Personnel: John William, guitar, vocals; Mary Simmons, bass, vocals; Rick Carlson, drums.
Formed: 1988 by William and Simmons, who were previously in the Hail Marys (1986-88) and Unknown Pleasures (1985-86). The couple were married in 1986.
Current lineup together since: Last month, when they added Carlson.
Sound: ”I would say it`s very textural and aggressive rhythmically,”
Simmons says. ”I think the Hail Marys were a lot more rock and typical of the Chicago scene, whereas now I think we`re a little bit more refined and a little darker.”
Influences: ”We both like a variety of music,” Simmons says, citing Xmal Deutschland and Killing Joke as her favorites. ”And I know John gets very much into Delta Blues-type things, which doesn`t really reflect in our music.”
Songwriting: ”It`s just kind of all written together,” Simmons says.
”One person comes up with something, and we just build on it. We don`t sit down and consciously decide to write a song; it just comes out.”
Live approach: As a duo, Simmons and William used a drum machine as well as videotapes and lighting effects, ”but it was almost distracting, and it really wasn`t quite working with us,” Simmons says. ”I feel that now that we have a drummer, it will help a lot with our live performances. I think it`s making us a lot more aggressive, and we wanted that.”
Onstage cover versions: None.
Namesake: ”It kind of means absolutely nothing,” Simmons says. ”We were trying to think of a name that you really couldn`t tie to anything-that it was this type of music or that type of music. When we were in other bands, people had a preconceived idea of what we sounded like from our names.”
Recordings: Crashblack`s self-produced first album, ”Naked Man,” is just out on William and Simmons` CGM Records, which is distributed through Chicago-based Cargo Records and Minneapolis-based Twin Cities Imports. Iain Burgess also produced a three-song cassette in 1989.
Philosophy: ”We`re very persistent in what we`re after,” Simmons says.
”I think a lot of people don`t look deep enough into the lyrics, and I think they try to tie us in with some sort of gothic or death-rock thing. We`re not just saying, `Oh, everything is horrible.` Most of our songs are about hopefulness and ambitions.”
Goals: ”We`re definitely looking to sign on with a large independent label,” Simmons says. ”Right now we`re in the process of booking some shows to have a small U.S. tour going by fall.”
Next appearances: Wednesday at Cabaret Metro-a record-release party and the debut of drummer Carlson; April 6, Dreamerz.
