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Music » Music News » Crossfade Regained Their Courage After Being Courted by Their New Label
July 7, 2011
Crossfade recently released 'We All Bleed' via their new label Eleven Seven. Frontman Ed Sloan was devastated when the band was dropped from Columbia and went into a deep funk that he says was cured by 'the boys kicking his ass.' After his proverbial butt-kicking, Crossfade got back to work, writing songs. The writing process ended up taking more than three years, but all along the way, Eleven Seven president Allen Kovac courted the band. It was an odd-courtship, with Kovac definitely chasing the band – and end in the end getting what he wanted.
"Two days after [being dropped by Columbia] my management called and said 'There's a guy named Allen Kovac that would love to take you guys up when you're done with your record," Sloan explains to Noisecreep. "It took us three years to complete the record, but Allen would call every few months and check on us. He'd ask how we were doing. Ultimately his patience and persistence lead us to them."
Despite the persistence, Sloan admits Crossfade did their due diligence and showcased for larger labels. In the end, it was actually Kovac's interest that gave the members of Crossfade the courage to even gig for the majors again.
Sloan pauses and quietly adds, "It was very comforting that someone out there knows what they are doing and was still interested in our music. It made it easier for us to go through showcases and talk to bigger labels before we ultimately decided to sign with Eleven Seven. Normally it doesn't go down like that. When a band is dropped, you never hear from them again so from that standpoint, it was a nice surprise."
Nice surprise, indeed. Crossfade turned their multi-year hiatus into a writing rollercoaster, expressing sorrow, anger, love and lust in their heaviest album to date. While Sloan admits he and every other guy in the band had to learn how to live after constant touring, it seems the break did the band well. Now that 'We All Bleed' is in stores, Crossfade -- and Eleven Seven -- are focusing on both airplay and touring. For the former, Sloan says it gets harder every year for rock and metal acts in America.
"Three or four years ago, there were 300+ active and modern rock radio stations in the county and now there's something like 100," Sloan says of the current state of traditional radio. "For a band like us, we did go top 40 -- but only because we did an acoustic version of a cheesy song -- if it weren't for that, we'd be stuck looking at about 70 rock stations, but we gained enough status in the industry that more stations will play us. I am eternally grateful for that."
Crossfade will perform as part of the Rock Allegiance tour with Buckcherry, Papa Roach and more. The tour kicks off this August and tickets for most dates are on sale now.
Courtesy of Noisecreep.com » |
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