Big Krush (USA) P o r t r a i t

Big Krush, classic rock / rock / soul band from Utica, New York, United States of America.

Review By: George Thatcher Editor, Glory-Daze, www.glory-daze.com
Big Krush - "Big Krush" (2005, Independent) (Points: 7.5 out of 10)

Background: Here's a band from upstate New York that might tickle the fancy of may readers here. They are the six-piece outfit Big Krush. These guys operate out off the East Coast but their music is influenced from the other side of the continent. L. A. styled west coast music is their game, with a nod to the likes of Toto, Chicago and Player. Big Krush is the mastermind of Bob Acquaviva, the band being in existance now for five years. Bob is also a producer and eng: by day at his acclaimed Acqrok Studios in Utica, NY, so gettng these tracks scrubbed up proved to be no problem. Trainspotters may know that Bob was also the Track Engineer on Boston's most recent release "Corporate America".

The Songs: The music of Big Krush has a very 'live' and spontaneous feel to it, and they groove in much the way a club house band would. It also means that their live instincts come to the fore in the delivery of these songs. You get that impression with some of them, "Hold On Tight" and "More Or Less" being a couple of examples. Take a listen to the excellent "Good About Me", which takes on Chicago like strains, as does "This Time It's Real", the horn-blast and funky groove all hitting home. When the band turned down the excitement, they can slow burn to tunes like the ballad "Love Is A Desert" or the deceiving "37 Summers" ... a slow groovin' number until the firey solo from Acquiviva kicks in. Probably the best representation of their sound is found on the pair of "(Gotta) Love Jones" (prob my favorite track on the album) and "I Can't Wait", both West Coast oriented but with a bit of street smart urban attitude too!

In Summary: Big Krush are currently finishing up their second album, a little bit more in the vain of Player, and little more blue eyed soul with an edge, says Bob. The band will do some local touring to coincide with the release. In the meantime, fans of West Coast (or East Coast for that matter!) should hop on over to the Big Krush website, and investigate for yourself.

Bob F. Acquaviva - guitars, vocals; Vince Cavo - vocals; Jerry Crimmins - vocals; Jose M. Lopez - vocals; Tim Mish - keyboards; Joe Restifo - bass, vocals; Lenny Milano - drums, percussion.

Review By: George Thatcher
Big Krush - "Big Krush" (2005, Independent) (Points: 8.4 out of 10)

Out of nowhere comes Big Krush, an American band with a very strong calm AOR / Westcoast release like a mix between Pablo Cruise / Little River Band (the close-harmony vocals), early 80s Santana, Toto (the guitar work and song structures) and King Of Hearts (the light sound). Actually this CD is the most pure Westcoast release I have heard in ages. It is similar in style to the AOR project of Frederic Slama, Alliance 1982 ("I can't wait"), Dakota ("Good about me") and Balance as well, so I think you now know what to expect, namely a song based album with very melodic clean lead vocals in the Toto / Franke And The Knockouts style and songs a la David Roberts, Jay Gruska and Player, so the insiders then will understand we have something really interesting here.

If anyone had told me this was a Japanese re-issue from a 1982 record I would have instantly believed it. In fact, after sitting with this album for a week I finally found out the absolute best comparison, which is not David Roberts, but good ole John O'Banion, so if anyone out there likes his 1980s records, well then you're gonna love this Big Krush for sure. This New York based band is without a doubt a must-have for the Westcoast / AOR fans! e-mail at: acqrok@adelphia.net

Bob Acquaviva - guitar, vocals; Vince Cavo - lead vocals, keys; Jose M Lopez - lead vocals, percussion; Jerry Crimmins - lead vocals, percussion; Tim Mishalanie - keyboards; Joe Restifo - bass; Lenny Milano - drums, percussion.

cdbaby.com/cd/bigkrush www.myspace.com/bigkrush acqrok@adelphia.net

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