Once in a while a group comes along and blows your mind with something you don’t quite know how to describe but can tell is special. With a unique mixture of melodic reggae, energetic retro-punk and smooth, welcoming hip-hop stylings, the boys put out a sound few can turn away from. Fresh off their latest release, Communicate, The Cranston Foundation is starting to come into their own.
“What we have noticed since our first album is that playing better is key,” explains bassist Jeremy Dows. “Musically, we are much more mature and this comes from greater effort. At some point you just realize you have to do more. Mainly our goal is to create an album that you can listen to front to back.”
With a huge following that only gets bigger with every live show, The Cranston Foundation has been trying to get their sound out to as many people as possible. With any luck they’ll be able to gain even more rabid fans and make the push to larger recognition.
“We’re still a small group,” Dows points out. “We all are working towards career jobs as our fall back plans. The band consists of restaurant managers, city workers and painters.”
With a West Coast tour coming up in January, the band hopes to continue on their musical passage and bring in some new listeners. Crediting much of their reggae and punk stylings to influences like The Clash, Dows explains the almost meditative appeal of the style of music.
“We loved sitting and listening to loud bass-pounding reggae,” he says. “On top of that, we are really big punk fans as well. Reggae is really just a slowed down form of punk.”
With other influences including the Mars Volta and At the Drive In, The Cranston Foundation is looking forward to their mid-winter tour and hopes to once again snag a few days on the Vans Warped Tour this summer. With momentum growing over the past few years, the band has opened up for groups like Sweatshop Union, the Smalls, Treble Charger and Swollen Members to name a few. Their sound deserves attention and should command both respect and inspiration from music lovers everywhere. For anyone who hasn’t heard them, it’s a definite must in the near future and for the already dedicated following, they can simply sit back and enjoy watching the band continue to grow both independently and commercially.