Crush Luther Take Second Chance

10/28/09 3:11pm

by Stephanie Joudrey (CHARTattack)

When a band break up, they usually have one final blow out, say their goodbyes and either move on to new bands or disappear entirely. Crush Luther prefer the phoenix from the ashes route.

The band broke up just over a year ago, but they have a new album in stores and a positive attitude about the future. You see, singer Luther Mallory and guitarist Matt Leitch weren't going to let a little thing like losing 60 per cent of their band stop them.

"We definitely jumped the gun with the whole breaking up," Mallory jokes. "We should have thought about it for 25 minutes...

"Matt and I were the remaining duo sitting there after the break up meeting. Matt and I have been playing together since grade 10. We learned music together and have been in bands forever.

"We said that this is kind of silly to opt for normal jobs and normal situations. We really don't know any better. We're not that good at anything else, so what's the sense in stopping? We have a fan base and people still seemed interested. So it just seemed silly not to take a shot at getting new members."

Crush Luther's long shot has worked out. They picked up friends Ryan Snyder (bass) and PJ Herrick (drums) in what Mallory called a "serendipitous" moment in time. Crush Luther then spent the last year coming together to create the new band and put out new album, Some People Have No Good To Give. While the idea is similar, Mallory says it's not the same band.

"I was oblivious to it," he says of the band's new sound. "I was just happy to have new guys.

"My brother came to a practice and we played the old stuff and he said, 'With PJ playing I can't believe how different it is.' I didn't really even consider that. Now that we have been with PJ for a year or more, I really get to say it's a different band entirely."

The new Crush Luther continue to push forward. They gave away their new album free online to rebuild old fans' interest and they're going back on the road. Mallory says he isn't sure where the future will lead them because he's still figuring out who they are.

"The best and worst thing about our band has always been our diversity of style... We can't play to a specific market, because we don't necessarily belong anywhere specifically. Maybe it's pop music for adults. Maybe it's pop music for 14 year olds. Maybe it's I have no idea... It's very difficult to figure out who we are doing this for besides ourselves."

Here are Crush Luther's upcoming tour dates:

Oct. 31 Uxbridge, ON @ Club U
Nov. 4 Fredericton, NB @ Boom! Nightclub
Nov. 5 Charlottetown, PEI @ Alibi Lounge
Nov. 7 Halifax, NS @ The Pavillion
Nov. 10 Dartmouth, NS @ Celtic Corner
Nov. 11 Sackville, NB @ The Tatramarsh
Nov. 12 Fredericton, NB @ The Capital
Nov. 13-14 Saint Andrews, NB @ The Red Herring Pub
Nov. 14 St. Andrews, NB @ The Red Herring Pub
Nov. 15 Quebec City, QC @ L'Agitee
Nov. 19 Waterloo, ON @ Maxwell's Music House
Nov. 20 Guelph, ON @ Jimmy Jazz
Nov. 27 Burlington, ON @ The Legendary Red Rooster Cafe