Our eleventh band to feature on this year’s Music Interview Marathon is the Christian progressive rock quartet Sweet Crystal who share their passion for using their music to give people hope and inspiration.
Band Name: Sweet Crystal
Members: MarQ Andrew Speck (lead vocals, keyboards, lyrics), Bill Blatter (guitars, harmony vocals), Steve Wieser (drums) & Martin Kuchar (bass guitar, harmony vocals)
Genre: Christian Progressive Rock
Founded: June 1974
Originated From: Suburbs of Detroit/Oakland County/Michigan, USA
Discography: (EP’s, singles, albums titles): 7th Heaven (2022), Got Your Six (2021), 5 Carat Rock (2016), Quad (2015), The Light Of Christmas (2013), Hairspray: A Tribute to 80’s Power Ballads 2013 Served Acoustic: A Tribute to Warrant 2004 Power-N-Glory: Resurrected Masters (2003), Still Standing (2001), Power And The Glory (1985), Larry, Moe & Curly Joe / Now Or Never (1984), Warlords / Here, Now And Then (1977), Sweet Crystal Blues / Warlords (1977) & Fantastic Five (Various Artists) (1976)
How would you describe your music?
We are considered a Detroit progressive Christian rock band and have been since we started this journey. 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.
What is your musical creative process like?
Most songs start out as an idea from Bill and MarQ. We play a lot of freeform jams at our rehearsals and out of those jams, we pick melodies, chord patterns and themes that just seem to be…sweeter to our ears.
MarQ then takes those ideas and does the arrangements, adds the melodies and lyrics and presents the rough songs to the guys where they each bring their own expertise to make the final products. It really is a full band process on each song.
How did the band form?
We’ve all been playing since we were teenagers – actually, Bill and Steve played together during high school. Marq came along later, during our college years and we all set out to make it our full-time jobs (which we did for many years – 6 1⁄2 tons of gear, 4-man road crew). The three of us – the core-founding members – have never stopped playing together.
The newest member is Marty Kuchar on bass and as of today, has been with us for nearly five years – we guess we passed his audition! To this day, we get together every week to rehearse, record and just enjoy each other’s company. Does it get old after four decades together? Absolutely not! We just get better with age.
How did you come up with your band name?
The name of the band reflects the message of our music and mission referring to passages in the Book Of Revelation that describe a river of sweet water flowing out from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Sounded like an amazing sight to see and place to be…so we adopted it and never looked back!
Who influenced you within the music industry?
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. They 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.
Have you performed live much and what was your favourite gig to play at?
We have been playing live for more years than most of our newer fans have been alive! 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.
Hopefully, this doesn’t come across as trite…but almost every year we’ve been together has given us memories and highlighted events that we will never forget.
One year we opened the show for the 23rd Annual Detroit Music Awards – a gig we always wanted to play – and that year we swept all five categories we were nominated for!
When we were starting out, we were opening for Bob Seger on New Year’s Eve at Wing Stadium in Kalamazoo. It was frightening and exhilarating as it was a sold-out 10,000-seat arena.
What is the best thing about being in a band?
As a Christian rock band, we intend the music, message and words we sing to make a difference in the lives of everyone who hear them. Our music is about us, but it’s also about you. We hope someone who attends a Sweet Crystal show will come away feeling better about themselves, knowing that whatever they are dealing with, chances are we’ve dealt with it as well.
When the song connects to the listener and gives them a glimpse of that light at the end of their current dark tunnel…that’s what makes us feel we are definitely here for a divinely directed purpose. Doesn’t get any better than that.
What’s the biggest problem you’ve had to overcome so far as musicians?
2020 and 2021 were very tough years for us – and everyone for that matter. What with the closing of most venues and other places to play out – that was indeed a huge challenge. Fortunately, we had a great experience of live streaming a 30-minute performance from our personal studios.
It turned 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.
What plans have you got coming up this year?
Our new release 7th Heaven is our seventh release and is our most powerful and passionate to date. It starts bold out of the gate and continues where last year’s Got Your Six left off. They are 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.
Not only do we have five new songs written by the band but we’ve also covered an 80s song by alt-rockers The Call and even reached back even farther to the glory days of the 60s Detroit music scene by ‘Crystalizing’ a classic SRC tune. How’s that for diversity in music?
This release features four singles that came out over the last two ‘pandemic’ years…even though we couldn’t get out and play live, we streamed a variety of shows from our studio and put out these four songs to keep us in the minds and ears of our fans, friends and family.
What is your ultimate dream as a band?
Being a 24-time Detroit Music Award-winning band here in Detroit, we think it’s about time we get some Grammy and Dove Awards attention for our music, message, ministry and mission.
You can find out more about Sweet Crystal by visiting their website and following them on Facebook and YouTube.
If you’re in a band or a musician and would like to appear on this blog, please contact me and I’ll forward you an interview template.
Also, check out my other Music Interview roundups from 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2021.
