The members of locally-based rock band Silvercrush — which has just gone nationwide — met in a coffee shop. "We didn't even go to the same high school," Steele Croswhite said. "We just hung out at a coffee shop. We struck up a conversation and found that we all played different instruments, so we decided to form a band."
Silvercrush — featuring singer/guitarist Croswhite, keyboardist Mike Flynn, guitarist Carl Broemel (formerly of Lifehouse), drummer Jim Stauffer and bassist Dave Christensen — will celebrate the nationwide release of its debut album, "Stand," at Liquid Joe's, 1249 E. 3300 South, tonight and Saturday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Some big things have happened during the past two years, Croswhite told the Deseret News. The band signed a record deal with Redline Entertainment after playing the 2000 Vans Warped Tour, and it also performed at the Ice Village with the Foo Fighters during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
"When we got together, all we wanted to do was get to where we are now," said Croswhite, who lives in Sandy. "We had asked my father to manage us and went from there."
Croswhite's father, Bill, who died two months before the Warped Tour gig, made sure the band — originally dubbed Choice of Rein — was ready to play in public by keeping it in the Croswhite basement for about a year. "We readied ourselves there and trained ourselves to be presentable," the younger Croswhite said. "Then we began playing places, and played (University of Utah's) Mayfest, and then we went on to clubs like Liquid Joe's and the Zephyr."
Throughout that time, challenges came and went — and then Bill Croswhite succumbed to an aortic aneurysm. "He was my best friend," Croswhite said. "And it hit the band so hard that we all contemplated whether or not we should go on."
Instead of calling it quits, however, Croswhite found himself delving into music more than ever. "I thought I wanted to get away from it all. But I started writing more and playing more. And then I realized that I couldn't live without music. We all couldn't."
During the Warped show, a record representative from Redline pulled the band aside and the contract talks began. "It all happened so fast," Croswhite said. "And we signed the dotted line that winter."
After finishing the deal, the band and the label got together and decided to change the band's name. "The label had its input," said Croswhite, who cited U2, matchbox 20, the Beatles and Elvis as some of his musical heroes. "They felt Choice of Rein sounded too much like a gothic rock band. And they wanted us to achieve our vision of reaching as many people as we could. So we all agreed on Silvercrush."
The name change is a bit scary for the band, Croswhite admitted. "We didn't want to have our fan base here think we sold out or anything like that. But they all understood. And the fact is, we didn't change our style. The only thing we changed was the name."
Croswhite said he and his band-mates still think in terms of how to take things to the next level. "We are a goal-oriented band," he said. "And there are other things we want to do. We're still struggling musicians, and we want to make sure we keep ourselves on track. We don't want to think it's done just because we signed a contract. We have to keep thinking how we can get to the next step.
"But we're not into taking shortcuts. We want to be here for a while and not a one-hit wonder."
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com