Bart Crow Band




















Bart Crow Band
Video Blog


Look out your window.

 

Whether you're in a Manhattan hi-rise or at a truck stop somewhere off a Midwestern interstate, keep your eyes open. Bart Crow is coming your way.

 

Always known as “the nice guy” with a smile on his face, the tides are turning and the gloves are coming off.  Bart Crow is still the kind of guy and artist fans in the South and Midwest have grown to love. But on his new album The Parade, boundaries disappear and things are getting real.

 

The road-toughened troubadour and his band have already logged thousands of miles playing 130+ dates a year in front of loyal rowdy crowds at far-flung, late-night clubs and concert halls all over Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Nebraska and beyond. It's his music that draws them -- a tangle of roots in blues, country and down-home rock 'n' roll, branded with his unique imprint. They hear their lives in his lyrics, written in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle and other true-life troubadours.

 

With no help from big-time labels, and money pulled from his own pockets, Crow has put together an admirable track record as a recording artist, having lofted six No. 1 singles onto the Texas Music Chart – one of which, "Wear My Ring," sold over 165,000 copies. He has sold over 40,000 albums, released five self-produced albums in just over a decade, including Dandelion, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Heatseekers South Central chart. He's been cheered in Country Weekly, on CMT and in other national media outlets. His YouTube videos and concert footage have drawn more than 2.5 million views.

 

 He's chiseled his foothold in the edifice of Americana through hard work, talent, determination and a deep love for making music and building the best life he can for his wife Brooke and three kids, Townes and twins River and Parsons.

 

Myriad spirits haunt his music-- a choir of real American country in the fashion of Merle and Waylon, John Conlee, George Jones and Jerry Jeff Walker, razor-edged rock from Metallica, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, deep-fried Southern soul from Otis Redding and more.

 

Yet in the end, Bart Crow is what you get: a blue-collar balladeer with his own unique message.

 

It comes across loud and clear on his newest set of passionate songs and performances, The Parade. Released in partnership with Thirty Tigers, it spotlights an artist whose story will feel familiar to all Americans who know what it means to survive in challenging times.

 

"I can relate to blue-collar folks everywhere because I don't know any difference between them and me," he insists. "My uncle is a fireman who works on a ranch on his days off. My other uncle is a fireman. My brother works as a construction superintendent. I've worked construction too. I've stained decks and built fences in 110-degree weather. My father grew up white-trash broke, a ninth-grade dropout. He eventually became a self-made multi-millionaire with his own commercial drywall corporation, but we didn't have luxury growing up."

 

Another uncle stoked Crow's imagination about living a wanderer's life. "He was a professional rodeo cowboy," he recalls. "I used to think that was the most amazing thing on the planet. He'd come home from two or three weeks on the road and tell stories about being in Cheyenne and then somewhere else the last night. Even more than music, this idea of the nomadic lifestyle was very romantic to me."

 

This perspective is central to The Parade, with the added element of Crow's experiences. He grew up in tiny Maypearl, Texas, made his first attempts to write songs while in the United States Army and geared up to his current regimen as a performer on weekends while studying at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. Perhaps the most significant milestone in his past involved moving with his future wife Brooke to Austin, where they worked together to get him started as an artist.

 

"I guess we just don't know any different way to live than with me gone for six or eight months a year. After a decade-plus, this is just who we are. This is what we do. Besides," he adds, with a laugh, "it's probably the foundation of our marriage that my knucklehead ass is gone a lot."

 

Like the border that divides his hometown from dreams of what lies beyond in his song "City Limits Signs," Crow's boundaries are dissolving. Wedding plainspoken poetry to powerful hooks and grooves, The Parade transforms daily occurrences into stories with universal resonance.

 

Not everyone has spent months far from home as Crow documents with irony on "Free Like Me," dreamy loneliness on "Vapor Trails" and truth telling love affair with music on "Dear Music," where he finds himself in "another where-the-hell-am-I town."

 

Fewer still have weathered years on the honky-tonk circuit while staying faithful to their dream, a struggle Crow recounts on "Top of Rock Bottom." ("I won't be laying down on that Florida-Georgia Line," he sings, with what he insists is respect and empathy.)

 

Still, whether you've fought to keep your own business alive or adapt to a soul-grinding cubicle gig, you'll get the message. And if you've been burned or saved by love, you'll see yourself in the deft imagery of "Queen of the Heartache Parade," the sweet pain of "One Night with You," the worldly-wise "Here We Go Again" and the insights that weave throughout "Life Comes at You Fast."

 

New listeners may go beyond enjoying The Parade to identify with Crow as someone who knows first-hand the challenges of balancing one's dreams, integrity, responsibilities and reality.

 

"It's pretty damn scary when you're raising a family off of touring and it becomes time to cut a new album, which means investing up to $70,000 of my own money," he admits. "My 4-year-old, Townes, starts preschool in August. Our 17-month-old twins, River and Parsons, are blowing through diapers left and right. And I've got to take money that could be going to their college funds, more money than I have in my personal checking account, sit down at the crap table of life, roll the dice and hope that someone falls in love with the 11 or 12 songs we picked."

 

That's why Crow's dream at this point involves more than spreading appreciation for his music from coast to coast. "I want to go to Seattle and Spokane and all the West and East Coast spots and the South, to DC and Manhattan and Connecticut. and have people show up and sing along with us," he insists. "I want to hear people all over America come up to me and say, 'Hey, we got married to your song!' I'm like, 'Have you been on iTunes? Do you know how many frigging songs are on there -- and you chose mine?' I don't take that lightly."

 

No, more even than that, he wants what everyone who discovers his music wants as well. "I'd love to go to bed at night and not fear for what's going to happen next month or next year. I used to say, when we bought our tour bus, we were one backstroke away from being dead in the water. It would be nice to earn that through selling tickets and playing in so many of these beautiful cities I'd love to see."

 

That dream is within reach now, because Crow's story is your story too. All you need to do is listen -- and join The Parade.

Date Venue City State Note
No Tour Dates Available
02/24/2011 - Bart Crow Talks ‘Brewster Street Live’ and Welcomes Baby Townes Blaine - Read More
11/19/2010 - Bart Crow Band Taps New Producer For Fresh Take On Texas country - Read More
08/04/2010 - Boot Kickin' Music - Read More
02/08/2010 - BART’S SURGERY - Read More
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Average Rating : 0              Total Reviews: 163


Bart Crow Band  02/19/2007            
Bored
Bought James McMurtry and Bart Crow...night and day...dissappointed on this end. Immature album and talents. Still, there's something that could develop.
Bart Crow Band  02/19/2007            
1 of many BCB supporters
You sit there and say Bart is a good guy and hard working but you are trying to hurt his record sales by leaving only 1 star. To me it sounds like you are a mad artist who had a shot and blew it. I'm sorry for your bad luck but the Bart Crow band will be around a lot longer than you were. They are obviosly doing something more right than you did because they have been at #1 for more than a month. When ever I play their songs around people, they know exactly who it is. So BCB just keep doing what your doing and I don't think you'll have a problem.
Bart Crow Band  02/18/2007            
Believe me, I know!!
The "Anonymous Music" reviewer is right on the money with everything he said. Sorry Bart Crow fans! Rule #1 Just because you wrote the song and your "buddies" say you can sing doesn't make you a singer or a songwriter. People are disapointed in this album for good reason. Because they spent hard earned money to hear an "entire" album of good songs, not just one. They have so many other albums to compare it to. So many other "good" albums. Guys, don't bring a knife to a gun fight!! That is exactly what is happening here. You have to go looking for that one big hit that radio and fans can't pass up and surround it with other "good songs". A total package. A well rounded, make me want to listen CD. It's all in the song selection. If you can't write it, find it in someone else's catalogue. Don't release an album that doesn't match up just to have something out there and don't depend on the people you are "paying" to give you an honest review. Bart hired a promoter to push his single just like we all have. It doesn't have to be a good song to make it, you just have to spend enough time and money working the system. Bart and his band have been working the system. The "texas music scene" has changed. Even those of us in it don't really like it. But we have no choice. Play the game or quit. It's all about money, not talent. 99% of these "texas" bands will never make it outside of their "warm market areas". The true test is longevity. Will they release another "hit" following this one? Not likely. Not if they are depending solely on their own writing. Hell, anyone can write one good song. Can you write and entire album of good songs? The real songwriters can and have. You have to study your craft guys. You wouldn't want a doctor operating on you if he wasn't qualified. The same goes for songwriting and singing. Music is a formula perfected by those who came before us (Willie, Waylon, Merle, Eddie Rabbit, Hank Jr.,etc.) Proven #1 hits over and over. The market is flooded guys. No room left. Since Pat Green started this crap, every college kid with a guitar has started a band and used daddy's money to promote it. Doesn't make it good music just because you hear about it everywhere. All of this can be bought now a days and almost everyone is doing it. Do you have enough money to follow up the first single or the second single? Can you keep spending someone elses money and not make any it return to try and stay in the race when you know you are only middle of the road? This is the game, the challenge that will cause you to most likely ruin several aspects of your life before it is all said and done. Don't hate on Bart, he is a truly nice guy working the system. One of the hardest working guys out there. The "business" people in the music "business" created this system, not us musicians and it's killing the business one bad album at a time!
Bart Crow Band  02/17/2007            
Ben
Love this CD!
Bart Crow Band  02/13/2007            
coch diesel
whoooooo!!! go texans...and the guy that is talkin about ragweed is about to get his ass whooped!
Bart Crow Band  02/13/2007            
Diz
This CD is very good. I can not wait to see them @ The Armadillo Palace in Houston next month. From Wear my Ring to Dog House Roses you can relate. Good Job.
Bart Crow Band  02/12/2007            
big dizay
I'm so tired of this generic crap!!!! Way to right a catchy sing-a-long. Where is the soul? I guess everyone needs a happy F U song
Bart Crow Band  02/10/2007            
Scott
I don't really know what this band is thinking. I have heard their CD and have seen a live show. They just don't have what it takes, live or on CD. Try writing music from within not what you think might sound good on the radio. Sorry guys maybe you should try something else.
Bart Crow Band  02/08/2007            
Blair
I had to write something to get rid of the reviews from people who obviously have no taste in music. Anyone who thinks these guys aren't great, don't know good music. You have to see them live, they put on a great show. Can't wait to see you guys tomorrow night at the SA stock show.
Bart Crow Band  02/05/2007            
maypearl girl
i am gonna have to say that anyone that can make it like ya'll did, coming from my big home town of maypearl, are obviously something special. you guys are great. don't let anyone tell you any different! we had a blast at the bee! don't change a thing!
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