The Portland Mercury  Friday March 14, 2008

THE CROSSWALKS, DAN JONES & THE SQUIDS, SILVERHAWK

(Kelly’s Olympian, 426 SW Washington) Local pop-rock trio the Crosswalks purvey a hook-heavy, sugar-rush brand of cheer. With simple garage band arrangements and melodies that climb all over you like little kittens, they’re a reminder of why most people listen to music—because it’s fun, damn it. Guitarist Brendan McCracken, bassist Emily Vidal, and drummer Dave Shur all swap lead vocal duties, so the band sounds like a genuine collaboration of three equals, as opposed to the traditional model of some dude and his ego slapping on a guitar while backed by patient, suffering, talented acquaintances. What’s more, the Crosswalks’ music couldn’t be more inviting; it feels like a warm hug from that one friend who bakes you bread, and always remembers that you don’t like it with raisins. And you can dance to it, too. So, go see the Crosswalks. They will scratch itches you didn’t know you had. NL

We only just found out! Super exciting. To see the other bands go here:

http://wweek.com/editorial/3407/10164

Crosswalks, New Ghost Lights (self-released)

[INDIE POP] From the opening whimsy of "Ghost Writer" and the bounding thump of "Voices" to dreamlike closer "Turnstile," the Crosswalks have crafted a near-perfect blend of pop intelligence with New Ghost Lights. Interlacing a keen pop sensibility with verbose wordplay, humor and experimentation, the album hits all the right notes. As all three Crosswalks are songwriters, each track carries its writer's vocal prowess, gelled by symbiotic talent. Bassist Emily Vidal crafts a giddy apocalypse with "Buildings and Bridges," while guitarist Brendan McCracken makes "Find Time for Wind Time" explode, and drummer Dave Shur's melodious grit carries "Takedown Boogie." New Ghost Lights is pop at its most irresistible. (AK)

http://localcut.wweek.com/?p=2172 to see the moving pictures

or the text version here:

from Amy McCullough / Music Editor of Willy Week

I don't think I've made any bones about the fact that I love me some of Portland's Crosswalks. In fact, I posted the very song the indie-pop trio's new video is for, "Ghost Writer," as a Cut of the Day on this very site only 4 months ago. So, as I'm sure you can imagine, I was just tickled to find that the band chose the track–which appears on its recent release (and debut full-length), New Ghost Lights–to premiere its video-making career. I emailed bassist (and vocalist) extraordinaire Emily Vidal for the lowdown, and she put it so well herself that I'd just feel silly typing anything more:

This is our first video; we worked closely with Amanda Stark (our friend and manager) on the concept, shooting and editing. As a video production person by day, I did the majority of the shooting and editing, but we conferred on all of the creative choices…this was a team effort in every sense of the phrase.

The karaoke scene we shot at the Blue Monk in one day. The poolside karaoke video we shot at a friend's house last fall. (Man, we spent so long making it I have to remember what it's about!)

The idea arose as a mix of what I thought Dave's song was about (I was wrong, turned out, but a less than literal interpretation is sometimes better anyway) and the long standing desire based on previous brainstorming with friends to do some kind of video involving a karaoke bar (because that's just plain fun!).

I'd say that the video is pretty open to interpretation, but to me the themes really are driven by the karaoke (lip service, lip syncing, taking on someone else's persona and words) and the ghosts (the wispy nature of time, reality and perception). The combination of the two amount to the wispy reality of our own persona and our own words.

What does it mean to be an artist or a musician or filmmaker these days–the days of remix culture? It's all been hashed and smashed and rehashed so many times that it's hard to know if I'm standing here speaking words and ideas that have formed in my own mind, or if I'm unwittingly lip syncing to a prerecorded track that is an endless loop of minor mutations. I find myself confused and a little disappointed to be existing in this state: unable to fully own my thoughts and ideas, or to know that I'm not a ghost of pop culture past, present and future. So I guess the video is kind of a loose take on that: We're trapped in the monitor presenting our 3.5 minutes–offered up as another echo to be folded into the aggregate consciousness, looped into the machine as reality recedes.

Oops, going off the deep end…too many William Gibson novels. Then again, maybe this is just a fun, silly video, with the bonus excuse to get a bunch of people together in a bar.

(Dave, Brendan and Amanda, rebuttals or input to my take on things?

Dave: "Well said, Emily."
Brendan: "No dissent here."
Amanda: "…reminds me of your songs."

I think they're being way too agreeable.)

That's about it. The pool was actually very cold!

Okay, one more thing: WW and LocalCut's own AP Kryza is apparently among the video's karaokeing fools. Perhaps you'll find your own friend or colleague within!

The Crosswalks next show is Saturday, Oct. 6, with Wallpaper and Sea Caves. 9:30 pm. $5. 21+. Image: still shot from the video, taken from the band's MySpace.

Editor's Choice
What: The Crosswalks
(Alternative, Pop/Vocal)

Another addition to Portland's flourishing indie-pop scene, the Crosswalks released their first full-length record earlier this year, an album as fun as it is smart.
~ Luciana Lopez / Music Editor / The Oregonian

Our brand new full-length album, "New Ghost Lights" is now available at CD Baby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/crosswalks2

You can also now buy our first recording, "This Was Now" at  http://cdbaby.com/cd/crosswalks1

For those of you that live in Portland, the CDs are available at Music Millennium and Everyday Music, and of course at our shows, where we'll give you a button too (while they last)!

The Crosswalks, "Ghost Writer," New Ghost Lights (self-released)
May 17th, 2007 [11:30AM] Posted by: AMY MCCULLOUGH | 0 COMMENTS

The Crosswalks "Ghost Writer," the opening track on the Crosswalks' debut full-length, starts out with just what I've come to expect from this band: a driving, chronically infectious melody.

Even before the winding vocals–all three members sing "Maybe now/ Then maybe end/ Maybe begin" in unison–kick in, the Crosswalks hook you with a bright guitar lead, an alternately driving and snappy drum beat and a head-boppin' bass line. But the thing that really gets me–and really gets locked into my brain for days–is when drummer Dave Shur sings the words, "Take a step back/ Take two steps back" in this quasi-funky, syncopated way.

And this song has freakin' handclaps and "la la la la" refrains, for chrissakes! It's as if the Crosswalks thought all the other absurdly catchy things mentioned earlier might not be enough. Well, congrats guys (and gal), I think you've got all your pop bases covered–really well.


http://localcut.wweek.com/2007/05/17/the-crosswalks-ghost-writer-new-ghost-lights-self-released/

The Crosswalks celebrate the release of New Ghost Lights with Oh! Captain and Yeltsin on Saturday, May 19, at the Towne Lounge. 9 pm. $5. 21+.


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The Crosswalks, New Ghost Lights (Self-released)

The Crosswalks' debut delivers on the promise of its songwriters' parts.


BY AMY MCCULLOUGH |MUSIC EDITOR // WILLAMETTE WEEK
[May 16th, 2007] [NO-NONSENSE JANGLE POP]

It might seem unlikely that a band with three singer-songwriters could put together a coherent album (or even get along well enough to record an album), but that's just what local jangle-pop trio the Crosswalks has done on its full-length debut. And New Ghost Lights isn't just coherent, it's really good.

Perhaps that's because the band's members—guitarist-vocalist Brendan McCracken, bassist-vocalist Emily Vidal and drummer-vocalist Dave Shur—work with, instead of against, one another. Within the first 10 seconds of the album, they perfectly meld prickly, bright guitar notes with thumping drums and a meandering, melodic bass line; within the first 20, the band's three singers have delivered the album's opening lyrics as one choir-rific unit. But it's not a generic blending that allows the songs on New Ghost Lights to get along, either. Each songwriter's voice and style are recognizable and distinct, but the musicians so expertly embellish one another's strengths that the result is, naturally, a completely unified band sound.

When Shur launches into a characteristically goofy, high-pitched refrain of "ooh ooh ooh" on "Barrow to the Beach," for instance, McCracken grounds the song in an angular, Built to Spill-style guitar part that mirrors Shur's melody. Later in the same song, the group sings the chorus in a round—and it's not at all cheesy. Similarly, while Vidal's Calvin Johnson-meets-Elvis Costello voice is at its lackadaisical best on "Voices," the song wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the band's noise-rattled, Pixies-style interruptions and the guys' sugary, '60s-ish backing vocals during the outro.


From McCracken's rhythmic wordplay on "Find Time for Wind Time" to Shur's mellow lead vocals and beach-inspired drums on "Takedown Boogie" or Vidal's flat, drawn-out delivery on "Buildings and Barns," this band is a team—which is exactly why it doesn't matter whose design is behind any particular track. Rather than fighting for the limelight, each member of the Crosswalks seems to embrace the same musical priorities: Make it catchy, and make it feel good.

So, when the Crosswalks join voices yet again on lo-fi sing-along "In a Kiln," belting the words, "They don't make 'em like they used to/ They try but they never can," the musicians negate their own words. Refreshingly, New Ghost Lights doesn't feel like it's trying. It's the good, old-fashioned result of teamwork—the result of three capable songwriters joining forces to create something greater than the sum of its parts.


The Crosswalks celebrates the release of New Ghost Lights with Oh! Captain and Yeltsin on Saturday, May 19, at the Towne Lounge. 9 pm. $5. 21+.

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3304/8311/#EmilyVidalThursday,Dec.7

Check out the awesome write up Amy McCullough of the Williamette Week did on Emily!

If you want to see the article about Yoyodyne in which Amy M. originally called Emily the "female Calvin Johnson" you can find it here: http://localcut.wweek.com/?p=572

Hey all,

It's been a while since we've posted!  We were busy all summer working on our first full length record, and we've posted a couple of tracks for you to check out... the record's not quite done yet, but we hope you enjoy the sneak peek.  Keep checking back--we'll probably rotate some other tracks in as well...

For anybody reading this blog as it's hot off the press, we're playing tonight at Mississippi Pizza Pub in North Portland with a band called Meru from Olympia...we'll be playing 2 sets for the first time in a long while.  We've added all kinds of spice to our old tunes and have some new tunes to show off, too, so we hope to see you out there!

Later,
Brendan/The Crosswalks

We're super psyched to play this show next Tuesday at Dante's--check our show calendar for more info.

Also, we made it so you can add our songs to your profile!

Still working on those video clips, youtube.com has been a pain for some reason.

Hope to see you all at the show!