Crosscut, based in the San
Francisco Bay Area of California, plays a unique mix of blues, rock,
and original music to create a sound that is all its
own. Their musical influences include early Delta Blues, Memphis and
Chicago Electric Blues, Soul from STAX and Motown, R&B, Rock,
and a little bit of everything else.
Crosscut is part of a growing musical community
from Soundwave
Studios in
Oakland. Soundwave Studios has spawned some of the area's
most
talented and diverse musical acts over the past several
years.
Crosscut is proud to be associated with the staff and the all of the
bands that rehearse there.
Crosscut is a member of the Golden
Gate Blues
Society.
All Bay Area Blues fans should join, either as
individuals, or sign up your band.
The Golden
Gate Blues Society is the only Bay Area affiliate of the Blues Foundation.
With
165 affiliated Blues societies and a membership that spans the globe,
the Blues Foundation’s signature honors and events—the Blues Music
Awards, Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, International Blues
Challenge and Keeping the Blues Alive Awards—make it the international
center of Blues music.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Mike was
immersed in the musical heritage of
his hometown from birth. The Blues that migrated from the Delta and
into Memphis are as permanent a fixture as Beale Street and the
Mississippi River rolling past its bluffs. The birth of Rock and Roll
at Sun Records, and the unique blend of Soul and R&B from STAX
and American Studios also left an
impression. Later, after hearing Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Led
Zeppelin, and other rock icons of the 60's and 70's,
Mike's
musical influences took on a new dimension. He also grew up living in
the "shadow of the King." The back fence of
his childhood home was literally the back fence of Graceland. Mike was
a frequent visitor at the home of Vernon Presley and family, who lived
three doors down. Picking up a guitar and trying to sing for
the
first time at age 23, Mike was a late bloomer as a musician. He paid
his dues playing for tough audiences in the bars and clubs of his
hometown before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Joe
Howell - Drums
Joe is a San
Francisco Bay Area native who has absorbed the rich musical diversity
of the region. Joe's father, a heavy metal musician, exposed him to
different musical genres from an early age. Joe loves all kinds of
music, from Acoustic Blues to raw Modern Rock and Metal. His
enthusiasm lends itself to the hard driving beat that is part of the
Crosscut signature sound. When he's not pounding the drums for
Crosscut, you might hear him playing blues riffs on the harmonica.
Bryan McCue - Guitar,
Vocals
Bryan,
a native San Franciscan, grew up experiencing first hand the “San
Francisco Sound” that revolutionized the music of the late ‘60’s and
early‘70’s. Practically born under his father’s piano, a well known
musician and professor of music himself, Bryan studied trumpet as a
youngster leading him into the Orchestra and Dance Band at Lowell High
School. Graduating in ’67 “The Summer of Love” he fell under the spell
of the guitar sounds of the times. Bryan’s passion for the blues was
ignited by seeing the original Paul Butterfield Blues Band’s last
performance at the original Winterland in SF, which was the onset of
his insatiable appetite for the Blues Greats, such as the 3 Kings,
Albert Collins, T-Bone Walker along with the arrival of young
guitarists like Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Eric Clapton, Johnny
Winter, early Allman Brothers, Santana, etc beginning the onslaught of
many of the young rock/blues guitarists to burst into local venues as
the Fillmore, Avalon Ballroom, Winterland, various Haight Street clubs,
park concerts, etc. That set the scene for Bryan to start playing
Blues/Rock music with various local musicians. Rich times were had
living with Francis Clay (Blues Hall of Fame) in early 70s experiencing
the life and learning the music of the blues. Surviving an extended
adolescence, he took a hiatus from the blues lifestyle, in order to
develop a career that actually pays the bills and find that elusive
love we were all singing about. Bryan (now happily married) is back
doing what he always enjoyed and could not be denied – writing and
playing the blues…
Gary Allsebrook - Bass
Gary is a native San Franciscan, now living in the
East Bay. Gary's
music career started in woodwinds while in the music program at Serra
High School, playing clarinet, flute, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes.
He later switched to electric bass and fell in love with the
instrument. Gary has been involved continuously in the San
Francisco Bay Area music scene since the 60's. Although he can play
almost all music styles, his passion is for Blues and R&B.
Gary's early influences include Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce,
Noel
Redding, John Entwistle, anything Motown, Tower of Power, Cold
Blood, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers,
Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Joe Louis Walker, Michael Hills Blues Mob,
Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Sting. He has played with musicians
such as Neal
Schon (Journey),
Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead), Eddie Money, Michael Shreive (Santana),
Jimmy Greenspoon (Three Dog Night), Barry Melton (Country Joe &
the
Fish), Lydia Pense (Cold Blood), John Cippolina (Quicksilver Messenger
Service), The Isley Brothers, Bobby , etc. and have played on stage
with the Turtles, Bob Kuban & the In Men, The Charlatans,
Captain
Zoom, The Byrds, Sly & The Family Stone, etc.
Joe
Howell - Drums
