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Detroit Music Award-winning band SWEET CRYSTAL have been playing together for over 40 years now. Progressive, powerful, and passionate; the band are on the front line of the Christian rock music scene and lead vocalist and keyboard player Marq Andrew Speck was on hand to talk us through the formation of the band and the journey that they have been on over the last few decades…
What are the origins of Sweet Crystal, how long have you been playing together?
I’m Marq Andrew Speck, lead vocalist and keyboard player for 24-time Detroit Music Award-winning band SWEET CRYSTAL (www.sweetcrystal.com). Along with founding members guitarist Bill Blatter and drummer Steve Wieser and now joined by newest member and bass player Martin Kuchar, we have been at the forefront of the Christian rock scene here in Michigan even before this genre had its own radio and broadcast outlets.
Unlike most bands who have a lifecycle of about three to five years, this band of high school buddies (myself, Bill, and Steve) has been playing together for over 40 years. We got together right out of high school (and actually Bill and Steve played together during high school!). To this day we get together every week to rehearse, record and just enjoy each other’s company. Does it get old after 4 decades together? Absolutely not! We just get better with age.
How did you feel performing your first gig? And how was it?
It was a very long time ago but the thrill that is generated when you step on stage… has never waned over all these decades.
What should people expect when they check the band out?
Our trademarked slogan “Reaching The World, One Song At A Time” ™ pretty much says it all about our music, message, mission and ministry. We are here to reach out to a world with songs of hope and inspiration; a musical light at the end of every dark tunnel you might be going through because chances are good – we’ve gone through those very same tunnels ourselves and definitely have found a way out.
How would you describe Sweet Crystal?
Basically, we are considered a Detroit band and have been since we started this journey. In the beginning, we opened up for such classic rock acts as Bob Seger, Foghat, Nazareth, Steppenwolf, and many more before finding our true path into the Christian music field. We started out totally influenced by the progressive rock English music scene of the 60s and 70s: bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep all left their musical marks on our writing and playing. We also listened to a lot of American bands like Kansas, Journey, Rush, and Spock’s Beard to keep our creative juices flowing. This latest album ‘7th HEAVEN’ continues where our last release ‘Got Your Six’ left off: songs of hope and inspiration featuring our signature guitar sounds, synth melodies, straight-ahead drumming with just a few chanting monks thrown in for good measure.
The new music scene is bursting at the seams with fresh talent, in what ways do you feel that a band has to stand out from the others trying to build a name?
You need to be true to yourself as an artist because if your music doesn’t speak to you, as the writer/performer how well will it speak to new listeners? There are so many ways to get yourself out there…but always remember that thousands of others doing exactly the same thing so take heart, do what you do with a good attitude, and appreciate what comes your way. Don’t put the media and websites on a pedestal in your life but as simple creative rungs on your ladder along the way.
What are you working on at the minute that people can check out?
We just finished our latest release “7th Heaven” – which happens to be our 7th CD as well – and it dropped everywhere (digital downloads, streaming, and physical CDs) on Valentine’s Day making that holiday… even Sweeter. We previously released 4 singles from “7th Heaven” during 2020/21 with video support (on our YouTube channel and other social sites) but thought waiting until this New Year (with the very challenging last two years behind us) might be just the spark our fans and audiences would appreciate to make 2022 a much happier New Year indeed.
Our complete discography can be heard over at our Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages.
BANDCAMP: https://sweetcrystal.bandcamp.com
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sweet_crystal
What band out there at the minute do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Would love the chance to open for Neal Morse (Spock’s Beard; Transatlantic; Flying Colors; more). His brand of progressive rock and inspiring lyrics would seem a perfect fit to us.
Who do you feel is the next band to break out?
Hopefully, it will be… SWEET CRYSTAL! After all these years together, seems just about the right time to get our music, message, mission and ministry out to the entire world.
What are your first musical memories?
Me personally (Marq) – I sang a solo when I was 7 years old in front of the Lutheran church and the response (mainly from my family I’m sure) was enough to make my little face smile.
And what was the light bulb moment that made you go “I want to do that”?
Again for me personally, I was living in Nashville in 7th grade and my next-door neighbor was a teenager who played guitar with his band. They rehearsed in their garage which was right across from my bedroom window and watching and listening to these ‘grown ups’ play their music… they just seemed to be so happy. I decided that was a road I wanted to travel.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
We attended a tribute concert to the great singers of music’s golden age (Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong) at the iconic Aretha Franklin Jazz Café in Detroit. Listening to those impersonators singing such classic hits put very big smiles on our faces. Well worth the experience.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Probably the amount of Broadway musical soundtracks… everything from ‘Le Miz’ to ‘West Side Story’ and not just the original productions but those iconic songs redone by more contemporary artists and groups. Listen to Phil Collins singing ‘Somewhere’ – very sweet indeed.
Although the last few years have been years to forget for many reasons, there has been some incredible music released; what would be your album of the last few years?
Not to be too self-serving… but our release ‘Got Your Six’ came out during the first year of this awful pandemic and that kept our spirits up and kept our music in the ears of our fans and followers. Even though 2020/21 were very tough years for us – and everyone for that matter, what with the closing of most venues and other places to play out – we had the great experience of Live Streaming a 30-minute performance from our personal studios Nightcrier Music here outside of
Detroit. It’s up on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/AW776sHKAes along with a lot of other online and live event videos that give a pretty sweet view into all things Crystal. It turns out this was a great way for our fans and new audiences to experience who we are and what we offer musically while relaxing at home or anywhere they can get the web. We miss the live audience feedback of a concert appearance but this at least kept us smiling.
How active are you on social media and where can people connect with you?
Very – just a simple Google search will bring you literally pages of hits and links to follow the band. Need Crystal? Sweet! Here you go:
WEBSITE: www.sweetcrystal.com
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/SweetCrystalBand
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/c/SweetCrystal
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sweet_crystal
REVERBNATION: www.reverbnation.com/sweetcrystal
SPOTIFY: http://tinyurl.com/y76vcpqg
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sweet_crystal
