Press for The Great Crusades' Four Thirty (2006)

From: Aiding and Abetting
Loud, crashing punky rock that features a lot of slide guitar. Kinda like old Social D with a lot more cowbell. The songs do tend to run together at times, but at least it's one hell of a cool sound.

From: The Big Takeover: Spring 07
More gritty and bluesy whiskey rocking than their previous albums, The Great Crusades break out the cowbell and honky down into the swamplands with some good old American rock ‘n’ roll storytelling.

Reflecting the energy of their live shows, this album grinds and kicks through a twisted road map of love and lust, making me want to drive the highways, with a pack of smokes, a bottle of bourbon, and The Great Crusades blaring out the speakers of a flat black 1964 Cadillac.

There are a couple of velvet soaked songs, like the sadly smooth Tom Waits touched "She Walked Alone", and some moments that slip towards a more straightforward Sixteen Horsepower vibe, but on the whole, this album goes down like a nice strong shot.

From Culture Bunker 9.06
This is blues rock with some glammy swagger thrown in for good measure. TGC write songs with urban heroes and villains, fat barre chords and lots of guitar solos. I can picture them at a local bar on a Friday night, not a place that could be called a "club" but a real bar, with cheap beer on tap and maybe hookers waiting by the men's toilet.

To break it down a bit more, there are some good songs and moments but nothing too complicated.

From: High Biased Magazine
The last time I heard the Great Crusades, the Chicago band was the purveyor of an American spin on the kind of gothic barroom balladry that Nick Cave indulges in.

Several years along, things have changed. On Four Thirty, leader Brian Krumm’s characters are still searching for the next drink, but do it to the tune of grungy, often surprisingly traditional blues rock. Check "Boom Boom" (which songchecks Echo & the Bunnymen and Bauhaus as well as John Lee Hooker), "Are We Having Fun Anymore?" and the crushing "Heathers Will Haunt You" for some blues from the heart of the gutter. "She Walked Alone" features some of the old smoke, but it’s clear that this edition of the Great Crusades is more comfortable rocking the stage in the back than holding down the bar stool in the corner.
~ Michael Toland

From: The Illinois Entertainer
The Great Crusades .. a Chicago band made up of three Brians and a Christian (Krumm, Hunt, Leach, and Moder) .. are huge rock stars in Germany, no joke, because most of their five records have had European distribution since 1999.

The GCs took a more spontaneous, "live" approach for Four Thirty, recorded at Rax Trax with veteran producer Blaise Barton.

Unlike the more planned-out, more rootsrock sound of their previous CDs, this one is dominated by seering blues/classic rock guitar leads, lengthy breaks and builds, and an overall smoky, dive-bar feel.

Krumm's vocals have been compared to Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen, add to that the late Benjamin of Atlanta band Smoke. There are a least a few familiar guitar tangents going on, from the AC/DC opening rip to a little Nugent and maybe some Thorogood? Someone in the band has a secret desire to write fiction .. there's a very appropo snippet in the CD jacket that paints a perfect film noir-type image to accompany the aural experience.
~ Penelope Biver 8 out of 10

From: Independent Clauses
Great Crusades lyricist and vocalist Brian Krumm asks a pretty tough question at the open of the Chicago blues-rock band's fifth studio effort, Four Thirty. "Are We Having Fun Anymore?" Krumm eerily petitions in each chorus of the song.

Though the rest of the song echoes the dangers of alcoholism, one has to wonder if the band is perhaps questioning the heart of their rock'n'roll drive. One listen through Four Thirty, however, answers Krumm's question with a resounding YES; The Great Crusades are still very much having fun rocking their way through tales of Chicago, the nightlife, the old life, and scuffling with the boys.

The opening riff of "Are We Having Fun Yet?" immediately draws the listener in and gets one’s toes tapping. Krumm's hoarse vocals kick in and let you know right away you're in for a personal ride. The song drifts back and forth between mellow verses and hard hitting choruses, capped off by a solo that exudes musical talent within the band before the song slows to a halt.

"Porch Song" ushers in the southern blues feel with satirical lyrics, touching again on the subject of drinking but also glorifying the life of the old geezer stationed on a porch. The album continues to rock through "Hollywood Bungalow", though the songs start to come off as repetitive with a very similar style consisting of a rocking introduction, a mellow verse with an emphasis on vocals, and then rocking choruses.

All of that is forgotten with "I Got Away." If the previous tunes didn't make you feel like a badass, Krumm's vocals and lyrics will send you away to a dark Chicago street, tommy gun in hand and sunglasses representing. Despite some of the music resembling the E.L.O. classic "Don't Bring Me Down", this song is far from pop. A middle section of a runaway snare and Krumm's devious vocals explodes into a crazy final up tempo chorus, blowing away all the mellowness of the earlier verses.

The mood shifts with "She Walked Alone" as pianist Brian Leach hammers out a melancholy melody under Krumm's vocals and his own backup vocals. This song is the definition of short and sweet and provides a great change of pace on this mostly rock album.

The middle of the CD holds the better songs on the album. Right after the serenity of "She Walked Alone" comes the heavy rock of "Heathers Will Haunt You." Not only does Krumm speak true about the hauntings of past relationships, but his backup singers echo it in haunting vocal harmonies that make this one of the best songs on the CD.

"Rawl" is the Great Crusades playing their finest when it comes to blues. Calling a rambling man on his B.S. is the emphasis of attack here, and a horns section, piano, screeching blues guitars, and Krumm's dramatic vocals pave the way for a toe tapping sing along.

Four Thirty is a 52 minutes of rock'n'roll at its basic form; with a heavy blues influence yet songs that can relate to modern day listeners, the Great Crusades come off as a well seasoned quartet. One of the major drawbacks found in the album, as stated before, is that many of the songs tend to sound similar or are fashioned after one another. Starting off with a hooking guitar line, most songs decrescendo into a mellowed out verse and then rock back into a chorus. This formula is a successful one, but not when it’s repeated over and over again.

If you're looking to sit back and relax to an hour of timeless rock'n'roll, however, and you can't quite squeeze into those leather pants and moths have gotten the best of your tie-dyed flower shirts, simply throw on a trench coat, pull out that roundtop hat of yours, and relax to the welcoming sounds of Four Thirty.
--Erik Williams

From: Maximum Ink
Witty, sharp and street smart rock from Chicago. The raspy vocals tell of woe begotten tales in bluesy details. Powerful and poignant.

From: Rough Trade
Many bands try to capture in recording the energy and magic felt onstage, in the practice studio or at the kitchen table late at night when all that is present is a notebook with inconsistent markings, an acoustic guitar and empty bottles of beer. Many fail.

The Great Crusades newest album, Four Thirty, does all of this and much more. Four Thirty is The Great Crusades. The album represents the band at their collaborative best, giving their live shows greater justice by infusing that same gritty, raw energy into a collection of tracks that winds listeners through the depths of Chicago, New Orleans and the stories they've created and remembered along the way.

Ultimately, Four Thirty is an album that melds unique experiences, special friendships and a collective passion for music into an extraordinary effort greater than any one moment. it is quality storytelling meets rock and roll meets classic Americana that then chooses to hang out for a bit with the blues.

From: Sabas.Judas 08.06
Though it is not obviously innovative in its instrumentation, Four Thirty is composed and performed with such a lugubrious, intractable voice (Brian Krumm) that the album suddenly gets into an intimate atmosphere, even personal.

Four Thirty is folk, rock, country; it creates a mood of excitement and a warmth feeling of return to the impenetrable rock roots (Tom Waits and The Pretenders). It also makes me believe that I've been carried away to another, (far) more pure and unadulterated level of music experience ("I Got Away").

This Chicago´s The Great Crusades fifth album is a fine display of what they're capable of, and should tickle anyone in the mood for roots music. The main attraction is Brian Krumm's haunting voice backed with artfully arranged songs ("Porch Song" and "Hollywood Bungalow") that recall Americana rock combos like Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and guitar riffs à la Slobberbone. It all ambles nicely along, but getting lost in these songs proves to be an unforeseen adventure. "Are We Having Fun Anymore?" Recommended.

From: The Hub Weekly 08.31.06
By Todd J. Hunter
Chicago quartet The Great Crusades is not indie. Independent, yes, but the antithesis of indie: more like late-night, big-city rock best washed down with whiskey.

The Great Crusades started up as The Suede Chain closed down; the two had in common guitarist Brian Krumm and bassist Brian Hunt. The Suede Chain, a staple of the Champaign-Urbana scene, scored a Spring 1996 hit on WPGU with "One Fly’s Wing." The Great Crusades formed that September, and The Suede Chain dissolved next July. In 1998, The Great Crusades issued its debut, The First Spilled Drink of the Evening, and relocated to Chicago.

The European release of that album led to a tour of Germany and Austria, the first of six European tours to date for the band. Third album Never Go Home drew the attention of musikexpress magazine and SAT-1 network, which arranged for The Great Crusades to tour again and perform at Germany’s Crossroads festival with The Thorns, Midnight Choir, and Greyhound Soul. Neither Never Go Home nor follow-up Welcome to the Hiawatha Inn, however, saw issue in America.

Not so for fifth album Four Thirty. At the suggestion of Geoff Merritt of Parasol Records, The Great Crusades sent the Four Thirty demo to Innocent Words Records, just east of Champaign in Danville. Glowed owner Troy Michael, "There was just something about the new record that exploded off the speakers for me when I listened to it. I couldn’t stop listening to it." Innocent Words announced acquisition of The Great Crusades on June 19 and released Four Thirty on August 22.

The Chicago release show was at Double Door on August 24; the Champaign release show is at Cowboy Monkey on September 1. Also on the bill are The Greedy Loves and Lanterna. After two more shows in St. Louis and Granite City, the band is back to Germany for Polo Rockfestival with The Scorpions and Cowboys on Dope.

"I always get that sort of nostalgic feeling when I pull back into town," Krumm mused. "I have this sort of strange tradition: I always go by where the Suede Chain house used to be. It was this house on Springfield, sort of close to Neil, and now it’s an empty lot." Nostalgia befits the bill September 1: Don Gerard of The Greedy Loves and Henry Frayne of Lanterna previously played together in The Moon Seven Times. Eleven years ago, The Suede Chain and The Moon Seven Times co-headlined Illini Union Late Nighter. Moreover, Gerard was one of five The Great Crusades considered as bassist before Hunt was confirmed as such. (The Great Crusades has had the same lineup since 1999.)

With Four Thirty, The Great Crusades set out to convey the energy and magic of live performance. Krumm elaborated, "On this album, we never got hung up on one aspect of a song. We would simply play through it, and sometimes, make it right on the fly in the studio. All of us ended up in new places because the songs were driving the process and we had to keep up." Four Thirty succeeds, in that it was recorded at Rax Trax Studios in Chicago but sounds like some dirty downtown bar. Whiskey sold separately.

From: 52 City 5.21.06
Interview: The Great Crusades
The band's new album, Four Thirty is out now on the German Glitterhouse label and in America on Innocent Words. We checked in with Brian Krumm, the band's vocalist and primary songwriter, as well as a former member of regional favorites the Suede Chain.

1. To me, the first few listens to this album hints at a slightly different feel, though it's clearly fitting into the overall continuum of the band's career. How would categorize the band's approach to the songs currently? Are there thematic elements you see/hear running through them, as a whole?

We took an entirely new approach to writing the songs on Four Thirty. In the past, I had always brought nearly completed songs to the band and we would finish them as a group. I usually had most of the lyrics finished too for these songs. This time, we got together once a week at our rehearsal space for two months or so and simply played music. Call it "jam sessions" or whatever you want. We really just started playing and recorded everything that came out. Then we went back through the recordings and picked our favorite parts and wrote songs as a group around that. As a result of the jamming, I think a lot of the music we grew up listening to on "classic rock" stations in St. Louis probably came out, stuff like ZZ Top and Thin Lizzy. But there’s also some quirkier influences in there like Camper Van Beethoven and Pink Floyd.

After the songs were nearly completed, I wrote the lyrics. I really had fun writing these lyrics and tried to not take myself as seriously in the past, but still managed to tell some good stories I hope about spending time and meeting interesting characters in Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans. You might catch some references to the STL music scene of yesteryear in the song "Boom Boom." As far as themes go, I would say I've always tried to tell a story in my lyrics, and the lyrics are usually half fiction, half real life. And I guess the theme running through much of Four Thirty is "Ain't Life Strange?" or "Truth Is Often Stranger Than Fiction."

2. I love the fact that you're released on the German label Glitterhouse. Do you have any good anecdotes about German fans or press? And would you agree with me that the Germans are a wonderful group of folks/volks?

I have many, many anecdotes. One that recently comes to mind is that we played a private birthday party gig on our last tour in a small town in Germany. It was in a church community center for two of our biggest fans in Germany. Last tour we did in 2004 there were these two folks who followed us around in an RV for five or six shows. Really nice folks.

As the night wore on . . . and everybody was sampling the homemade schnapps and bier there at the party, everybody got a little bit more comfortable with coming on the little stage at the center. The 72-year-father of the woman who threw the party had been a polka musician for years. He came on stage and proceeded to yodel very loudly directly into the microphone (and my ear) and then played percussion for the rest of the show onstage. And then he picked up my spare guitar, but couldn't find a cord to plug it in. So he proceeded to play "unplugged" even though the guitar was electric. And he pulled out all the stops. Playing the guitar behind his neck, playing with his teeth, windmills a la Townshend. Very funny stuff. They actually made a DVD of the show that night, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

But the story goes on. We stayed with the folks who threw the party and at their house upstairs was a very extensive photo tribute to the Great Crusades that took up an entire wall of a hallway. There were many photos of the band but especially of me, including some of me that had been taken years ago at an Irish bar in Frankfurt after I had passed out and some people from the UK had drawn on my face with magic markers. (This is a very strange story in itself as well.) These photos were available online for exactly one day before I made bassist (and GC web guy) Brian Hunt take them off our Web site, b/c I didn't want my parents (or anyone else) to see them! But somehow the German folks had acquired them, blown them up, and included them on the wall. This is the first thing I see as I'm walking up to sleep on the floor in one of their bedrooms upstairs. And this is the middle of nowhere in Germany!

It's a very small small world.

I could actually write a book about all the experiences we've had on tour. Hey, you looking for a ghostwriting gig?

One more quick story . . . in Jena, Germany, on our first tour. I had gone back to the hotel before everyone else after our gig at this place called the Rosenkeller.

I was a bit . . . drunk. Anyway, I went back to the hotel and tried for about 40 minutes to unlock the front door to the hotel. I figured it must be the wrong hotel so I walked next door and found the front door open to a building I thought might be the hotel. I walked in and took the elevator to the third floor only to realize I was in an apartment building next door to the hotel. I went back to the hotel, banged on the front door, yelled let me in, etc. etc. before heading back to the bar next door to the Rosenkeller to get help from the boys in the band. Christian Moder ended up going back to the hotel with me and I showed him the "front door" which I had been trying to open and he started laughing hysterically. It turns out the "front door," when I saw it the next day, was a miniature "Alice in Wonderland" service door, probably used to load supplies into the hotel’s basement.

Many, many more stories like this.

I actually have a lot of really good friends who I’ve met Germany. I’ve met a lot of really, really cool people there and in Austria and Switzerland and other places we’ve toured. A friend of ours from Langenau, Germany, ended up moving to Chicago and marrying a friend of ours from Chicago! Stuff like that is beautiful when it happens. And many folks from Germany have come over and visited us in Chicago. They like it here because they can drink 12 or 15 beers and not even get buzzed. At least that’s what they tell me!

3. Are you ever tempted to go onstage looking anything less than your best? Is there a downside to being a sharp-looking bunch of cats while in concert?

Yeah, sometimes it’s a pain in the ass when we’re running late for a show and wish we could just get on stage and get to playing. But we get a lot of compliments about our look. We originally started it to do something different besides just wearing jeans and T-shirts. But by the end of a tour it starts getting really old putting on a suit that smells like cigarettes and beer and god knows what else. One trick for bands that wear suits: Put fabric softener sheets in the butt pockets of your pants and the side pockets of the jacket. They are heat-activated and help to keep you smelling somewhat fresh. If you don’t mind smelling like Bounce that is.

Oh yeah, a couple people have asked us why we are copying The Hives and other bands like that and we tell them we’ve been dressing like this since 1998, beeyotch punk.

One funny story about the suits. The first time we met Reinhard, the owner of Glitterhouse Records, we were wearing jeans and T-shirts because we didn’t have a show that night. The first thing he ever said to us was (in a German accent, naturally): "Where are zee suits?" Like we were supposed to be wearing them 24-7. He was joking. I think. He’s a funny guy.

4. Do people you know hand you books about the Crusades, which they've bought at local flea markets or remainder sales? If they do, how does one gracefully accept or decline them? Do you have a favorite book or film about the Crusades?

Actually the band name has nothing to do with the historical period. I just thought it sounded like a cool band name. Pretty shallow of me, eh?

One guy did give me an action figure of a Crusader that he built especially for me. That was pretty cool. But no one has really brought up the name that much. A couple of people have asked me if we are a Christian band, which always puzzled me because I don’t think a Christian band would want to be identified with the Crusades.

Of my favorite films that feature some sort of reference to the Crusades, I would vote for Time Bandits.

5. Are Funyuns allowed in the van while on tour?

Anything is allowed that covers the smell of B.O. in the band, although we are pretty regular shower-ers. Something else that is allowed in the van is beer, usually only in Germany because it’s legal for the passengers to drink. Hell, I think the driver can even have a couple in Germany. My favorite German beer is probably Bitburger because it features some of the only German I can speak: "Bitte ein Bit."

Speaking of food in the van, Brian Leach (the other GC guitarist) is the only person I’ve ever seen "sleep-eating." He was dead asleep and started eating from an open bag of chips once when were on tour. I have the whole thing on video. It’s quite fascinating.

OVERSEAS PRESS
From: Rocktip (Germany) 2.06
Das sind wieder die Great Crusades wie wir sie kennen und schaätzen gelernt haben. Ein ganz klarer Aufwärtstrend zum Vorgänger. Tolle Songs im unverwechselbaren Stil und unverkennbarem Gesang. Unbedingt auch die aktuell laufende Tour besuchen:
18.2. Langenau Kapilio
19.2. Stuttgart Laboratorium
21.2. CH-Federthalen - Dolder 2
24.2. Kassel Schlachthof
25.2. Höxter Tonenburg
Anspieltips: "Are we having fun anymore?", "Hollywoog Bungalow", "Downtown", "Boom Boom" und "Where are you now" Kaufen!

From: MV Baltic Radio
(The Great Crusades live in Germany)
The Great Crusades aus Chicago lassen es im Speicher Schwerin tüchtig krachen

Schwerin (srk). Auf ihrer Four Thirty European Tour haben The Great Crusades aus Chicago am Freitag, dem 10. Februar Station im Schweriner Speicher gemacht. Dieses Konzert kann zugleich als erste echte Bewährungsprobe der Tour angesehen werden. Denn nach einem eher verhaltenen Start im Frankfurter Sinkkasten und dem wegen schwieriger Anreisebedingungen ausgefallenen Auftritt in Berlin, konnten sich die vier Jungs in Schwerin richtig ausleben. Zuvor jedoch übernahm Tourkollege Dana Anderson die schwierige Aufgabe, mit seinen Balladen die Nordlichter aufzuwärmen.

Bereits mit ihren ersten Gitarrenriffs zum Song "Are we having fun anymore?" vom aktuellen Great Crusades-Album Four Thirty strömte das Publikum zur Bühne und ließ sich wie von einem Wüstensturm mitreißen. 75 Minuten lang gaben die Vier Volldampf. Vor allem die schnellen Nummern ihres Repertoires, das mittlerweile fünf Alben umfasst, brachten das Publikum zum Tanzen, Klatschen und Mitsingen.

Auf dem Gaspedal stand dabei als einziger Nicht-Brian der Schlagzeuger Christian Moder. Nach einer kurzen Pause lief der Viertakter zunächst mit ruhigeren Tönen an und beschleunigte dann wieder gnadenlos. Das Publikum forderte mehrere Zugaben, die von Sänger Brian Krumm und seinen Kollegen auch gern bedient wurden. The Great Crusades überzeugten in Schwerin vor allem durch ihre Spielfreude und den offenen Kontakt zum Publikum. Viele Besucher können es daher kaum erwarten, der Band auf ihrem nächsten Kreuzzug zu begegnen.

From: Frankfurter Rundschau (Translated) - Pre-release review
My buddy calls: "Dude, the new record is the 'hammer!' Indeed, a hammer. Now they’re rockin’ again." Sudden, dirty, begging, desperate. Great songs fatly produced. I wanna jump into it, wallow in it, and emerge from it dirty, but strengthened. For albums like that you just do these kind of things. After the unfortunately under valued 'Welcome to the Hiawatha Inn,' our favorite quartet from Chicago has found the way back to their own original sound, brimming over with dynamism/vigor, but still based on first-class songwriting.

Insistent, full of stirring melancholy, even more powerful and intense: more intellilgent rock which combines the fun to rock with a differentiated statement regarding the course of the world/of life, avoiding to serve any type of cliches.

From: Marabo - Pre-release review
Melodicly defiant, ballad-like rock songs. One reflects – and with open eyes you betake to search for a better and different world.

From: Tip (Berlin) - Pre-release review
An organ melting/softening rocks, a gifted narrator/story teller. Somewhere between Waits, Cave and overfilling ash trays.