The Crüxshadows

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The Crüxshadows

Promotional photo
Background information
Origin Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Genre(s) Synthpop
Dark Wave
Steampunk
Gothic Rock (early)
Years active 1992–present
Label(s) Dancing Ferret Discs
Website www.cruxshadows.com
Members
Rogue

Cassandra Luger
Jen "Pyromantic" Jawidzik
Jessica Lackey
JoHanna Moresco
David Russell Wood
Sarah Stewart
Former members
Valerie Gentile
Rachel McDonnell
Stacey Campbell
George Bikos
Tim Curry (musician)
Kevin Page
Chris Brantley
Trevor Brown
Sean Flanagan
Beth Allen
Holly McCall
Rachel Ulrich
Sarah Poulos

The Crüxshadows (pronounced /ˈkruːʃædoʊz/)[1] are an independent music group from Florida. Their sound is made up of a combination of moody male vocals, electric violin, guitar, and synth. Centered around vocalist and songwriter Rogue, the Crüxshadows blend 1980s inspired synth-pop and modern rock with poetic and introspective lyrics.

The band has enjoyed global popularity,[2] releasing CDs worldwide and touring extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.[3]

For most of the band's career, they have been signed with Dancing Ferret Discs, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4] Lyrically much of the Crüxshadows' music draws its influence and subject matter from mythology, religion, history, and dreams.[5] Often referred to with the acronym CXS, their motto is Live Love Be Believe.

Contents

[edit] History

The band was originally formed in 1992 by Rogue, Sean Flanagan[6], and Tim Curry, in Tallahassee, Florida.[7] Their debut album, ...night crawls in, was self-released under the "Black Widow Music" label in 1993, followed by their first CD release, Telemetry of a Fallen Angel, in 1996. Telemetry earned them a fair amount of recognition and produced the band's first signature song, Marilyn, My Bitterness. In 1997 they signed a short-lived record deal with Nesak International.[8] Flanagan and Curry left the band a few months later[9]. Toward the end of 1997, their interests were transferred to Dancing Ferret Discs[10], and Telemetry became the new label's first release. Rogue assembled a new musical lineup and recorded The Mystery of the Whisper, Paradox Addendum and Until the Voices Fade... (1998–2000).[11]

In 2000, the band released the song Deception as part of the Vampire: The Masquerade sountrack. During that year, they began to actively promote their music in Europe, particularly Germany, and recorded Deception in a German language version titled Täuschung. They played their first tour of Europe[12] and released a special limited edition CD available only at their European live shows called Intercontinental Drift. Due to high fan demand, a slightly expanded version was officially released worldwide with the title Echoes and Artifacts.[13]

Although a U.S. band, they have enjoyed phenomenal success in Europe[14]: after debuting at #5, the 2002 EP Tears stayed in the Deutsche Alternative Charts for 8 weeks[15] and subsequent releases have consistently placed in the top 5.[16] That same year they released the album Wishfire which also placed at #2 on the DAC[15] and secured the band's popularity both in the USA and in Europe. In Late 2003, The band released Ethernaut and produced one of its most recognizable and enduring songs to date, Winterborn. In 2004 The Crüxshadows released a remix disc based on the material on the Ethernaut CD called Fortress In Flames. Both CDs featured cover art created by noted artist Chad Michael Ward.[17]

In 2005 The band released a DVD called Shadowbox. The DVD featured a 2004 performance given to 15,000 fans at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig Germany and demonstrated the kind of theatrical intensity the band's concerts are known for having.[18] It also contained several music videos, a few documentaries about the band, many extras, and an additional audio CD. The song "Foreverlast" was released as part of the DVD/CD combo.[19]

Their 2006 single, "Sophia", made its debut on the Billboard Charts in the issue dated September 23, 2006. "Sophia" debuted at #1 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, replacing Beyoncé in the top spot. At the same time, it placed at #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. On both charts, "Sophia" was the highest-ranking debut entry that week.[20] The release of "Sophia" coincided with the band's performance at 2006's Dragon*Con. In an interview on the Dragon Con website, Rogue credits much of the single's success to that performance[21]. Sophia remained in the charts for 19 weeks, including a re-entry [22] almost a year later. In 2007 The Crüxshadows released the long anticipated Dreamcypher, followed by a second single, Birthday. Birthday debuted at #1 on the Billboard Dance Singles Sales Chart [23] and was the #2 selling single of any genre in the entire country that week [24], second only to the single from High School Musical 2

The band toured China in May 2007, and became the first goth band ever to perform at an open-air festival in China. This performance took place during the MIDI Festival [25] and was covered by Chinese television and print media [26].

Members Rachel McDonnell, George Bikos, and Sarah Poulos left the group at the end of the 2007 DreamCypher tour, and the band gained newest members Valerie Gentile, JoHanna Moresco, David Russel Wood, and Sarah Stewart (originally listed as Sarah Kilgore). This new lineup released the single "Immortal" on July 4 (Europe)/July 8 (USA), and began the 2008 Immortal Tour. Immortal became the band's third consecutive Billboard top ten single (by sales) in the United States. Valerie Gentile toured with the band for 2008, but early 2009, she decided to depart. Cassandra Luger was chosen to take her place in the band.

The band's sales are strong on both sides of the Atlantic and their music remains a staple of club dance floors worldwide. In Germany, they have appeared on several TV shows and on the covers of a number of magazines[27]. Their music has been used in American Television programs on VH1, MTV, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Logo, and ABC.[citation needed]

Throughout their history, the band has toured extensively, averaging between 100–120 live shows per year.[28] Their tours have thus far taken them to more than thirty countries, sometimes playing for crowds of 25,000 or more[29]. They have also made a point to play smaller cities in the US and Europe that do not often have the chance to host live shows by major touring acts.[3]

[edit] Touring

The band is known for extensive touring, appearing in club shows, theatre shows, and at festivals in Europe and North America annually. In 2007, they were invited to play at the Midi Festival in Beijing, China.[30][31]

[edit] Members

  • Rogue – lead vocals, violin, programming
  • Cassandra Luger - guitar
  • Jen "Pyromantic" Jawidzik – live keyboard and synthesizer, backing vocals
  • Jessica Lackey – lead dancer, vocals
  • JoHanna Moresco - violin
  • David Russell Wood - violin
  • Sarah Stewart - dancer, vocals
Former members
  • Valerie Gentile – guitar, backing vocals
  • Rachel McDonnell – keyboard, violin
  • Stacey Campbell – guitar, vocals
  • George Bikos – guitar
  • Tim Curry (musician) – guitar
  • Kevin Page – guitar
  • Chris Brantley – keyboard, vocals
  • Trevor Brown – keyboard
  • Sean Flanagan – keyboard
  • Beth Allen – dancer
  • Holly McCall – dancer, vocals
  • Rachel Ulrich – dancer
  • Sarah Poulos – dancer, vocals

[edit] Discography

Leverkusen 12/06/2002

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs & singles

Released Title
1993 ...Night Crawls In
1995 (original release) Telemetry of a Fallen Angel
1999 The Mystery of the Whisper
2001 Echoes and Artifacts/Intercontinental Drift
2002 Wishfire
2003 Ethernaut
2004 Telemetry of a Fallen Angel (anniversary edition)
2005 ...Night Crawls In (reissue)
2006 The Mystery of the Whisper & Until the Voices Fade (reissue)
2007 DreamCypher
Released Title Type
1998 Until the Voices Fade... EP
2000 Paradox Addendum EP
2001 Tears EP
2003 Frozen Embers EP
2004 Fortress In Flames EP
2006 Sophia Single
2007 Birthday Single
2008 Immortal Single

[edit] DVDs

Released Title Type
2005 Shadowbox CD+DVD

[edit] Chart peak positions

[edit] References

  1. ^ Interview with Rogue of the Crüxshadows
  2. ^ http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/ENT05/60111009/1061 International Recording Artists
  3. ^ a b http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A22842 Pittsburgh City Paper
  4. ^ http://www.darkwavelounge.com/ferret.html Interview with Patrick Rodgers of Dancing Ferret
  5. ^ http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php?id=22607_0_16_0_C Sideline Magazine Interview with Rogue
  6. ^ http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm bands website bio claims keyboard players name was Flanagan, not Beard
  7. ^ http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php?entry=100&t=Rogue%2C+from+the+Cruxshadows%2C+interviewed+by+Benny+Hell Interview with Rogue of the Crüxshadows
  8. ^ http://www.emusic.com/artist/11606/11606018.html emusic biography
  9. ^ http://www.windowsmedia.com/Mediaguide/Templates/Biography.aspx?p_id=P%20%20%20211741 Microsoft windows media guide
  10. ^ http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/archives/rodgers_ferret.html interview with Patrick Rodgers
  11. ^ lyrics & Discography
  12. ^ http://www.lollipop.com/disc56/thecruxshadows.html Crüxshadows go to Europe
  13. ^ http://www.shout.ru/news/news_october2004_e.htm echoes & Artifacts review
  14. ^ Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL
  15. ^ a b http://www.trendcharts.de/ German Charts
  16. ^ http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm Crüxshadows Biography
  17. ^ http://www.digitalapocalypse.com/clients.php Chad Michael Ward client list
  18. ^ http://www.starvox.net/crypt/wgt2004/3.htm Crüxshadows Concert review
  19. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Cruxshadows-Shadowbox/dp/B0009KFQ4G Crüxshadows Shadowbox amazon page
  20. ^ http://www.cruxshadows.com/billboard.html Billboard reference PDF's
  21. ^ http://www.dragoncon.org/pdfs/biz.yahoo.com_news_crux.pdf Indie Band Replaces Beyonce at Top of Billboard
  22. ^ Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales
  23. ^ Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales
  24. ^ Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales
  25. ^ Ãôµñòôàö½Ú Ö÷Îèì¨
  26. ^ 图文：迷笛第四天落幕-CRUXSHADOWS性感装束_影音娱乐_新浪网
  27. ^ Ethernaut
  28. ^ http://www.cruxshadows.com/tour.htm Crüxshadows tour schedule
  29. ^ http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm Official band bio
  30. ^ Rock In China - News
  31. ^ http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=19581_0_2_0_C Crüxshadows play Beijing, China

[edit] External links

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