Project Description

Interview with

JASON CROSSON
aka
CROSSON

Interviewer – Dave Bruce

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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you get the song writing bug?
Ever since I discovered KISS and then saw Iron Maiden’s World Slavery tour at a very young age with all the smoke, flames and 15 ft monsters walking around , I was just so captivated and went to myself “ I wanna do that!!”
Song writing came to me at an early age by mistake when trying to learn songs on guitar. My brother had a great ear and could hear a song once and then play it. I on the other hand, could never do that and when trying to work out a song, I ended up with something else and have just followed that path ever since. So our weaknesses are actally blessings in disguise. Plus, Id much rather play my songs than someone’s else’s.

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
CROSSON’s sound can be described at Theatrical Glam Metal with huge catchy choruses and big harmonies. We are constantly being told by people how catchy the songs are and that they wont leave peoples heads. WE are looking to reinvest the wheel musically, just trying to deliver the best music, and show, that we can give. 

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
If there was no KISS,  then there would be no CROSSON. Musicall, it’s the 80s hair bands with the big choruses like Motley Crue, Stryper, Dokken, Scorpions, Bon Jovi, Ozzy, Keel,  ( and about 50 others) mixed with 70s’s glam rock ( Queen, Sweet etc) and modern day melodic rock. I also love some of the great new melodic rock bands out there such as H.E.A.T, Crazy Lixx, W.E.T, Eclipse , Shakra, Grand Design to name a few who are really keeping the genre alive and delivering some great music.

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Your new Album has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
Following our last album (2018’s Invincible) and the great response we had to it, we knew that the next album had to be better in terms of songwriting and production, so the pressure was on!! I write and demo everything in my home studio, usually working till the early hours of the morning which I find is the best time for the creative juices to flow.  As we need to put our best foot forward with respect releasing music to the public, I had to get brutal and trash a few tracks that weren’t as good as they could have been and start the writing process again until we had 10 great songs with no fillers.
We once again used the amazing Duane Baron ( Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Poison, Alice Cooper) to mix the album Dave Donnelly in the USA ( KISS, Whitesnake) for the mastering who have waved their magic to make it all sound big. 

What are the signature pieces on the album, and which is your favorite track?
‘Everyone’s A Star’ is one of my favourite CROSSON songs and we open up our show with it. My 11 year old son came up with the counter melody in the beginning which fitted in perfectly so it also has that sentimental value. The video really shows CROSSON in its element, delivering our bombastic , energetic stage show!! Then there’s ‘Weak At The Knees ( For A Hot Brunette!!)’  which is a fun way to play and the video is hilarious and ‘Rest In Peace’ which shows our sentimental side.  ‘We All Need An Enemy’ ,’ Givin Up Livin Giving Up’ ‘Rock N Roll Love Affair’ and ‘You’re The Reason’ are other songs which I really like… I think we just covered most of the album 😊 !!

Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Just before Covid hit,  we had finished tours with Ron Keel, Enuff ‘Z Nuff, Janet Gardner ( Vixen) and Reckless Love and literally days after our last show, everything shut down.  At this present time we are waiting for venues to reopen. However, I have been busy doing press with the release of the album and also started demoing and writing for the next album. 

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If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
Seeing I have been a fan for many years, I would have to say playing with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley would be awesome!!

Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist?
To keep delivering the best music and stage show that we can to as many people for as long as possible. I think you need to always plan ahead and have aspirations or you have nothing to strive for. I tend to jot down what needs to be done and tick it off as we go along.

What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
The audience if the food that feeds the beast. We enjoy being up there and giving it everything we’ve got and to see the crowd react with excitement and appreciation that we are doing something entertaining means we have done our  job.
I had the opportunity to perform with Ron Keel recently. On our final night of the tour after our set, I was out the back with Ron and he says “ Would you like to come up tonight and sing The Right To Rock with me? ” I was like “Are you serious?”. I then put on my sweaty wet costume and joined him for the encore for the Rock N Roll Anthem. I ended up getting a cold by hanging around in my wet clothes, but it was worth it!!. I’ll always remember that experience. 

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Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Shout At The Devil ( Motley Crue),  To Hell With The Devil (Stryper) Under Lock and Key (Dokken) + about a dozen others … Sorry, can’t name just one 😊
Artist – KISS as they have been the biggest influence. 
Movie – Rocky III, First Blood,& Still Crazy
Place to visit – Cant go past the Greek Island of Kefalonia
Venue to play – It’s always great to play at home in Sydney, so Id have to say Frankies and the Crowbar
Food –  Japanese, Vietnamese , Thai, Greek…… I love it all  !!!
Drink – A nice balck coffee in the morning always goes down well. I’ve just discovered Fireball with apple juice… but only one. Im a bit a of tea totaler!
Person in History –  My Mum and Dad. You can admire people’s accomplishments but if you don’t really know them as a person them then its difficult to judge.
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) No tattoos I’m afraid (Bruce Dickinson was right!!) However, if I were to get one, it would be something I believe in like the CROSSON logo.

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Tracklist

1 Everyone’s A Star
2 Givin Up Living Giving Up
3 Rest In Peace
4 We All Need An Enemy
5 Weak At The Knees (For A Hot Brunette)
6 Rock ‘N Roll Love Affair
7 Possessed
8 You’re The Reason
9 Merry Go Round
10 Back on The Attack

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Check out CROSSON below
Website – Facebook – YouTube – Twitter 

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AMNPLIFY – DB