Hometown: Stroudsburg
Members: Micah Martin (vocals, guitar); Ty Nordstrom (bass); Walter Lee (drums)
After more than a decade away from music and moving to Pennsylvania from Chicago, Micah Martin decided to re-immerse himself in his passion.
Fortunately for the singer and guitarist, a chance encounter with musician Walter Lee opened the doors Martin had been hoping to reopen. After several failed tryouts, Martin eventually found the other anchor to his backbeat in the form of bassist Ty Nordstrom. Martin praised Nordstrom for being "one of the best bass players in the area."
"Having a great rhythm section makes the music in my opinion," Martin said during an Aug. 24 phone interview. "It's one of those things that separates mediocre bands from really good bands."
The trio has recorded three original songs which they plan on releasing individually throughout the end of summer and into the fall. The guttural, slow-burning single, "Stay," dropped Wednesday.
"Stay" will be followed by the release of the tracks "Hard to Find," on Sept. 20, and the driving, pop-infused jam "She's Running," on Oct. 5.
"I grew up listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam and all of the '90s grunge stuff. My drummer is a huge Incubus fan," Martin said. "We have a lot of that kind of grunge influence, with some Tool and Incubus from a rhythmic perspective."
Depending on the response to the three singles, Martin is hoping to return to the studio at the end of the year to record more music.
In the meantime, Martin said he and his bandmates are trying to expand what is happening musically in the Lehigh Valley outward and upward to the Slate Belt and Poconos. The Crowning will make their public debut Sept. 9 during Bushstock festival in East Stroudsburg.
The band is also part of the Rocktoberfest event on Oct. 7 in Bangor. Rocktoberfest will also feature the bands The Pavement, Girl Hands, Family Animals, South of the Peak, Raw Bread, Hexankopf and Grass.
"It's real important to build a music scene as much as you can," he said. "We're trying to promote local music as much as possible."