The Crystal Casino Band, who have amassed over 10 million streams on Spotify, released their latest album “Maryland House” last January 27th. Formed in 2015 as a group of friends at George Washington University, The Crystal Casino Band began their sonic journey heavily influenced by The Strokes and The Black Keys. Over the course of their college years and a few lineup changes, the band’s sound evolved and grew.
With a songwriting eye turned inward and heightened social awareness, the quartet of Pete Stevens [guitar/vocals], Joey Mamlin [drums], Jarrod Hendricks [guitar], and Jordan Mullaney [bass]deliver their most complex album to date. It is a winding journey with unexpected turns that showcases their love for the DMV [DC/Maryland/Virginia] area and pays homage to their lives as young adults throughout a 13-song indie rock-leaning experience. The album opener, “Curfew,” is from the perspective of someone in the DC area detailing the events at The Capitol on January 6, 2021. “Twenty-something Socialist” has Pete Stevens singing about the jaded young progressives of America trying to make it in the world while billionaires use their wealth for expensive vanity projects and “Jamie” discusses the actions of a flaky friend who never follows through on what they say they’re going to do. You can order the new album HERE or stream it HERE.
The official music video for “Curfew,” the opening track off “Maryland House”, directed by Cagla Akcadag (Jack Kays) was released some days ago, and can be watched below.
“We hope that this video shows the beauty of Washington, DC,” shares the band. “Since this song is about the experience of living in DC during the insurrection in 2021, we wanted the video to showcase the city’s beauty which adds tension and contrast to the lyrics describing the events of that infamous day. We can’t thank Cagla Akcadag enough for her incredible work on this!”
Correspondent, Robert Cavuoto, spoke with Pete and Joey about the band’s upcoming release, their passion for writing songs about the DMV area, the biggest challenge, both musically and professionally, and the importance of their friendship. Listen or watch to conversation below and remember that for more interviews and other daily content, Sonic Perspectives is on Facebook, Flipboard, Twitter and YouTube, where you can be notified about new content we publish on a daily basis.
