Crouse looks to past, present on new album
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
Jeff Crouse picked up the guitar when he was 10 years old, and it has been a big part of his life ever since.
By age 13 he was playing in a church folk group and writing songs. He would move on to playing clubs and weddings in a band, and started teaching the instrument at 16.
These days, he is still a guitar teacher. But he’s also the worship music director at Common Ground Community Church in North Lima and plays in the local band Scammin Jones.
Last month, Crouse released “Mirrors, Doors and Deeper Water,” an album that gathers his songs from past and present. The recording — the first Crouse has made in decades — reaches back for the analog-recording sound, utilizing a mellotron and tabla, among other instruments common to that era.
Crouse made a video of the song “In Dreamer’s Eyes” in the elegant Christman Room of Stambaugh Auditorium. It can be viewed at his website, dreamersyes.com.
Material from the new album will find its way into his solo gigs this year.
He talked about the new album in this exchange with The Vindicator:
Q. The new album, thematically, is very optimistic and hopeful. It almost seems to be of another era. What was your thought process when crafting these songs? What is your message to listeners?
A. I really believe that in spite of the negative tone of much of the world today, ultimately there is reason for hope. The key is to find commonality within the crowd. These songs represent much of my life’s journey. I’ve always been intrigued by the sounds of the ’60s and ’70s. The analog synthesizers, the layering of sounds and effects, and how music can be manipulated to set moods within the listener. The idea was to present a bit of self introspection, (Mirrors) how we need to be willing to make positive changes in our lives (Doors), and how every day we walk out into the world not really knowing what crises we may encounter, or how we will deal with them (Deeper Water). The message to the listeners is really saying, “Hey, how you all getting along? I made it through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and am still kickin’ in spite of myself. Here are some thoughts I’ve gleaned from the journey so far. If they apply to your life, that’s cool, but let’s go for a ride and talk about it.” Ultimately, the first song on the album pretty much sums up how I feel about it all. “... no one strikes out in this life, no one’s gonna be left out in the cold forever ...”
Q. Why did you decide that now is the time to put out the album? How long have you been writing and recording it?
A. Several songs on the album were written in the ’80s during the Reagan years. It was a tough time for progressive thinking. And very scary as we were building up our military might, and experimenting with “trickle down” economics. I always liked the core of the songs and simply revamped a couple of them a bit for the album. I wrote a couple of the songs specifically for this album. I started recording in October of 2013, and we finished up in late November of last year. Releasing it now just felt right, as we can all use a little introspection as we start a new year.
Q. Who collaborated with you on the album?
A. I was blessed to have Todd Maki produce this album, and that collaboration proved to be essential to the overall construction of this work. His input, clarity of thought, and innate ability to know what instruments would augment the songs was amazing and spot on. We worked many hours on songs getting just the right instruments at just the right places. I also had great musicians from the area join me in the studio. Ryan Ross contributed guitar parts; Bob Baskey played some keyboard parts for me; and we used a live string ensemble. Dale Sheeley played blues harp on In “Dreamer’s Eyes,” and Holly Swartz and Tina Cummings joined me from our band, Scammin Jones, as well as Patty Sciaretta and Janice Weikart adding vocals. I even got the crew at Motters Music in Canfield to sing along on a chorus of “Goin gets Hot.” Steve Criado designed the album cover and the website as well. I had an incredible production team with everyone contributing their area of expertise.