Crash Vegas

Crash Vegas was launched in 1987 as a side project by guitarist Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, a fan of rootsy Toronto singer/songwriter Michelle McAdorey who wanted to give McAdorey a chance to front her own band. McAdorey and Keelor went about recruiting ex-Martha & the Muffins bassist Jocelyne Lanois and drummer Ambrose Pottie into the CV lineup, and started gigging regularly in and around Toronto during lulls in Blue Rodeo's schedule. Within a matter of months, however, Crash Vegas was too popular an attraction for Keelor to maintain his commitment to both bands; he bowed out on amicable terms, and was replaced by Colin Cripps, formerly of the Spoons. Quickly signed to Blue Rodeo's Risque Disque label, Crash Vegas recorded their first album, Red Earth, in 1989 with some help from Keelor on guitar. The album spawned the single "Inside Out," a Top 20 hit in Canada, and received positive notices in the U.S. and Canada for its winning combination of folk-rock influences, as well as for McAdorey's powerful, youthful vocals. Unfortunately, Risque Disque folded in 1990, and Crash Vegas was left without a label for a few years. During this time Lanois (who had been frustrated in her attempts to include more of her material to the band's repertoire) left and was replaced by Darren Watson. Eventually signed to Polygram, Crash Vegas finally released their sophomore album in 1993, the somewhat harder-edged Stone, which had one track mixed by Nirvana producer Butch Vig and also featured a songwriting and vocal contribution from CV fan Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum. Though positively reviewed, this new, slightly grungier version of Crash Vegas didn't generate any hits, and shortly after Stone's release Crash Vegas once again found themselves label-less. The band had some well-known...