History:
Crashing At Dawn is a rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, which was formed during 2006 - 2008. The band is comprised of Tyla Ward (lead vocals), Kurt Weidmann (bass, cello), Shawn Josephson (drums, backing vocals), Franz Hoff (lead guitar, rhythm guitar), and Karl Cannon (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals). Crashing At Dawn is fueled by its own songwriting, and Tyla’s dynamic vocals.
Karl Cannon and Franz Hoff co-founded an early incarnation of the band, which gigged under the name Nothing Yet and later as Rapture. Their goal was to produce mainstream rock songs centered around female rock vocals, and they wrote or co-wrote most of the band's early songs. The band was later extremely fortunate to get Shawn on drums, Tyla on lead vocals, and Kurt on bass and cello.
THE BAND'S EARLY CREATION (Karl and Franz, then Shawn). In late 2004, Karl Cannon’s studio band Dammeron Summer ended, when his co-founder and brother DNC Stevens moved to Minnesota. With the help of some musician friends, Karl self-released a handful of original songs under the band name Rockfield to friends, family and music associates, in an EP titled “Come To My Refuge.” A music survey revealed that his songwriting on the disc had commercial potential. Karl (rhythm guitar, keyboards) decided in late 2005 to design a band concept centered around female rock vocals and electric guitars. He first began recruiting a lead guitarist and songwriting collaborator to help him build that band. Franz Hoff, one of several people Karl mutually auditioned with, was both. After a few weeks of non-commital collaboration, they decided to forge a songwriting partnership and use their songs as a launching pad to recruit and form a female-fronted rock band. Franz had written and recorded several female-vocal rock songs during multi-year stints in Los Angeles, Denver, and Massachusetts, and as such he was well suited for the endeavor. He had played in several bands in those cities, with names such as Synergy and Mystic Garden. Franz had moved to Salt Lake City from Massachusetts earlier that year to open a coffee shop and form a band. The two songwriters thus began their long, careful odyssey into dozens of auditions for drummers, bassists, and female lead vocalists.
They tested several of their songs along the way using exceptional temporary vocalists, including gigs behind the high-powered vocals of Nicole “Nicki” Winterton, and Aubrey "Soul" Cameron. They used sit-in drummers and bassists and billed the band as Nothing Yet, a reference (conceived by Kellie Jorgensen) to the unfinished nature of the band and its identity.
Karl and Franz recruited several drummers, and the almost-band enjoyed numerous drum auditions. In late 2006, hard-hitting drummer Shawn Josephson called Karl in response to an ad, and auditioned. The almost-band considered over twenty drummers, and after several weeks of considering Shawn along with the others, asked Shawn to join. A lyricist and songwriter as well, Shawn later contributed lyrics and melody lines to two of the band’s songs. Nicki agreed to continue working with the band until October, 2007, when she would need to devote her full time to other goals outside of music. The band gigged for a short time under the band name Rapture, and continued searching for their sound. Shawn proved willing to walk the long road with Franz and Karl to finish the band. The road would involve intermittent vaporizations of hope, joy, disappointment, tragedy, loss, partial haitus, and musical redemption.
THE VOICE (Tyla). The search for a vocalist with the right blend of range and rock-edge spanned two years and involved ninety-five female singers, some of whom came from other states to audition. The band had narrowed the list to two exciting singers in early 2008. However, Karl had been listening to Tyla Ward sing the national anthem at several local sporting events. With the band's approval, Karl asked Tyla to record lead vocals on one of the band’s songs as a recording favor, ostensibly to help with their songwriting, and Tyla agreed. Karl recorded Tyla singing "You’re Away" in the band’s studio on January 13, 2008, without the rest of the band, due to the band’s audition fatigue. The recording, which Karl e-mailed to his band mates that night, altered the course of the band. Impressed with Tyla’s powerful take on the song, the band voted to ask Tyla for a few private live jams as part of a mutual audition. A vocalist with a wide range of style and versatility in several different musical genres, Tyla proved to be a powerhouse rocker as well. During their second audition jam with Tyla, the audition-heavy band knew what it needed to know and decided to ask her to join permanently. The incredibly talented and congenial singer agreed to be lead singer in February, 2008, and became part of the band’s signature sound. The band billed itself from April-May, 2008 as The Band Currently Known As Rapture, and several weeks later started the process of choosing a permanent band name.
THE NAME. Crashing At Dawn was born in May, 2008, after the band considered over 140 possible band names, including One Alliance, The Caged, My Kiss Goodnight, Nothing Yet, One For One, The Distractions, Debutaunte, Crushing on Madison, Dead Gorgeous, Devant and Night Brigade. Crashing At Dawn describes the band’s enthusiasm for its rock and roll dreams, and what it may take to get there.
THE LEAD GUITARIST. On April 28, 2008, two days after a gig and just prior to finalizing the new band name, Franz tragically experienced a stroke during his Monday morning jog. Always philosophical, he views the stroke not as a problem, but as an opportunity for growth. His self-affirming approach to this experience is documented in part on www.franzhoff.com, where he reminds us, among other things, that "in having everything, we often find nothing, and in having nothing, we often find everything."
The stroke at first rendered Franz medically unable to remain with the band. After a few weeks, and with Franz's support, the band set out on a search for a new lead guitar player.
The band auditioned several lead guitarists, all of whom played well. Fortunately, during auditions, which stretched into September 2008, Franz began feeling well enough to rejoin the band despite his post-stroke fatigue. Franz's post-stroke convalescence has gone as well as can be expected, and he sounds better than ever on guitar. He called his re-joining with the band "therapeutic" and "much needed."
THE BASSIST (Kurt). Karl recruited Kurt Weidmann, because the band needed a reliable bassist who would fit the band's sound, style and need for dedication. After sharing song samples, photos and band philosophy, the two first spoke by phone on September 8, 2008. The band scheduled Kurt's first audition for the next day, Tuesday, September 9, 2008. Kurt sacrificed on short notice to get a replacement for his 4-10 pm late shift at work. Kurt's solid bass playing on the band's songs after only a couple of hours of exposure, and his self-designed bass riffs and pleasant demeanor, immediately impressed the band. The band, being very experienced by this time in auditioning members and judging talent, broke with tradition by appearing to offer Kurt the position on the spot. Kurt appeared to accept, by asking if he could leave his amp in the band's rehearsal space. Kurt and the band formally joined forces on Friday, September 12, 2008.
And that's the story of Crashing At Dawn, for tonight. Click on the links to learn the rest of the story, as it unfolds.
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