Crystal and the Wolves profile picture

Crystal and the Wolves

shuh-PIN-ska RAWK=honey for the heart

About Me

Short Story: Crystal & the Wolves and Shapinska Rock (shun-PIN-ska RAWK)
This whole thing started when a house fire destroyed all of Crystal's belongings except her guitar. A few days later, she was sent to Europe by a company that could no longer afford to pay her after two weeks. Jobless and homeless, Crystal decided to stay in Europe for half a year. She roamed the streets of Denmark, Czech Republic, UK and Spain, with her guitar, notebook and a simple recording set up and songs describing a off-beat place Shapinska Rock began to fly into creation.
Crystal came back to the US excited to create Shapinska Rock into a record. She met producer/multi-instrumentalist Filippo DeAngelis a few months after her return and they began production. As recording progressed on the album, a live band grew out of the studio sessions and in May 2005 they started playing shows in the east (CBGB Gallery in NYC), south (Alternative SXSW Austin), and west (Hotel Utah Saloon, SAN FRAN).
What does Shapinska Rock mean? Listen the lyrics!
On May 11 2006, CATW released Shapinska Rock , weaving soaring vocals with catchy melodies and imaginative lyrics. Nearly every genre of american music is assimilated into their sound.
You be the judge of Shapinska Rock's worth
Review of Shapinska Rock in Punk Globe Magazine
"I have this beauty sitting in my player and turned up loud. The more I hear this band the more I like - They are very original and Crystal writes some great songs. There´s 13 tracks on here and with the vast Blues, Jazz and Country influences in the sound - This album gripped my attention from start to finish. Every track is different and how they´ve structured them is very clever and shows what quality musicians they are. The music certainly compliments Crystals excellent vocals. You just have to listen to Crystal sing - Her vocal range is very wide. A modern day Kate Bush maybe? Production wise is the best and packaging is the tops. Probably one of the best albums I´m ever going to hear. Album of the Month. (Ears With Gears) 11/10" ---Steve DIY
Click to buy Shapinska Rock
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/16/2005
Band Website: crystalandthewolves.com
Band Members: Crystal Eastman - vocals, guitar. Filippo DeAngelis: drums. Lee Sanders - bass. Mark Bailey - lead guitar.
Influences: Everything from Manu Chao to Krishna Kirtana, from Billie Holiday to Mata Amritanandamayi, Patti Smith, Lucinda Williams, Mahalia Jackson, the Clash, Dusty Springfield, Gillian Welch, Sublime, Blondie, Beatles, Radiohead, Parliament, Fleshies, Bob Marley, and Srimad Bhagavatam.
Sounds Like: A cornucopia of american musical styles backing up catchy singing, inspiring lyrics, and smart songwriting. Eclectic roots rock. These reviews capture it best:

Review: Wolves Howl Through the Genres
"The sounds of Crystal and the Wolves can not be summed up by any easy label. Perhaps the best summary is the album title of Shapinska Rock, described as being a world that creates endless opportunities to make the most of any situation. The lyrical references Crystal makes to Gillian Welch and Ani DiFranco in Lucky Girl hint at her musical influences, but this belies a range of musical expression which includes bluegrass, ballads and ballsy dance tunes. The folksy country side of the band is heard on Daughter's Little Wins and Lullaby for Shai, songs with sound reminiscent of Kate Wolf and Iris DeMent. Hints of Beatles classic pop rock influence are apparent in Called Off the Borders, while the more intense rock of Patti Smith is evoked in Merry Mary Contrary. Throughout all of their different sounds, Crystal and the Wolves maintain a strong sense of their own identity as a band, led by Crystals smooth voice and supported by strong lyrics about the Shapinska Rock world. It shouldn't be long before the Lucky Girl lyrics 'She's a famous girl/ Got lots of friends and fans apply' to her." Sure Shot Magazine, Kathryn Vercillo, "Top 8 Indie Albums for June 06" http://www.torron.net/cd-catw.html

Review: Shapinska Rock Has It All
"Crystal and the Wolves alt-Americana music is sunny but not saccharine. Crystal herself beams joy and wit into every note she sings. Rhythm, melody, spirit, their debut album has it all. The band is a walking, talking peace declaration. Between men and women, people and our earth. With songs like, Called Off the Borders and Maimouna, I dare you to resist singing along as they clear the cobwebs from the dark corners of your soul. But can you dance to it? Oh yeah. To paraphrase Emma Goldman, I *can* dance to it and this *is* my revolution. As the guys exclaim at every show, Crystal is HOT! With this album, everybody knows it." Nina Jo Smith, Redwood River Music, www.redwoodrivermusic.com
Record Label: Ears With Gears
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Shapinska Rock II - unofficial myspace release!

It's all done folks.  Yours to listen to til kingdom come.  listen to all the tracks in the "music" section of www.crystalandthewolves.com...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 08:44:00 PST

Rough mixes up for sneak preview!

we're still doing final tracking, mixing and mastering, but here is a sneak preview of three songs we're about to release on June 12. Hope you like!
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Sun, 20 May 2007 02:44:00 PST

New Album Coming Soon!

Shapinska Rock II will be out June 12! We'll be posting a sneak preview of the record any day now so stayed tuned. Our record release will be at the Starry Plough - where the band first formed and w...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Fri, 18 May 2007 07:13:00 PST

CATW is in this documentary: Sweet Tolerance by Sun

here's the scoop:Back in August we played at the Consciousness Raising Festival in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Sun, a documentary filmmaker, interviewed many of the attendees about their thoughts on in...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:24:00 PST

Top 8!

Sure Shot Magazine reviewed album Shapinska Rock. They enjoyed it so much that it was number 8 for top indie albums in June. Here is the review:Crystal and the Wolves Howl Through the GenresKathryn V...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:06:00 PST

Living in the Land of Gold

CRYWOLF moved to the country. After a year of living and playing in San Francisco, the wolves relocated to Calaveras County, where the pines are tall and the herds of deer roam. They will still pla...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:00:00 PST

On The Cover of Intermixx Magazine

Crystal and the Wolves are featured in the 101st issue of Intermixx Magazine! Intermixx is dedicated to independent artists.http://www.intermixx.com/webzine/pdfmags/InterMixx_1 01.pdf
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Sun, 23 Apr 2006 12:10:00 PST

ECO-packaging

In an effort to live ever closer to the idea of treading lightly on Mother Nature, we had our record reproduced on cardboard from recycled paper - how cool is that?  there's only a teensy bit of ...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Sun, 02 Apr 2006 08:42:00 PST

East of Mississippi Tour

howdy loves - hope this AM finds you deliciously micheivious and pondering the petty and the profound...we're putting the final touches on our tour...already Virginia, Philly, New York, Vermont, Chica...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 09:46:00 PST

SXSW DATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Howdy, we're excited to announce our dates for playing at SXSW - a double hitting day of TWO shows on March 15 - in case you miss one you can catch the other!  See the details in our gigs section...
Posted by Crystal and the Wolves on Thu, 02 Mar 2006 01:13:00 PST