Crisis Crew rolled into Medium Sized Backyard straight from a highway ditch in the Los Angeles hills - van parked, tent pitched off the side, hummus and coffee in tow. The trio, who coined the genre "blue gaze" somewhere between New Orleans street corners and a broken-down school bus in rural Michigan, sat down with Medicine Box for one of the more disarmingly honest conversations we've had in this series. The moment they explain why busking still matters - not for the money, but because it teaches you that you are allowed to take up space - is worth the whole ride.
On How Crisis Crew Came Together
Medicine Box: I need the Crisis Crew lore. Talk to me. How did this come about?
Crisis Crew: We've been traveling for quite some time, all separately. Then we met roughly three years ago in New Orleans, just playing on the street. We ended up staying in this house together that was just a mess - and out of escaping that house together, we kind of formed this little trio bond. It probably wasn't until Michigan where we broke down in a school bus for a couple of weeks. There was nothing to do but play music. So Crisis Crew was kind of born out of that - sitting in a school bus in rural Michigan with nothing to do.
Medicine Box: As many bands are, you know.
Crisis Crew: We were living in the back lot of a mechanic shop, and we happened to be there right on July 4th. So we're in this tiny little backwoods Michigan town - shout out Ludington - more American flags than I've ever seen in my entire life on every surface, and we're just walking around looking like this.
Medicine Box: At what point did you realize, "Oh, this could actually be a thing?"
Crisis Crew: When we were up in that little tiny town in Michigan and had to walk like 30 minutes to the nearest grocery store. We were just sitting on the school bus together with nothing to do but play homebrew D&D and write music. But I think back to one of those moments in New Orleans too - before we left, we went and busked together. I think it was one of the first times we'd ever played together. We were just trying to make a couple bucks and it was immediately clicky. In that moment I was like, "I want to play with these guys for a minute." I didn't think three years later we'd still be here - because that rarely happens - but here we are.
On New Orleans and the Music That Seeped In
Medicine Box: New Orleans has such a rich music lineage. Do you feel like you pull that into your music? How has living there inspired what you make?
Crisis Crew: Definitely, greatly. Especially on this project we're about to release - there are all these little New Orleans Easter eggs and themes that if you know them, you can find them. And I think it's important that since we kind of originated there, we really want to platform that area and the smaller, cooler music scene that exists there. Independent people making really raw, vulnerable music. I think our sound is indicative of what you can hear on the streets of New Orleans just walking around. That jazz aspect of what we do is rooted in that. You wake up every morning and you hear the same cover band playing "Walk On By" or something - you just hear that every day, all day long. It's kind of hard not to let that seep into what you do.
On Inventing "Blue Gaze"
Medicine Box: If someone came up to you and said, "What is Crisis Crew's sound?" - what would you say?
Crisis Crew: We've been trying to coin the term "shoe grass." Or "blue gaze" is another one we've been playing with. It's definitely got those two influences the most. I come from kind of a bluegrassy, blues background on guitar, and I listen to a lot of indie shoegaze bands - like great death and those kinds of guys. I think they meld in our sound into this really spacey, environmentally inspired slow rock music mixed with the fast pickiness of bluegrass and that southern music influence.
On Van Life and Living Together
Medicine Box: You guys live in a van and travel together - I need more context. How did that come about, and how is it being not only collaborators but also roommates?
Crisis Crew: Things can be tense sometimes. We love each other so much - both days, you know. The real truth is that underneath it all, we actually like each other. The fact that we can spend so much time every single day - we wake up and are immediately working or immediately traveling thousands of miles - I think we've found a good balance between how much space we need and what the future looks like. Hopefully we're not all four living in a minivan in the very near future. I do think fondly of the first trip we took together out of New Orleans - we had a bigger van. We really went nowhere over the course of two months. It was nice.
Medicine Box: I'm sure eventually when you all migrate out of the van, there'll be a part of you that looks back and thinks, "Damn, that was a time."
Crisis Crew: I think we're going to be living in two vans. Not going to miss it at all. We're sleeping in the van right now. Jackie and her partner are in a tent off the side of the van - beautiful highway ditch up in the LA hills. The day in the life definitely involves hummus at some point and coffee. The days end early when you go to sleep with the sun around 4. We try to be tucked in by 8 and fall asleep like grandmas. You wouldn't think it to look at us, but we're all sober.
On Making the Album
Medicine Box: When it comes to the music-making process, how do you each add to that? Who's on the songwriting side, the production side - how do you work together?
Crisis Crew: Almost every song is almost entirely yours, and then we'll throw in some lyrics on a couple of them. From there, our parts we pretty much work out independently and layer over the top to see what sounds good once the core frame of the song's been written. To compare it to building a house - I kind of hang the framing and the foundation, then I'll bring it to these guys and ask, "Does this work? Is this our sound?" And then our songs evolve so much. Usually I've been in the habit of writing something and it just sits. But I know for sure when I bring a song to these guys it ends up metastasizing beautifully into something else, and that's where we end up trying to record - in that little sweet zone. I do most of the production stuff.
Medicine Box: Can we talk about the new music? How does it feel with an album on the horizon?
Crisis Crew: I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say we're excited. The songs making it onto this next album were originally intended for our first release and just didn't make it. So we kind of made a different record to begin with that didn't have these songs on it. Now, to be bringing them to fruition and actually have all these songs we already wanted to release ready to go - it's nice. It makes us really pumped about what we're putting out. And I've been playing pretty much my whole life - acoustic folk, fiddle. So I'm excited to go electric with it and do some more spacey type sounds.
On Busking Culture and Taking Up Space
Medicine Box: Busking culture is still very much alive and I think it takes boldness to park yourselves in a public space and play music. What has busking done for you guys, and any tips for aspiring artists who want to do something that uncomfortable?
Crisis Crew: You can make a lot of money at Walmart before they kick you out. It's a mixed bag. Here as we ease into the digital world more and more, the money is definitely drying up as far as traditional busking goes - people don't have cash. But if you do it, it's a homage to your dedication. You'll hear a lot of people say busking made them the musician they are. The ups and downs of it - I spent years of my life doing 6, 8 hours a day, and I imagine most buskers are about the same. You spend the entire day either getting to the spot or playing. That breeds a work ethic that's really healthy. It's not a sustainable way to make money for your art the way it was 10 or 15 years ago. When I first started busking I was definitely making enough to live in a house and do okay just from playing guitar on the streets. I think the global shift to digital currency is really only to blame for that. But honestly, there's only one tip and it's just to do it. Find a place - Walmart, Trader Joe's, Goodwill, wherever. If you can sit there and play, you should.
Crisis Crew: The culture's gotten more hostile in general to people being outside in any capacity - playing music, sitting on a bench, whatever it is. People are upset if you feel like you're allowed to take up space. And I think that's one of the reasons busking is so important. It teaches you that you are allowed to take up space. I am an artist and I am allowed to make my art.
Medicine Box: I agree with that. Absolutely. Well, I can confidently say you've earned 20 new fans in the last hour. Crisis Crew, thank you so much for coming. Where are you headed next?
Crisis Crew: Oakland. Headed up to the Bay - see some friends and play some shows up there.
