It’s difficult to classify this week’s Fridays on Vine act — but it’s going to be big. Literally.
This week’s band, We are the Strike, is comprised of nine musicians, making it the largest to perform on Vine so far this season. Each performer plays a different instrument, adding everything from live trumpet to sax to the band’s unusual sound.
The Strike takes advantage of its diverse musical talent and uses it to add a big band aesthetic to the band’s style. But lead vocalist Chris Crabb said they aim for a contemporary pop-like sound when they sit down to write for the band. The result, he said, sounds something like the funk bands reminiscent of the 70s, but it has a unique flare that’s all its own.
“It all stems from really being inspired and never saying no to anything,” he said. “We’re not afraid of genre.”
The band is still relatively young — all nine musicians have only played together as presently constituted for a little over a year — but its roots in some of Crabb’s past musical endeavors gave it a leg up where finding talent and gigs are concerned. Since the band’s birth in May 2013, The Strike has headlined Provo’s rooftop concert series, opened for artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Carly Rae Jepsen, and The Piano Guys, and played Stadium of Fire.
And the band almost didn’t happen at all.
Before The Strike, Crabb played weddings and corporate events with two other friends — guitarist Brady Bills, currently a music teacher for a private school, and keyboardist Jake Justice, a student at Brigham Young University. Justice suggested the trio try its hand at writing and performing their own original music. But Crabb was skeptical.
“I was a little resistant at first, because I wasn’t planning on being a musician — I was studying to go to law school,” he said.
After some persuasion, Crabb, Justice and Bills recruited guitarist Chase Baker, bassist Josh Larsen, trombonist Marcus Anderson, trumpeter Austie Robinson, percussionist Matt Millington, and Myles Lawrence, to play saxophone.
The band saw such rapid success that Crabb canceled his law school gig. He know works for an entertainment production company and pursues numerous freelance music opportunities, in addition to heading up The Strike.
The band has played numerous community concerts across the state over the past month or so, but Crabb said this will be their first time in Tooele. Consequently, the band will play a mix of original music and cover songs, but Crabb said he looks forward to the opportunity to meet new people this weekend.
“[Community concerts] are usually a new crowd, people who haven’t heard of us before,” he said. “So it’s great publicity for us. It’s always an adventure trying to win them over.”
Fridays on Vine concerts begin every week at 7 p.m. in the Tooele City Park between the Pratt Aquatic Center and Vine Street. The concerts are free to the public, and patrons are advised to bring their own blankets or lawn chairs, as seating is limited.