Silvercrush
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
From the beginning, Silvercrush had an enthusiastic supporter in Croswhites father, Bill Croswhite, a local musician/singer who had been active in the Salt Lake City area for decades. It was Bill Croswhite who had taught Steele Croswhite to play guitar. (That was several years before Silvercrushs formation, back when Steele Croswhite was only 14). Because Steele Croswhite is left-handed, other music teachers didnt want to help him; left-handed guitarists are the exception instead of the rule. But Bill Croswhite was not afraid of a challenge, and by the time Silvercrush was formed, the younger Croswhite was able to play rhythm guitar using his left hand. In 1997, Bill Croswhite became Silvercrushs manager, and he helped the band land gigs in Salt Lake City and elsewhere. Locally, Silvercrush managed to acquire a small following and get a buzz going; that enabled the musicians to open for major acts like Everclear, the Foo Fighters, and Third Eye Blind when those bands passed through Salt Lake City. Most of the bands that Silvercrush opened for were fellow alternative rock acts, although Silvercrush also opened for pop-metal/hard rock veterans Cheap Trick (who reached their commercial peak in the late 70s/early 80s).
In the early 2000s, the members of Silvercrush were getting ready to perform at a showcase for the Emerging Artists & Talents in Music Conference -- EATM, for short -- when they learned that Bill Croswhite had suddenly died of an aortic aneurysm. Despite their sadness, the alternative rockers somehow found the strength to go ahead and perform at the EATM showcase; they felt that the best way to honor Bill Croswhites memory was to keep the band going. It was in 2001 that Silvercrush landed a deal with Redline Entertainment, a small independent label based in Eden Prairie, MN. Redline united Silvercrush with producer/guitarist Mike Wanchic, who had played on many of John Cougar Mellencamps albums and also worked with the Why Store, Cowboy Mouth, Deborah Bartley, James McMurty, and Sue Medley, among others. Produced by Wanchic, Silvercrushs debut album, Stand, was released in June 2002.
