Crooks & Straights
| Crooks & Straights | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Country |
| founding | 1999 |
| Website | http://www.crooksandstraights.com/ |
| Current occupation | |
| Robert Bradičić | |
Piano , vocals |
Damir Matković |
Pedal steel guitar , acoustic guitar , vocals |
Sandra Mladenić |
| Joško Serdarević | |
Bass , vocals |
Mladen Srića |
| Nataša Veljak | |
| former members | |
| Gorana Čehić | |
| Aleksandar Grmaš | |
| Siniša Katalinić | |
Crooks & Straights are a country group from Rijeka , Croatia . The band plays a mix of neo-traditional honky tonk and western swing . Short but frequent instrumental solos are characteristic of her music.
history
Crooks & Straights was founded in October 1999 by Damir Matković and Mladen Srića. Matković originally came from jazz-rock and had played this style for the first time in the country band Rodeo . Srića was previously a bass player in various pop groups. Then there were Aleksandar Grmaš (acoustic guitar), Joško Serdarević (drums), Siniša Katalinić (electric guitar) and Gorana Čehić (violin). Serdarević had already been a member of various well-known pop bands during the time of the former Yugoslavia . After a few months, Katalinic left the band and was replaced by Robert Bradičić.
Crooks & Straights played their first live concert in mid-January 2001 in the “River Pub” in Rijeka. Her repertoire initially consisted of cover versions of American country singers. After appearances in Croatia, others followed in Italy and Slovenia . In October 2002 the band was represented with their own adaptation of the track "Singing the Blues" by Melvin Endsley on the CD "International Country Music Sampler", published by the independent record company "Comstock Records" from Fountain Hills, Arizona , which made them better known were.
The band began working on their own album in 2002 and 2003 and also worked on their own compositions. At the end of 2003, Aleksandar Grmaš left the band during a series of concerts in Germany. A replacement was found in Sandra Mladenić, who at that time was one of the very few musicians in Croatia who played the pedal steel guitar . This instrument made the band's sound more traditional. The release of the album was delayed until 2005.
Crooks & Straights achieved their greatest success to date at the 23rd European country music competition "Picnic Country - Europe Contest" in Mrągowo , Poland in July 2004 as representatives of Croatia. With “Singing the Blues” and their own composition “When I Called You Mine” they reached first place in the contest. This success also opened the door to the European country scene for them; Invitations from different countries to larger country festivals followed. The band stepped out of the shadow of the "Plava Trava Zaborava".
In 2005 her first album "So Little Left To Say" was released by Dancing Bear Records from Zagreb. The recorded material included four original songs and arrangements of American standards, including "Singing the Blues". By the end of 2006 Gorana Čehić left the band for private reasons and was gradually replaced by Nataša Veljak, a seventeen-year-old violinist from one of the most famous musical families in Rijeka.
The second album came out in May 2007 under the title "Just One Thing". A number of guests participated in this album, including many musicians for whom this was their first direct experience of country music. The best known names are Damir Halilić Hal on acoustic guitar, singer Meri Trošelj , " ENI " member Ivona Maričić, Alba Nacinovich (vocals) and Tomi Grašo, a Croatian-Australian pedal steel player.
Discography
- June 2005: So Little Left To Say at “Dancing Bear”, Zagreb
- May 2007: Just One Thing at “Dancing Bear”, Zagreb
- June 2015: Way out of Town