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Biography
press release|date=April 2012Infobox musical artist | name = The Crüxshadows| image = Cruxshadowsinstudio2007.JPG| caption = Promotional photo| background = group_or_band| origin = Tallahassee, Florida , United States | genre = Dark Wave Synthpop electro-industrial|Dark Electro Gothic rock http://www.allmusic.com/artist/crxshadows-p211741| years_active = 1992–present| label = Wishfire Records | current_members = Rogue (musician)|Rogue Jen "Pyromantic" Jawidzik Jessica Lackey JoHanna Moresco David Russell Wood Mike Perez Jennelia Vermes | past_members = Valerie Gentile Cassandra Luger Rachel McDonnell Stacey Campbell George Bikos Tim Curry Kevin Page Chris Brantley Trevor Brown Sean Flanagan Beth Allen Holly McCall Rachel Ulrich Sarah Poulos Sarah Stewart Holly Hasty | website = http://www.thecruxshadows.com/ www.thecruxshadows.com The Crüxshadows (IPAc-en|icon|'|k|r|u?|?|æ|d|o?|z) http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php? entry=100& t=Rogue%2C+from+the+Cruxshadows%2C+interviewed+by+Benny+Hell Interview with Rogue of The Crüxshadows is an electro-industrial|Dark Electro group from Florida . Their sound is made up of a combination of male vocals, electric violin , guitar , and Synthesizer|synth . Centered around vocalist and songwriter Rogue (musician)|Rogue , The Crüxshadows blend 1980s inspired synthpop and modern rock with introspective lyrics.
The band has enjoyed global popularity, http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/99999999/ENT05/60111009/1061 International Recording Artists releasing CDs worldwide and touring extensively throughout North America , Europe , and Asia . http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content? oid=oid%3A22842 Pittsburgh City Paper
For much of the band's career, they have been available through Dancing Ferret Discs , an independent label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. http://www.darkwavelounge.com/ferret.html Interview with Patrick Rodgers of Dancing Ferret In 2009 the band formed partnerships with several labels and distributors that allowed them to create their own imprint, Wishfire Records. http://www.wishfirerecords.com new label for Cruxshadows Lyrically much of The Crüxshadows' music draws its influence and subject matter from mythology, religion, history, and dreams. http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php? id=22607_0_16_0_C Sideline Magazine Interview with Rogue Often referred to with the acronym CXS , their motto is Live Love Be Believe .
History
The band was originally formed in 1992 by Rogue (musician)|Rogue , Sean Flanagan, http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm bands website bio claims keyboard players name was Flanagan, not Beard and Tim Curry, in Tallahassee , Florida. http://vampirefreaks.com/content/comment.php? entry=100& t=Rogue%2C+from+the+Cruxshadows%2C+interviewed+by+Benny+Hell Interview with Rogue of the Crüxshadows The Cruxshadows' debut album, ...night crawls in , was self-released under the "Black Widow Music" label in 1993, followed by their first CD release, Telemetry of a Fallen Angel , in 1996. Telemetry earned them a fair amount of recognition and produced the band's first signature song, Marilyn, My Bitterness . In 1997 they signed a short-lived record deal with Nesak International. http://www.emusic.com/artist/11606/11606018.html emusic biography Flanagan and Curry left the band a few months later. http://www.windowsmedia.com/Mediaguide/Templates/Biography.aspx? p_id=P%20%20%20211741 Microsoft windows media guide Toward the end of 1997, The Cruxshadows interests were transferred to Dancing Ferret Discs, http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/archives/rodgers_ferret.html interview with Patrick Rodgers and Telemetry became the new label's first release. Rogue assembled a new musical lineup and recorded The Mystery of the Whisper , Paradox Addendum and Until the Voices Fade... (1998–2000). http://www.cruxshadows.com/music.htm lyrics & Discography
In 2000, the band released the song Deception as part of the Vampire: The Masquerade Music from the succubus club|soundtrack . During that year, they began to actively promote their music in Europe, particularly Germany, and recorded Deception in a Germany|German language version titled Täuschung . They played their first tour of Europe http://www.lollipop.com/disc56/thecruxshadows.html Crüxshadows go to Europe and released a special limited edition CD available only at their European live shows called Intercontinental Drift . Due to high fan demand, a slightly expanded version was officially released worldwide with the title Echoes and Artifacts . http://www.shout.ru/news/news_october2004_e.htm echoes & Artifacts review
Although a United States|U.S. band, they have enjoyed some success in Europe http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/99999999/ENT05/60111009/1061 Tallahassee Democrat – www.tallahassee.com – Tallahassee, FL: after debuting at #5, the 2002 EP Tears (The Crüxshadows album)|Tears stayed in the Deutsche Alternative Charts for 8 weeks http://www.trendcharts.de/ German Charts and subsequent releases have consistently placed in the top 10. http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm Crüxshadows Biography That same year they released the album Wishfire which also placed at #2 on the DAC and secured the band's popularity both in the USA and in Europe. In Late 2003, The band released Ethernaut and produced one of its most recognizable and enduring songs to date, Winterborn . In 2004 The Crüxshadows released a remix disc based on the material on the Ethernaut CD called Fortress In Flames . Both CDs featured cover art created by noted artist Chad Michael Ward . http://www.digitalapocalypse.com/clients.php Chad Michael Ward client list
In 2005 The band released a DVD called Shadowbox . The DVD featured a 2004 performance given to 15,000 fans at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig Germany and demonstrated the kind of theatrical intensity the band's concerts are known for having. http://www.starvox.net/crypt/wgt2004/3.htm Crüxshadows Concert review It also contained several music videos, a few documentaries about the band, many extras, and an additional audio CD. The song "Foreverlast" was released as part of the DVD/CD combo. http://www.amazon.com/Cruxshadows-Shadowbox/dp/B0009KFQ4G Crüxshadows Shadowbox amazon page
Their 2006 single, " Sophia-EP|Sophia ", made its debut on the Billboard Charts in the issue dated September 23, 2006. " Sophia-EP|Sophia " debuted at #1 on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart, replacing Beyoncé in the top spot. At the same time, it placed at #7 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart. On both charts, "Sophia" was the highest-ranking debut entry that week. http://www.cruxshadows.com/billboard.html Billboard reference PDF's The release of "Sophia" coincided with the band's performance at 2006's Dragon*Con . In an interview on the Dragon Con website, Rogue credits much of the single's success to their appearance at the convention and performance there. http://www.dragoncon.org/pdfs/biz.yahoo.com_news_crux.pdf Indie Band Replaces Beyonce at Top of BillboardSophia remained in the charts for 19 weeks, including a re-entry http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp? cfi=361& cfgn=Singles& cfn=Hot+Dance+Singles+Sales& ci=3086426& cdi=9395405& cid=09%2F22%2F2007 Top Music Charts – Hot 100 – Billboard 200 – Music Genre Sales almost a year later. In 2007 The Crüxshadows released the long anticipated Dreamcypher , followed by a second single, Birthday (The Crüxshadows EP)|Birthday . Birthday (The Crüxshadows EP)|Birthday debuted at #1 on the Billboard Dance Singles Sales Chart http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp? cfi=361& cfgn=Singles& cfn=Hot+Dance+Singles+Sales& ci=3086426& cdi=9395403& cid=09%2F22%2F2007 Top Music Charts – Hot 100 – Billboard 200 – Music Genre Sales and was the #2 selling single of any genre in the entire country that week, http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp? cfi=353& cfgn=Singles& cfn=Hot+Singles+Sales& ci=3086435& cdi=9395844& cid=09%2F22%2F2007 Top Music Charts – Hot 100 – Billboard 200 – Music Genre Sales second only to the single from High School Musical 2
The band toured China in May 2007, and became the first goth band ever to perform at an open-air festival in that country. This performance took place during the MIDI Festival http://www.midifestival.com/stage/Main_stage/04band.htm Ãôµñòôàö½Ú Ö÷Îèì¨ in Beijing and was covered by Chinese television and print media. http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/p/2007-05-05/10321542855.html ??:???????-CRUXSHADOWS????_????_???
Members Rachel McDonnell, George Bikos, and Sarah Poulos left the group at the end of the 2007 DreamCypher tour, and the band gained new members in Valerie Gentile, JoHanna Moresco, David Russel Wood, and Sarah Stewart (originally listed as Sarah Kilgore). This new lineup released the single "Immortal" on July 4 (Europe)/July 8 (USA), and began the 2008 Immortal Tour. Immortal became the band's third consecutive Billboard top ten single (by sales) in the United States. Valerie Gentile toured with the band for 2008, but early in 2009, left the band returning home to New York City. Cassandra Luger was chosen to take her place http://www.cruxshadows.com/blogger.html but lasted only a single tour season before being replaced by guitarist Mike Perez in early 2010. Jenne Vermes was added as a singer/dancer at the same time. http://www.thecruxshadows.com/news
Despite a large number of major setbacks in early 2010 including a crippling theft of money and equipment, legal issues, and the loss of several members, the band returned to Europe to play some festivals including the Amphi Festival in Köln.
The band's sales remain strong on both sides of the Atlantic Citation needed|date=May 2012and their music is a staple of club dance floors worldwide. In Germany, they have appeared on several TV shows and on the covers of a number of magazines. http://www.cruxshadows.com/ethernaut.html Ethernaut Their music has been used in American Television programs on VH1 , MTV , Discovery Channel , National Geographic Channel|National Geographic , Logo (TV channel)|Logo , and American Broadcasting Company|ABC . Citation needed|date=February 2008 Throughout their history, the band toured extensively, often averaging between 100–120 live shows per year up until the current decade. http://www.cruxshadows.com/tour.htm Crüxshadows tour schedule Their tours have thus far taken them to more than thirty countries, sometimes playing for crowds of 25,000 or more. http://www.cruxshadows.com/about.htm Official band bio While they are no stranger to large festival shows, they have throughout their career made a point to play smaller cities in the US and Europe that do not often have the chance to host live shows by major touring acts.
The band founded its own label, Wishfire Records some time in 2009, and released a new single in the second half of that year. Their first title Quicksilver debuted at #32 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales chart http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=blog.view& friendId=59560578& blogId=512073919 and several months later, it returned to the charts, this time at #2. Additionally Quicksilver debuted at #7 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales Chart and later peaked at the #1 position tying it with Birthday for The Crüxshadows highest charting song. http://www.cruxshadows.org/Quicksilver.html The band's first album on its own label was scheduled for release in August 2012, over five and a half years after the release of their previous album. http://twitter.com/thecruxshadows/status/195176940964020224
Labels
The Cruxshadows initially self-released two albums under the imprint name "Black Widow Music" between 1992 and 1996. http://www.discogs.com/Crüxshadows-Night-Crawls-In/master/99462 Those titles were Night Crawls In... and Telemetry of A Fallen Angel . In 1997 they signed a deal with Nesak International/Kado Records to give Telemetry of A Fallen Angel a full commercial release, as well as an option for a future album. Nesak eventually sold their rights to Dancing Ferret Discs and Mere Mortal Records.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p211741/biography|pure_url=yes Mere Mortal Records went out of business prior to releasing any albums by The Crüxshadows. http://www.rocketpop.com/meremortal/mmp.html Dancing Ferret Discs released a number of The Crüxshadows titles over the following ten years. http://www.discogs.com/label/Dancing+Ferret+Discs? sort=artist%2Casc In July 2008, Dancing Ferret Discs announced that it was becoming a catalog label and while existing titles would remain in print, the label would not be releasing new albums. http://dancing-ferret.com/faq.htm Rather than sign a deal with another label, The Crüxshadows started their own label in mid-2009, in cooperation with several established labels and distributors in different markets worldwide. http://www.wishfirerecords.com Their new label was named Wishfire Records and their first release was Quicksilver, which hit the shelves in the USA on September 8, 2009. http://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Cruxshadows/dp/B002GNOLZ4 The song became their fourth consecutive single to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Charts, and their third to occupy the #1 position. http://www.cruxshadows.com/News.html
Touring
The band is known for extensive touring, appearing in club shows, theatre shows, and at festivals in Europe and North America annually. In 2007, they were invited to play at the Midi Festival in Beijing, China. http://web125.burns.kundenserver42.de/rockinchina/index.php? Itemid=56& id=0& option=com_content& task=blogcategory Rock In China – News http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php? id=19581_0_2_0_C Crüxshadows play Beijing, China In 2009 the band performed as headliner of The Gothic Cruise, and in September 2010 the band played Dragon Con held in Atlanta, Georgia . http://www.dragoncon.org/dc_guest_detail.php? id=37 (dc-cruxshadows guest page).
Lyrics and concepts
Much of The Crüxshadows' music is based on Greek and Egyptian mythology. Their work includes symbolic references to a number of mythical figures, http://www.cruxshadows.com/lyricfinder.html and many of their lyrics deal with the concept of God. According to the band's singer Rogue, the inspiration for much of The Crüxshadows' material came from a five tiered dream. http://www.side-line.com/interviews_comments.php? id=22607_0_16_0_C The primary albums together form a series unofficially called the Angel Cycle. http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp? AuthorID=11214& id=148319 This cycle uses myth, legend, and spiritual elements to address more personal issues that are characterized by their universal significance. http://www.popculturemadness.com/interview/Rogue-Cruxshadows.html http://www.thedside.it/interviste/int28.asp The lyrics operate as re-invented parables in many cases, and Rogue has openly stated that he intends Cruxshadows to impact people's lives individually through music.
References in popular culture
Having become one of the better-known Gothic/Darkwave bands in recent years, The Crüxshadows' many supporters also include authors such as fantasy/horror writer Caitlín R. Kiernan , http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/horroronline/kiernan.html http://greygirlbeast.dreamwidth.org/2004/11/10/ fantasy writer Sherryln Kenyon, http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/book_profile.php? id=56 see "read more" section for "Stroke of Midnight" and military science fiction writer John Ringo . http://johnringo.nitro.gen.nz/FAQ/MusicFAQ/tabid/1682/Default.aspx Ringo is fond of including references to The Crüxshadows and their lyrics in his works. In Ghost (John Ringo novel)|Ghost , former Navy SEAL Petty Officer Mike Harmon makes references to the song "Winterborn". The most recent novel in the Legacy of the Aldenata series, Eye of the Storm (Ringo novel)|Eye of the Storm , takes its title from the Crüxshadows song of the same name, and the first verse's lyrics are printed on an introductory page.
The Crüxshadows name and likeness have occurred as cameos in comic books like Vertigo/DC Comics' The Dreaming, television shows like CSI,CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, season 8, episode 7: Goodbye and good luck and cartoon strips. http://www.officialcruxshadows.com/news http://www.thecruxshadows.com/uploaded_images/2008-05-08-707949.jpg http://www.gothybeans.com/? tag=cruxshadows
Members
Rogue (musician)|Rogue – lead vocals, violin, programming, songwriting
Mike Perez – guitar
Jen "Pyromantic" Jawidzik – live synths, backing vocals
#1 "Sophia" – ( United States|U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2006-09-23
#7 "Sophia" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2006-09-23
#1 "Birthday" – ( United States|U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2007-09-22
#2 "Birthday" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2007-09-22
#23 "Sophia" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2007-09-22
#2 "Immortal" – ( United States|U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2008-09-11
#6 "Immortal" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2008-09-11
#7 "Quicksilver" – ( United States|U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2009-09-26
#32 "Quicksilver" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2009-09-26
#1 "Quicksilver" – ( United States|U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2009-11-21
#2 "Quicksilver" – ( United States|U.S. Hot 100 Singles Sales ) – Issue Date: 2009-11-21
References
reflist|2
External links
commons|The Crüxshadows
http://www.thecruxshadows.com Official website
http://www.cruxshadows.de Official German website
http://www.legendsmagazine.net/134/rogue.htm Interview with Rogue
DEFAULTSORT:Cruxshadows, The Category:Rock music groups from Florida Category:Darkwave musical groups Category:Gothic rock groups Category:Musical groups established in 1992
