Introducing: Sweet Crystal

Would you guys please introduce yourselves and explain your role in the band?

Thanks for having us! I’m Marq Andrew Speck (please call me Q – all my friends do!), lead vocalist and keyboard player for 26-time Detroit Music Award-winning band SWEETCRYSTAL (www.sweetcrystal.com). Along with founding band members guitarist Bill Blatter and drummer Steve Wieser, and now joined by newest member and bass player Martin Kuchar, we have been at the forefront of the Christian rock scene here in Michigan even before this genre had its own radio and broadcast outlets.

Sweet Crystal

Where did you guys meet and how did you form this band?

We’ve all been playing since we were teenagers – actually Bill (guitar) and Steve (drummer) played together during high school. I came along later, during our college years and we all set out to make it our fulltime jobs (which we did for many years - 6 1⁄2 tons of gear, 4-man road crew). The three of us – the core-founding members – have never stopped playing together since then (although live touring did stop for a time). In the beginning, we opened up for such classic rock acts as Bob Seger, Foghat, Nazareth, Steppenwolf and many more before finding our true path into the Christian music field.

What kind of music do you make or would like to make in the future?

Basically, we are considered a Detroit progressive Christian rock band and have been since we started this journey. Now, some 5 decades later, we continue to do what we love doing with no signs of stopping any time soon! To this day we get together every week to rehearse, record and just enjoy each other’s company. Does it get old after 50 years together? Absolutely not! We just get better with age.

What do you enjoy the most about the process of making music together?

I (Q) am the main source of starting songs. I have musical and melodic ideas that I present to the guys at every rehearsal (and we still rehearse after all these decades pretty much every week at our private studio) and then they all add their input and expertise to make every song a real band production. We constantly record every rehearsal and jam session because you never know when a new riff will open up the creative juices. The final song arrangements are usually dictated by the lyrics (verses, choruses, etc.), which I pretty much exclusively write. We also play a lot of freeform jams at our rehearsals and out of those jams, we pick melodies, chord patterns and themes that just seem to be...sweeter to our ears. It really is a full band thing on each song.

What are some of your favourite themes to explore through your music?

We are big supporters of the men and women of our Armed Forces.., for all first responders for that matter. We write songs of hope, inspiration and about the gratitude for the freedoms we’ve been afforded. We want every listener to feel better about their lives and this world we’ve been given after hearing the messages in our tunes. For us, our music and message is still a mission and a musical ministry.

Who are some artists that you love or who you'd say has had a huge influence on your work?

We started out totally influenced by the progressive rock English music scene of the 60’s and 70’s: bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Atomic Rooster, Uriah Heep all left their musical marks on our writing and playing. We also listened to a lot of American bands like Kansas, Journey, Rush and Spock’s Beard to keep our creative juices flowing. These were defining influences in our formative years and remain so to this day. This new song ‘Whatever Is Needed, Whatever It Takes’ continues where last year’s ‘7th Heaven’ left off: it’s a song of hope and inspiration, reminding us of what we need to do while we are here in this life and at this time in history. It still features our signature guitar sounds, wall of synth melodies and pads, straight ahead drumming with a crowd joining in on the choruses thrown in for good measure.

Where can someone looking for your music, find it?

Everywhere!

WEBSITE: www.sweetcrystal.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/SweetCrystalBand

YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/c/SweetCrystal

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/sweet_crystal

REVERBNATION: www.reverbnation.com/sweetcrystal

SPOTIFY: http://tinyurl.com/y76vcpqg

TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sweet_crystal

What kind of message would you like to give your fans, through your music?

Our trademarked slogan - Reaching The World, One Song At A Time TM - pretty much says it all about our music, message, mission and ministry. We are here to reach out to a world with songs of

hope and inspiration; a musical light at the end of every dark tunnel you might be going through because chances are good – we’ve gone through those very same tunnels ourselves and definitely have found a way out.

Where do you guys see yourselves in the future, or what are your future plans for the band?

The band is excited about 2024 for more reasons than just the release of our next album ‘8’ (slated for third quarter 2024). 2024 will mark our Golden Anniversary Jubilee as the band celebrates 50 years together! Not a whole lot of groups can claim 5 decades of the music, message, mission and ministry that we can...and for that we are truly humbled, grateful and blessed.