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There are always questions when a local or regional
band that seems - from the outside - to be on the cusp of some sort of success
calls it quits. Seeing bands I really dig call it quits when they have such potential has made me a little, we'll call it fan-shy. My favorite Charlotte band broke up a couple years ago and it
still smarts. Whenever I see those musicians out, I give them a hug and think
about the missed opportunities.
Charleston’s Crowfield is calling it quits with three shows. The first is at
The Handlebar in Greenville Friday. The second is at Charlotte’s Visulite Saturday,
January 25. It makes its final bow in Charleston March 15.
The group gave the industry a worthy shot and outlived better known bands with six years
and three albums - all produced by Rick Beato who has worked with
NeedtoBreathe, Trey Anastasio, and Shinedown. It was named Charleston’s best
band by "City Paper" in 2012, has toured extensiveley, and was selected to have its entire
catalog shopped to CBS’ music supervisor through a contest that pitted them
against hundreds of other acts
.
From the outside it looks like a terrible time to
throw in the towel, but according to frontman Tyler Meacham the split is
amicable.
“There isn't any juicy drama. All of us in the band
are still as good of friends. I can only speak for myself - but
personally I think what I wanted out of music has just changed since I
started the band. The goal then was to get in front of as many people
as I can with my music, get on the biggest stages, and live in a tour bus
playing music I'm infinitely proud of,” he wrote in an email. “Now, I think it is,
more simply, to make, release and perform music I'm infinitely proud of. I don't have that need to take over the world with my music, so to speak.
“There's a
lot of sacrifice that goes along with a pursuit as grand as taking over the
world with mid-tempo folky rock songs. I think I also came to the
understanding that you never 'make it' or 'fail' in this business.
Failing would have been to never move from Indiana to Charleston to at
least give it a try. In that sense, I'm beyond proud of what we did in
Crowfield - the places we went, the naive fearlessness in which we operated in
the early days, and the whole thrill of seeing people connect to our music,”
continues Meacham, who married in 2012 and plans to keep making music without
touring to the extent that he did with the band. Of going solo, he adds: “I
feel like I got to play with some of the best musicians out there - those being
the other guys in Crowfield. I can honestly say I was the least talented
person in that band. So, I wouldn't hesitate to call them to help me out.”
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