THE CRAIG LEWIS BAND
"People say that a voice is a voice.But when you hear Craig & Lewis sing you know that not all voices are equal. -Grammy-nominated producer Harold Lilly (Alicia Keys, Trey Songz)It's late in the evening, and a small invited crowd has gathered at lower Manhattan's Bassline studios to witness Atlanta pop-soul duo Craig & Lewis recording a demo called "Me and Only Me." The studio is air-conditioner chilly; the crowd huddles together to preserve warmth. But inside the recording booth, things are burning up. Gathered around a vintage-style microphone, the two young vocalists, who've traveled North for the weekend to record songs for their debut album, let loose a feverish torrent of soulful wails, hollers and shouts.Lewis 25 has a rich, once-in-a-lifetime voice that wouldn't sound out of place on the finale of Star Search or American Idol. His authoritative, piercing tenor has so much range that it just might shatter the studio walls. Where Lewis aims for the stratosphere, Craig 24 goes for an earthier, raspy sound. Yet his voice is no less dazzling, especially when he starts doing nimble vocal runs in the style of gospel virtuosos like Daryl Coley and Kim Burrell. When the voices merge in blissful harmonies, it's the sound of perfect parts of a jigsaw puzzle magically fitting together.The lucky crowd that's gathered to watch Craig & Lewis' electrifying recording session seems shocked and awed. "I want to remember this," one stylish woman exclaims, furiously sending out text messages and snapping pictures on her cell phone to savor the event. "I feel like I'm listening to legends-in-the-making." With their ability to summon such frenzy, Craig & Lewis recalls the glorious, long-lost heyday of 1960s duos like Sam & Dave and The Righteous Brothers. Yet their sound is hardly nostalgic. Their state-of-the-art club bangers could electrify any current r&b or hip-hop dance floor, and their plush, romantic ballads have a contemporary, cutting-edge feel. "We love the singers our parents introduced us to," admits Craig. "But we also love the new school. We gravitate to powerhouse, emotional singers. We want to do it all."The recording session at Bassline is over, and the crowd has dispersed into the night. Craig & Lewis soothes their hard-working voices with an assorted collection of teas and throat lozenges. Craig, dressed in pinstriped pants and metallic hi-top sneakers, is the more humorous and extroverted of the duo. He freely pays compliments to his singing partner: "Lewis demands attention with his voice. He has that pure, untainted sound. Not many people can do what he does." Lewis, wearing a velvet suit jacket vest over his slight frame and a baseball cap cocked over his eyes, is much more unassuming; you hardly expect him to sing with such a booming voice. He returns his singing partner's complement: "I've never heard anybody sing like Craig before. I love how technical he is: he does things with his voice that just seem effortless."Hardly novices to the industry, Craig & Lewis have already recorded songs by today's hottest writers and producers, like Ne-Yo, Stargate (Beyoncé, Nas) and Wayne Hector (Westlife, Ruben Studdard). They've also performed alongside the likes of Bobby Brown, Kelly Price, Peabo Byrson, Tank, Kirk Franklin, Young Jeezy, Tank, Karen Clark, and Shirley Ceasar. Grammy-nominated producer Harold Lilly (Angie Stone, Trey Songz) raves about the duo: "Craig & Lewis are a producer's dream. People say that a voice is a voice. But when you hear Craig & Lewis sing you know that not all voices are equal."The duo met studying music business courses at Atlanta's Clark University. Their shared musical sensibilities magnetically drew them together. "When it comes to knowing where a song should go or shouldn't go," Craig reflects, "We've always been in sync. It's that cosmic thing."One afternoon, the duo auditioned for LA Reid, the impresario helming Island / Def Jam. "He literally called a lawyer and wouldn't let us leave the office before we signed a contract," recalls Lewis, chuckling at the memory. But that deal quickly dissolved. "So many acts today are just disposable, and I don't know if the company really knew exactly what to do with voices like ours."Recording songs for their debut album and riding on an enormous amount of industry buzz, Craig & Lewis is finally making music that effectively showcases their formidable voices. But ironically, it's their live stage act, a full-length show that features a live band and a six-piece horn section, that truly promises to elevate them to legendary status: it rides high on soulful musicianship and even higher on irrepressible energy. Craig says: "When you come to see one of our shows, our goal is for you to be able to connect with things we've been through, to feel everything we've been feeling. It's that soul, that emotional connection we're after."Live or in the studio, Craig & Lewis simply intends to make timeless music. "We know that recording industry may change. Having been through a couple of deals, we have the scars to show for that," Lewis claims, as he and Craig head back into the booth to put the finishing touches on their session. "But we plan to be here for the long haul."