Artist description Power-pop band from Memphis, Tennessee.

Music Style power-pop

Musical Influences Teenage Fanclub, Big Star, Tommy Keene, Oasis, The Connells

Similar Artists Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, Big Star, Oasis, The Connells, Gin Blossoms, Gigolo Aunts, Tommy Keene

Artist History Three minutes. Someone once said that's all it takes to know if you're going to like the person you just met. One might use that test for music as well. If that's true, then about three minutes into Pete Ham, the opening song on crash into june's debut record from blind to blue, you'll know the answer. Yes. It's good. Very good. Listen to those soaring harmonies that just beg you to sing along. Listen to that pop guitar at its brightest. Listen to the tight rhythms keeping the melodies grounded. And more than anything, listen to those insidious melodies, the hooks that climb into your head and never leave. Just listen to the songs Wave or I Forgot or Top of the World or, well, any of them. You'll find yourself humming them for the rest of the day. And god forbid you turn off your car's ignition while one of those songs is playing; you're really in trouble then. crash into june began in 1991 when brothers Johnny and Dave Norris did what boys have done ever since Les Paul popularized the electric guitar: they formed a band, in part to combat the boredom of an offseason away from their University of Memphis soccer team. The Norris brothers, like most, have their share of arguments and fights (including one that ended with a frozen ham. Don't ask), but they realized one thing: they shared common interests in music. They loved Memphis's legendary Big Star, the band that virtually invented the power-pop genre. They loved Teenage Fanclub, the Connells, the Candyskins, the Posies, Matthew Sweet, dozens of other pop acts. So, borrowing the name from a song by underground pop legend Scott Miller, they played their first gig as crash into june in a small Memphis pub. Nine years later, the brothers - Johnny on bass and Dave on vocals and guitar - have been joined by John Boswell on drums and Dylan Cranmer on guitar. In those nine years, crash into june played gig after gig, building a loyal following in and around Memphis. Now, the word is spreading. The band most recently received a glowing review of their CD, from blind to blue, in the highly circulated music magazine MOJO (March 2000 issue). They played the second annual International Pop Overthrow, a two-week pop music festival, in Los Angeles in July of 1999 to rave reviews and have been invited to attend this years event. They played the east coast pop music fest, Balti-Pop, in the summer of 1998. And, in November of 1995, the band was picked from over 10,000 bands across the United States to perform in the Ticketmaster Music Showcase. Their songs have found their way onto radio stations in France and Portugal, as well as college and commercial radio here in the states. And David Bash, an L.A. music critic, ranked from blind to blue in his top 25 for early 1999. So give this disc a listen. Listen to the Badfinger-inspired Pete Ham ("What's that song/It sounds like heaven/If you don't know I think I'll have to go insane"). Listen to that familiar but still bewildering heartache on Susan ("I don't know you/I don't know you/I don't know what's going on with you"). Listen to the unabashed romanticism of Here Comes A Vision ("I can feel her deep inside my heart/You're such a vision in the sun"). Listen to them all. Revel in those melodies. Join in on the harmonies. But don't say you weren't warned: you'll never get them out of your head.

Group Members Dave Norris - vocals, guitar ** John Norris - bass ** John Boswell - drums ** Dylan Cranmer - guitar, vocals

Albums from blind to blue (1999, full-length), wonderment (1995, ep)

Press Reviews MOJO, UKDebut album from Memphis quartet. Nine years in the oven, carefully sauteed with The Posies and Candyskins among others. Crash Into June (they take their name from a Game Theory song) aren't shy about their influences. In fact, they lay their cards on the table from the first track. Pete Ham is, quite simply, a homage to the man who made Badfinger click. From there they check a host of Beatles-inspired luminaries, including Teenage Fanclub (on the chunky Aurora Borealis), Matthew Sweet and The Connells, to name but a few. Along the way they throw out an impressive selection of hooklines, while singer Dave Norris lets himself run a little hoarse in the best John Lennon tradition when he needs to. With every song carefully honed for instant recall, From Blind To Blue makes for a highly impressive debut - let's hope it's not another virtual decade before the follow-up. - Dave HendersonBlank Pages - The Not Lame Digest of Pop Other than their first-rate music, there are two reasons to think crash into june are really cool: the band took their name from the title of a Game Theory song, yet sound nothing like Game Theory, and the opening cut on from blind to blue, "Pete Ham," is nothing like Badfinger! What this Memphis based four piece does do is warm guitar pop that takes the best of the thick jangle of Teenage Fanclub and the harmony filled roots of early Grapes of Wrath, and creates a nice hybrid. Whether it’s jangly ballads like "Pete Ham," "I Forgot" or uptempo, catchy numbers like "Wave," "Nothing New," and "Butterfly," from blind to blue will put a smile on your face and some sun in your heart.- David Bash **** Bucketfull of Brains, London, UK As Teenage Fanclub had done with "Gene Clark," Memphis’s crash Into june come up with a song named after a seminal songwriter - "Pete Ham." The song itself makes no particular reference to Badfinger’s main man, but is instead a joyous and catchy ode to the evocative power of pop. The rough & ready guitars jangle with bite, while the vocals deliver all the sweetness required. In fact, the comparisons with TFC don’t end there, as they often remind you of Scotland’s finest with perhaps a bit of Gigolo Aunts thrown in for good measure. "Aurora Borealis" is a good example of this, as it would have fitted perfectly on Grand Prix. Most of the album lives up to a very high calibre, though most often than not, I find myself returning to that first stellar number over and over again...It’s got that British 60s feeling...Smells like Memphis spirit though!- Robin Wills

Location Memphis, TN - USA

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