The first time I saw Crown City Rockers perform was several years ago on the football field of UC San Diego's campus. The UC's student government alloted funds to be spent four times a year on concerts that were free of charge for the students and the Oakland, California crew played an opening slot for Mos Def and his Black Jack Johnson band.
Raashan Ahmad (MC), Woodstock (Samples/Percussion), Headnodic (Bass guitar), Max MacVeety (Drums) and the lovely Miss Kat Ouano (Keyboards) jam together seamlessly and exude high-level energy that is both infectious and captivating. Amidst nostalgic touches of City High (RIP) and Lucy Pearl (RIP), the crew supplies a big bold band sound where Ahmad's fluid flow fits alongside harmonized vocal additives from the rest of the rocker posse.
A couple years after the UCSD performance, I ran into CCR digging for wax at 360 Vinyl and had a chance to chat with Kat. She was soft-spoken and humble but the woman is a beast on the keys. Currently, the band is touring the West coast promoting 5 Gold Stars, their tertiary musical offering since 2000, following albums One and Earthtones (my personal favorite to date).
Spectre Music was kind enough to share one of the new singles off 5 Gold Stars with us. You can also peep Restless, their other melodic single, on their website.
Crown City Rockers will be in Portland at the Crystal Ballroom this Saturday, November 8th
Download BODY ROCK * Only works in firefox, for now, sorry *
crowncityrockers.com/blog
Xoxo - S.
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