Staggered Crossing

Staggered Crossing, sometimes nicknamed StagX, are a Canadian roots rock band formed in 1996 in Toronto.^[1]

History

Early years

The original group was formed in 1996 in Toronto by four high school friends, Julian Taylor (JT), David E.G. Marshall, Dan Black and Jeremy Elliott. The group quickly gained a local following in North Toronto due to their frequent performances. Later in 1996 they recorded their first EP with Toronto musician and producer, Darrell O'Dea .

David Marshall left in 1997 to attend university in Montreal, leaving the group without a lead guitarist. They added their producer, Darrell O'Dea, and guitarist Bruce Adamson to the line-up. They became one of the local Toronto scene's fixture bands, playing Lee's Palace, the Horseshoe Tavern, Reverb, the El Mocambo and many other venues on a regular basis .

After hearing the group's first EP, producer and publisher, Frank Davies, president of The Music Publisher (TMP),^[2] signed them to a development deal. Under Davies development they wrote and recorded almost 40 songs from 1997 to 1999, many of which have been released on various EPs and live bootleg recordings.

Warner Music (1999-2001)

The band were signed to Warner Music Canada in 1999. Later that year they signed with manager Larry Wanagas, founder of Bumstead Records, who had managed acts such as Big Sugar, k.d. lang, Susan Aglukark, The Trews and BOY. The band's self-titled full-length debut came out in 2001. The first single, "Further Again" was a notable success, ending the year as the sixth most played song on rock radio in Canada . Subsequent singles "A Million Works of Art" and "Old Man" also received significant airplay.

The band continued to tour and perform across Canada with groups such as Big Sugar, Blue Rodeo, Nickelback, The Guess Who, Midnight Oil, 54-40, Wide Mouth Mason, Crowbar, and Spirit of the West. Other highlights included an appearance on the Mike Bullard show and the Canadian Organization of Campus Activities naming their self-titled album the Best Contemporary Music Recording of the Year at Universities and Colleges in 2001.^[2]

Bruce Adamson left the group to further his career in publishing and law in 2001.^[1] In an attempt to return to the sound of their early years the band parted with producer and band member, Darrell O'Dea. The band also parted ways over creative differences later that year with Warner Music Canada, opting instead to start their own label.

Independent Record Label

The band's original guitarist, David Marshall, re-joined the group in December 2001. Soon after, Staggered Crossing formed their own publishing company and record label, Bent Penny Records. In 2002 they recorded and released an ironically-titled follow-up, Last Summer When We Were Famous with producer Jay Bennett of Wilco fame.^[2]

Their Burgundy & Blue album followed in 2004. In mid-January 2006 it reached the Top 10 on the weekly Nielsen SoundScan sales charts for the Toronto market, perhaps spurred by the group's New Year's Eve show at the popular Toronto venue Lee's Palace, where they covered Nirvana's Nevermind in its entirety .

Breakup

Following a number of recording sessions referred to as "1978", the year in which all four members were born, the band officially announced their breakup on August 29, 2007 .^[3] In a press release the band assured fans and the media that their parting was amiable, stating:

... While it would certainly be more fun to announce a break up because of 'creative differences' or because of some monumental and catastrophic fight between bandmates, neither is the case. We simply cannot continue to commit the time, energy and enthusiasm to this band that we love so much. We are still great friends and this change is not the end of our musical collaborations.

The band continues to play together on an informal basis. Notably, the band reunited for a concert at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario Thursday July 9, 2009 to pay tribute to the music of Jay Walter Bennett, who produced the band's second album, "Last Summer When We Were Famous". Bennett had recently died at his home. Bruce Adamson, Dan Black, Julian Taylor, David Marshall and Jeremy Elliott were all present. In conjunction with the concert, a tribute single entitled 'Pull You Through' and written by Bennett's former band Titanic Love Affair was released to Canadian radio .

The band reunited to open for Blue Rodeo at the Nepean National Equestrian Park on August 21, 2010. Ben Spivak played keyboards.

The band also performed Saturday December 03, 2011 at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto as part of the long standing Christmas show: 'StagXmas Bash'.

Bruce Adamson died December 15th, 2015 in Toronto.^[3]

Drummer Jeremy Elliott and Singer/Guitarist Julian Taylor now perform & record as part of the Julian Taylor Band, and have released two albums: 'Tech Noir' in 2014, and the double album 'Desert Star' on Aporia Records in 2016.

Members

Jeremy Elliott

Julian Taylor

• Julian Taylor, vocals and guitar
• Dan Black, bass guitar
• Jeremy Elliott, drums
• David E.G. Marshall, guitar (a founding member of the group, left in 1997 and returned in December 2001)
• Darrell O'Dea, keyboards, guitars and vocals (1997 to December 2001)
• Bruce Adamson, lead guitar (1997 to December 2001) (died 2015)

Discography

Studio albums

• Mold (1997)
• 4-Song EP (2000)
• Staggered Crossing (2001)
• Last Summer When We Were Famous (2002)
• Burgundy & Blue (2004)

Music videos

• "Further Again" (2001)
• "A Million Works of Art" (2001)
• "Felony" (2002)
• "Business As Usual" (2003)

Singles

• "Further Again" (2001) - Top 10
• "Million Works of Art" (2001) - Top 40
• "Old Man" (2001)
• "Felony" (2002)
• "Business as Usual" (2003) - Top 100
• "Everyone Says" (2003)
• "Grow" (2004)
• "Perfect Prize" (2005) - Top 20
• "Don't Get Me Started" (2005) - Top 100
• "Pull You Through" (2009)

References