HAPPY NEW YEAR! BLACKWATER IS OFFICIALLY OUT!!! - January 7, 2008
Ross' Celtic CD, "Blackwater", is now available at CDBABY.com, as well as i-Tunes, Rhapsody, and E-Music. Make sure to check it out!
Ross Crean: News
"Blackwater" to be released this month - September 5, 2007
Ross' newest CD "Blackwater" will be released this month on Knight & Thorne Music. To celebrate, we are having a release show in Chicago at the World Folk Music Company. For more info, see the Calendar Dates.
"Dheanainn Sugradh" preview available on MySpace! - June 30, 2007
Ross is currently wrapping up his next CD entitled "Blackwater", but you can now get a preview of his song "Dheanainn Sugradh" on his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/rosscrean.
Ross' Compositions Featured in Thodos Dance Company Performance - April 21, 2006
Two of Ross' instrumental compositions will be featured June 23-25 in a new dance project by the Thodos Dance Company in Chicago. One, a piece for solo piano, and the other for electronics and percussion. Both pieces will be included in choreographer Mark Duthu's work titled "Daydreaming". For ticket prices and performance times, go to www.thodosdancechicago.org.
Ross' Celtic Album Recording This Winter - November 26, 2005
After years of fan and friend suggestion, Ross is now scheduled to go into the studio this winter and record his Celtic album, tentatively titled "Absalom". The album will be featuring members of Dyed In the Wool as well as Johanna and Teresa Shine. More news to come.
Ross is now on iTunes! - September 30, 2005
Music from Ross' newest CD is now available on iTunes. Now you can buy and download individual songs or the entire album. To download, just go to iTunes.com.
Help Ross help victims of Hurricane Katrina - September 5, 2005
For the next several weeks, all profits from Ross' newest CD "This Too Shall Pass" will be donated through CDBaby.com to the Red Cross to help those who have lost so much to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The smallest amount of help can make a huge difference for relief efforts, and this can be a small way to help. To buy the album, go here: www.cdbaby.com/crean.
Ross' New CD, "This Too Shall Pass", is Now Available! - August 1, 2005
Well, it definitely took long enough, but the CD is finally available to purchase at both CDBaby.com and Tower.com. Below is a letter from Ross' producer, Paul Grajek.
"It may have taken 50 feet of cable at times to wire my townhouse into a recording studio, but somehow, after four months of recording sessions, Ross Crean’s "This Too Shall Pass" finally became a reality. The preliminary line-up was rearranged and turned upside-down, the clock was always ticking and last minute deliberations forced some songs to be put aside allowing only the right balance of music to be worthy by its creators’ standards.
The instrumentation Ross and I decided on was refined several times over. We certainly had more ideas to work with than spaces in the album for them. Chantaqué, vibraphone, fiddle, guitar, piano, keyboards - the texture of the album goes from extremely rich to quite sparse, and yet, I can’t see it being any other way. Each song has it’s own distinct personality and in the mixing and production of each track, we really tried to capture and magnify the energy within each song.
Little by little, Ross would come over to record in my free days off of working at my job. We’d record a bit, arrange more, and edit a lot. When the summer ended, and I finally had a few large chunks of time to work before going back to school at Northwestern University, Ross and I had what basically amounted to a one-week-shut-in at my house. I think Ross ended up staying over about four days straight that week because we knew he’d just be back in the morning anyway. The usual day was: record, go get lunch buffet (south Chicago suburbs have the best Asian Buffets in the world), come back and work, dinner, work till we dropped, then start all over again the next day.
Ross’s voice was a definite challenge to harness in the confines of a recording studio, but once I figured out what his voice required in order to be appropriately mic-ed, half the battle was over. The second half was mixing it in with everything else, which to me is the best part. The most memorable recording day I had with Ross was laying down the final vocals for "Emily". Just the resonance of Ross’ voice that day gave me goose bumps. I was convinced that anyone who heard that song would truly understand the raw beauty of Ross’ voice and appreciate his expansive range. But Ross’ range doesn’t limit itself to just vocals, the different styles of his writing speak for themselves. The album shifts from pseudo-bluegrass and piano-rock to ethereal settings and densely orchestrated ballads. Ross’ songwriting shines a whole new light on the possibilities of folk music. The album goes in so many different directions and somehow, you can’t help but feel it’s all tied together. I believe that’s the essence of Ross Crean’s style and music.
We were truly blessed to have the help of violinist/fiddler, Matthew Stedman. Ross was able to draw out just the right styles from Matt’s multi-ethnic talents and put them on to the tracks where he was needed the most. His pure virtuosity is evident on every track he played ranging from Celtic and bluegrass styles to lightning-fast runs of gypsy soloing. Matt’s efforts really completed the shape of the record.
All throughout, it was an amazing experience to co-produce an entire album with Ross. At times I felt as though we were accomplishing the work of an entire studio crew (which we were in many respects), but Ross and I both learned a tremendous amount from each other. Technically and sensitively, I know I’ve grown as a musician and engineer from working on this record and I know it shows in the final product. I hope our best efforts are not in vain for everyone who can be changed and reached by this music."
--Paul Grajek, June 2005
"It may have taken 50 feet of cable at times to wire my townhouse into a recording studio, but somehow, after four months of recording sessions, Ross Crean’s "This Too Shall Pass" finally became a reality. The preliminary line-up was rearranged and turned upside-down, the clock was always ticking and last minute deliberations forced some songs to be put aside allowing only the right balance of music to be worthy by its creators’ standards.
The instrumentation Ross and I decided on was refined several times over. We certainly had more ideas to work with than spaces in the album for them. Chantaqué, vibraphone, fiddle, guitar, piano, keyboards - the texture of the album goes from extremely rich to quite sparse, and yet, I can’t see it being any other way. Each song has it’s own distinct personality and in the mixing and production of each track, we really tried to capture and magnify the energy within each song.
Little by little, Ross would come over to record in my free days off of working at my job. We’d record a bit, arrange more, and edit a lot. When the summer ended, and I finally had a few large chunks of time to work before going back to school at Northwestern University, Ross and I had what basically amounted to a one-week-shut-in at my house. I think Ross ended up staying over about four days straight that week because we knew he’d just be back in the morning anyway. The usual day was: record, go get lunch buffet (south Chicago suburbs have the best Asian Buffets in the world), come back and work, dinner, work till we dropped, then start all over again the next day.
Ross’s voice was a definite challenge to harness in the confines of a recording studio, but once I figured out what his voice required in order to be appropriately mic-ed, half the battle was over. The second half was mixing it in with everything else, which to me is the best part. The most memorable recording day I had with Ross was laying down the final vocals for "Emily". Just the resonance of Ross’ voice that day gave me goose bumps. I was convinced that anyone who heard that song would truly understand the raw beauty of Ross’ voice and appreciate his expansive range. But Ross’ range doesn’t limit itself to just vocals, the different styles of his writing speak for themselves. The album shifts from pseudo-bluegrass and piano-rock to ethereal settings and densely orchestrated ballads. Ross’ songwriting shines a whole new light on the possibilities of folk music. The album goes in so many different directions and somehow, you can’t help but feel it’s all tied together. I believe that’s the essence of Ross Crean’s style and music.
We were truly blessed to have the help of violinist/fiddler, Matthew Stedman. Ross was able to draw out just the right styles from Matt’s multi-ethnic talents and put them on to the tracks where he was needed the most. His pure virtuosity is evident on every track he played ranging from Celtic and bluegrass styles to lightning-fast runs of gypsy soloing. Matt’s efforts really completed the shape of the record.
All throughout, it was an amazing experience to co-produce an entire album with Ross. At times I felt as though we were accomplishing the work of an entire studio crew (which we were in many respects), but Ross and I both learned a tremendous amount from each other. Technically and sensitively, I know I’ve grown as a musician and engineer from working on this record and I know it shows in the final product. I hope our best efforts are not in vain for everyone who can be changed and reached by this music."
--Paul Grajek, June 2005