Your New Favorite Vegas Band: Meet and "LISTEN!" to Crashing Wayward

Your New Favorite Vegas Band: Meet and "LISTEN!" to Crashing Wayward

[caption id="attachment_34396" align="aligncenter" > Crashing Wayward at The Industrial, June 28, 2023. (Photo by Ajay Jhaveri @ajayjhaveri)[/caption]

There's a misconception that the Las Vegas music scene is comprised of aging cover band lounge acts or megastars with overpriced residencies (and then, of course, there are a few mainstream success stories such as The Killers, Imagine Dragons, or Panic! at the Disco—or even farther back like 12 Volt Sex or Slaughter!).

But for those willing to do a bit of digging, you'll discover a local music scene that's always been worthy of its own pedestal under a spotlight. Add the rockers of the band Crashing Wayward to a ones-to-watch list, though you don't need to be in Vegas to check out their tunes thanks to the new debut LP LISTEN!.

Vegas411 caught up with the quintet backstage at a special record release show in Downtown Las Vegas at The Industrial Sound on June 28. The multipurpose event space was transformed for the evening into a swanky L.A.-esque exclusive showcase party vibe where Crashing Wayward celebrated the album release with a live performance of the original songs.

Crashing Wayward is singer Peter Summit, Stacey David Blades and David Harris on guitars, bassist Carl Raether, and drummer Shon McKee. "God put us together; the universe put us together," says Blades of how the band formed. "Pete and I used to know each other a long time in the early 2000s in L.A., and we reconnected through a mutual friend. Then Dave was actually filling in for the last band I had before Crashing Wayward, and then he's like, 'Man, this band sounds so much better with you in it!' And Carl was through another mutual friend, and it just all came together very magically."

https://open.spotify.com/album/0gcvTmVmGfbqk0Ag1uJ6vG?si=uVGWn_ulRcaDu1qHr1MURA

Now calling Vegas their primary home, Crashing Wayward formed three years ago and draws inspiration from the neon oasis. However, their music could easily pique the interest of Anytown, USA airwaves thanks to A) a mix of public fascination the world has related to anything Sin City, combined with B) Chasing Wayward's radio-ready, timeless alt-rock sensibilities polished to perfection, while also highlighting modern woes intermingled with wishes for the world. Their sound gets an extra street cred boost thanks to producer legend Mike Gillies of Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and The Cult fame.

"Vegas is very inspiring to me—there's some kind of energy here," says Blades. "That, to me, is one of the coolest things about being a band here. Just writing how the city inspires you." Adds Summit, "I love San Diego and was born and raised [there], but I feel like the city is more inclusive and eclectic. I do feel that—at least in my experience so far—people are very friendly here, and there's a lot more opportunity here now, so I'm excited to be a Nevadan!" They cite that, unfortunately, though there's only a limited number of original bands in the Vegas scene that have reached beyond the city's glow, despite being a global entertainment destination.

"We're proud to be an original band as well because there's not many original bands from Vegas, so we're really kind of carrying the torch and leading the fight for that," says Harris. Adding to that greater good for the internet worldwide as Vegas' possible next export to grab attention en masse, Crashing Wayward's LISTEN! is a debut album packed with 11 songs that sound just as first-rate when performed live as they do in the studio. Although the album party was an intimate show, Crashing Wayward has the right swagger to be just at home rocking a local venue as they could be headlining one of the many massive Vegas arenas someday and commanding attention beyond our desert town.

"We're very proud of what we've done," says Blades. "The album is amazing. We're an amazing band, and we're a Vegas band! … There's some great bands out here and there's a great community of people and I think we feel fortunate to be a part of that."

Check out Crashing Wayward's LISTEN! now at lnk.to/crashingwaywardlisten and learn more about the band at crashingwayward.com.