We've been hiding out in our basement lately, working on our first demo, recorded on a Fostex quarter-inch eight-track machine. Seven songs were recorded: Gun, The Search, Beautiful Drunk, The Stranger, Two Fishermen, In a Cave, and our theme song, the Great Crusades, a.k.a. This Desperate Band. Of these, three have been mixed down thanks to the selfless efforts of one Matt Talbott. Thanks, Matt!

Note (September 1999): If you are interested in a few mp3s from this demo, please e-mail me!

Last night was our third show at the Blind Pig, and quite possibly our best. Unfortunately, Pipe couldnt make it due to bad weather, but the Slips more than made up for Pipe's absence with a magnificent set. The show was reasonably well-attended despite the snow and the Ani DiFranco show a few doors down at the Virginia. Spotted in the crowd were the faces of Randy Towner, Liz and Nikoletta, and Rod's English class, among others. The set list: Two Fishermen. In a Cave. Beautiful Drunk. Mirror. When the Stars Have Run Out of Souls. Mexican Radio. Yellow Skeletons. The Search. The Stranger. The Great Crusades. Gun. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Thanks to all who attended.

Well, its been a while, but were ready to play again. There are rumors circluating that this will be our last show, but thats probably not true. It is, however, Jason's final show with the Crusades before his subsequent relocation to Los Angeles. Efforts are currently underway to locate an able replacement, no mean task indeed. We also have another personnel change to announce: Don Gerard will no longer be with the band. Don and his wife Anna recently became parents of twins, and Don has decided to devote as much time as possible to his new family. This, however, allows us to expand our family, and we welcome new bassist Brian Hunt to our ranks. Brian filled in for Don at the last show, and will continue to play with the Great Crusades indefinitely. Brian has also played with Suede Chain and Lanterna (anyone see a pattern here?).

Tomorrow's show should be an interesting one. The opening act will be the Gaza Strippers, featuring Rick Simms, former Didjit, former Supersucker, current semi-millionaire, courtesy of the Offspring, who covered a Didjits song on their mega-whatever album. Should be interesting. Well also be doing a new cover...

...which was "Always on My Mind." It sure got the tears a-flowin'. It also sure as hell surprised the drunken cowboy in attendance who kept yelling, "Play some Merle Haggard!" to which Brian K. responded, "Please, sir, step away from the stage." I had knocked back a few myself at that point, and where I come from, them's fightin' words. The set list: every damn song we know.

Jason is leaving this week. We still don't have a replacement, but we do have a new bass player. His name is Charlie Dold, and he brings with him bushels of experience with bands like the Farmboys, Load, Thumper, Milo, Superhero Forehead, and most recently, Angie Heaton and the Gentle Tamers.

Welcome aboard. In other exciting news, the Great Crusades are preparing to record a debut CD. As yet untitled, it will be recorded by Adam Schmitt in July/August 1997 and most likely released on Champaign's Mud Records shortly thereafter. It will of course be available through Parasol Mail Order, one of the best in the U.S., according to Spin magazine.

The Great Crusades will also be performing at this years Great Cover-Up in Champaign. The object of our respect/ridicule has not yet been finalized.

We now have a new keyboard player. Me. I'll be playing guitar and keyboards on stage as well as in the studio. Our next stage appearance, of course, is this Thursday, July 31st at the Blind Pig with Salaryman and Low Grade (a.k.a. Joseph Donhowe). Charlie will be making his first appearance as bassist and will also contribute some vocals. We are scheduled to begin recording in Champaign on August 16th. We're not sure how long it will take, but I'll update the page when we get some more news.

Our show went pretty well, despite having to trim four songs! Thanks to the DEIL and IEI people who came out. It looks like we'll be doing the Stray Cats for the Great Cover-Up on August 30. I'll be playing stand-up bass! Should be fun. We are scheduled to begin recording with Adam on August 15th. More on this situation as it develops.

Well, it looks like our recording sessions won't start until September 5th. Oh well, isn't that always the way. Not much else to tell. Thanks to Todd Lash and T.J. Harrison for use of their bass! Hope to see you at the Cover-Up!

We have finished recording our first CD, "The First Spilled Drink of the Evening" with Adam Schmitt putting in WAY too much time at the console. Words cannot express our gratitude. We will finish mixing it this week, and I hope to upload a sound file to this page at some point so you can hear a bit of it. We expect the CD proper to be available in late October, although November might be a more realistic goal. The track listing (in no particular order):

When the Stars Have Run Out of Souls, How Could You Believe in Me?, Gun, Caroline, the Search, Beautiful Drunk, the Stranger, the First Spilled Drink of the Evening, Two Fishermen, This Desperate Band (a.k.a. the Great Crusades), Mirror, Yellow Skeletons.

Our last show, as the Stray Cats, was an absolute blast. I'll get a stage shot up soon. In short, it was a sold-out show, and we helped raise about $1200 for Muscular Dystrophy. No way, daddy-o!

Well, this may be the end of it.  The future of the Great Crusades is unknown at best. Whatever happens, I would like to thank all of those who came to our shows, bought our CDs, told friends about us, and in general gave us their support.

I hope the Great Crusades battle on; I can only express my regrets that I will not be able to continue with them.  In August 1998, I am relocating to Alytus, Lithuania, where I'll be teaching English, something I love as much as performing music.  I will continue my own musical pursuits, and will be concentrating more on esoteric/electronic music, which has captured my interest over the last few years.

While in Lithuania, I will keep my eyes open for the European release of "The First Spilled Drink of the Evening," which will be released this fall with new artwork on Germany's Trocadero Records, and I encourage you to do the same.   And let's cross our fingers for that second Great Crusades CD...

Roderick van Huis
vanhuis1@hotmail.com

back