signed with Tate Music Group (TMG), a high profile Christian music label out of Oklahoma. "After our recent showcase in Nashville" says Marq "an acquisition agent from TMG contacted us about taking over the production and marketing of the next CD (3) and we quickly agreed. This should be a great partnership in getting out to a wider audience. We’ve always wanted to reach the world with the message in our music. Our songs are meant to inspire and leave the listener feeling better about themselves.” explains Marq
“We’re pleased that there is an audience who still desire strong melodic content in the music as well as the more positive direction in the lyrics. “ explains Bill Blatter in a recent interview for the Dutch rock magazine/website “Strutter’Zine” (http://www.angelfire.com/ma/strutteraor). “Marq, Steve and I have put a lot of ourselves into this and are very pleased with what we have accomplished. There’s a lot to say about sticking together for almost 30 years!”
“And we love to jam” adds Steve.
Amen to all that.
3UL8R!
Read more...