Posted by Paul Devlin:
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Crossfire Choir was a great band, incredibly tight and self-assured. That’s well-represented in this impressive, funky new wave track. They were all over the dark florescent look and mixing in the trails from the old 3-tube camera.
Watching their rise, it seemed inevitable that they would make it big, and that’s how I positioned them in Rockin’ Brunswick. They became the favorite band of CBGBs in New York City, toured with some of the top bands of the day – Culture Club, Thompson Twins, Midnight Oil – and, according to their MySpace page, “the band agreed to a two-record deal with Geffen Records that was rumored to be one of the biggest deals ever offered to an unknown act at the time.”
But that page also describes a harrowing, rock and roll story of a band that should have made it but instead stumbled and fell. There were a lot of rumors swirling around New Brunswick about what happened. The one I heard was that a band member insulted a record executive’s wife and that’s what sunk them.
Who knows what really happened. But as their reputation rose, they definitely got cocky locally. I remember keyboardist Eddie Freeze spitting beer out into the audience as part of the show. One night the audience got fed up, and spat beer back at him. “Hey! This is expensive equipment!” was his reaction.
But Crossfire Choir always treated me well, and headlined a spectacular show at Rutgers University for the premiere of Rockin’ Brunswick. I’m still a fan!
Stay tuned next Thursday as we conclude Rockin' Brunswick with one last song from Crossfire Choir!
Or you can get the DVD of Rockin’ Brunswick, here.
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