The Crucified
| The Crucified | |
|---|---|
 The Crucified in 2009. From left to right: Mark Salomon, Jeff Bellew, Greg Minier & Jim Chaffin | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Fresno, California, United States |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, crossover thrash |
| Years active |
1984–1993 2009–present |
| Labels | Narrowpath , Ocean, Tooth & Nail |
| Associated acts | Stavesacre |
| Website | www.thecrucified.net |
| Members |
Mark Salomon Greg Minier Jeff Bellew Jim Chaffin |
| Past members |
Wayne Stonecipher Kirk Palmer Trevor Palmer Mark Johnson |
The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore punk and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The Crucified released two studio albums and three demos. They toured California for the majority of their career and appeared at the Cornerstone Festival outside of Chicago several times. The band broke up in 1993 due to personal differences, but reunited in 2009.
History
Formation
In late 1984, drummer Jim Chaffin, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Kirk Palmer, and vocalist Wayne Stonecipher started a band named K.G.B. in Fresno, California[1][2] The four teens knew each other as high school classmates. The name K.G.B. had no meaning to it, the members just thought initials "sounded cool".[3] In early 1985, K.G.B. was looking for a new vocalist due to the departure of Stonecipher. Minier asked his friend Mark Salomon to try out as vocalist.
Salomon was accepted into the band after singing a few songs the band wrote with Stonecipher.[3] Sensing pressure to have a meaning behind the name K.G.B., the band said the initials stood for Kids in God's Blessings. Not long after, the band thought the name sounded juvenile and changed it to The Crucified. The name came from Minier thinking of random names that would fit a Christian band. The Crucified added the Bible verse to the name whenever they wrote it. "For I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."[4]
Demos and The Crucified
After almost a year of writing and practicing in the Palmer's living room, the guys recorded 10 songs on a demo tape under the name K.G.B. but it was never circulated. Soon after, Kirk Palmer left the band and was replaced by his brother Trevor. 1986, The Crucified gathered together a small amount of money and recorded 15 songs on a tape named Take up Your Cross under their new name, The Crucified, and distributed the demo throughout their local area and via mail order. "Nailed", the band's second demo, was recorded the following year and the band's exposure continued to grow. Shortly after "Nailed" was recorded, the band members graduated from high school and Palmer left the group and was replaced by Mark Johnson. The band recorded "Live at the New Order" in March 1989.
Greg Sostrom saw The Crucified at a few shows and offered them a recording contract with his new start-up label, Narrowpath Records. The band accepted the offer and started to record songs at Casbah Studios in Southern California.[5] The 15 track album was titled The Crucified. It was released in compact disc format, which was a new format in the late 1980s.[5] After the album's release, the band started to tour around California, including appearances at the Cornerstone Festival as well as opening for D.R.I., G.B.H., and Pantera.[6] Johnson was fired from the band due to personal differences and the guys started looking for a new bassist. Chaffin responded to an ad in a newspaper posted by Jeff Bellew, citing The Crucified as an influence. Bellew joined the band and drove for four hours from his home in So Cal to Fresno every weekend to practice. Eventually the drive became too costly and he moved to Fresno to practice with the band.[7]
The Pillars of Humanity and Breakup
Sostrom called Salomon, recommending Ocean Entertainment as a new label for the band. Freddie Piro watched the band play live and enjoyed the show. Piro asked to fund The Crucified's next album and the band accepted. The band wrote several new songs and recorded The Pillars of Humanity.[8] For the next two years the band toured very little, but did play several headlining shows, mostly in Orange County, California and neighboring Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside Counties. The Crucified played with many bands in Southern California, among them Scaterd Few, Mortal, Vengeance Rising, Focused, P.O.D. and The Prayer Chain - often to sold out crowds.[9] Rumor had it that Pantera singer Phil Anselmo offered the band to open on the Vulgar Display of Power tour, but as the other members of Pantera did not remember The Crucified, the band did not open on the entire tour but did open for Pantera at the Fresno stop of their tour.[2]
As the band members started to struggle with their Christian faith, the members started to not get along with each other as well as they used to. By the summer of 1993, Jim Chaffin called Salomon and told him the band was done. The Crucified canceled what was to be the band's biggest tour and played Cornerstone 1995 as a farewell show.[10] Mark Salomon and Jeff Bellew went on to form the hard rock band Stavesacre.
Box-set / Pillars Re-issue / Live Shows
In September 2008, the band was able to acquire their music from Ocean Records and put together a commemorative box-set released through Tooth & Nail Records on June 30, 2009. The band also began offering new merchandise on their website and MerchNow. And on November 17, 2009, Tooth & Nail Records re-released the band's final full-length 1991 release, The Pillars of Humanity.
The band played their first show in 14 years on June 14, 2009 at the Calvary Chapel Golden Springs in Diamond Bar, California, and also played at the Cornerstone Festival on the night of July 3, 2009.[11]
The band performed their first show overseas on October 31, 2009 at the Nordic Festival in Oslo, Norway.
Members
Final lineup
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Former Members
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Discography
Studio albums
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Demos
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References
- Salomon, Mark (2005). Simplicity. Relevantbooks. ISBN 0-9760357-6-6
Notes
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 51
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Van Pelt, Doug (2005). "The Crucified interview 2005". HM: The Hard Music Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Salomon 2005, p. 53
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 54
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Salomon 2005, pp. 91–92
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 94
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 95
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 118
- ↑ Salomon 2005, p. 121
- ↑ Salomon 2005, pp. 164–166
- ↑ "Cornerstone 2009 Bands". Retrieved 2009-07-14.
External links
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