To some bands, music means more than simply a chance to perform on stage or make a living.
To them, the process of writing songs and playing instruments can be an act of catharsis. And for groups like Springfield’s Crescent Hill, that catharsis can help create a bridge out of the members’ dark pasts into a much brighter future.
According to guitarist and vocalist Dino Bambino, Crescent Hill began in 2008, after a series of events left the singer on his own after all three of his bands broke up and he left for a month-long breather in Connecticut.
Eventually, upon his return to the Pioneer Valley, Bambino began collaborating on music with his cousin Justin Morin (rhythm and lead guitar), who had recently gone through a period of legal troubles.
“We were destitute, seemingly incapable of controlling our own lives,” says Bambino. “We began working together musically for the first time, writing a few songs, dreaming big, regaining a sense of purpose. To a large degree, that’s still the driving force of this music—building a bridge out of the darkness.”
After recording their first co-written song with the help of a drum machine (a tune called “Anti-Anti-Anti-Everything”), the cousins met Jeff Sabola (drums), who joined the band after its first practice.
Bambino says, “We then played our first show with our good friend Dev Ray on bass. It was a benefit concert at UMass-Amherst for our friend Darby Fassett, who passed away in 2008. After that, Justin did his time and we picked up where we left off, getting Matt Taylor on bass and starting to gig out again in early 2010.”
Fast-forward two years, when one of the band’s gigs found them named winners of the first round of this year’s Happy Valley Showdown at the Basement in Northampton.
“It was absolutely great,” says Bambino. “I had never seen any of the other bands except Outer Stylie, who are buck wild, always. The fact that we won was seriously just gravy. We didn’t expect it, but it’s nice. It’s a chance to play another good show with a group of diverse bands and hopefully get some free studio time out of it, which we desperately need.”
Currently, Crescent Hill’s only recorded effort is an EP entitled TOBELIEVEINVISIBLETHINGS, which should see release within the next couple of months. However, the self-proclaimed progressive post-punkers aren’t short on material.
In fact, Bambino says, “Our newest batch of songs is far and away our best yet. And not in that way that every band says, ‘Our newest batch is our best yet,’ and then they put out Re-Reload. Nah. This is real shit.”
Still, whatever happens, Crescent Hill remains adamant in its support of music as a way to better one’s life.
“It’s really easy to be desensitized to music these days, because it seems like everyone has a band,” says Bambino. “Music is not a joke to us, even when it’s funny. It’s much closer to godliness than the bastards give it credit for.”
For more information on Crescent Hill, visit www.facebook.com/crescenthill.
