Crush of Orange County

Elia Powers

Few music fans familiar with the Orange County rock scene will be

surprised to see melodic quintet Scarlet Crush performing on stage

Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim.

After all, it’s the only band that has been invited to perform at

all three Orange County Music Awards, held this year at the popular

Anaheim music venue. They are the only band that has won the “Best

Pop Rock Band” award. And they are nominated for the category again

in 2005.

But as more musicians vied for stage time at this year’s event,

which includes more than 30 categories, producer Martin Brown was

forced to leave some past winners out of the lineup.

Scarlet Crush offered to give up their spot, but when another

group canceled last week, they were back in the show that has become

a band favorite.

“It’s a beautiful chaos,” said songwriter, guitarist and vocalist

Jeff Smetana. “Every band brings their own fans, and you do a sound

check that doesn’t matter, because by the time you are on stage

everything has changed.”

Smetana said over the past four years, Scarlet Crush and the

Orange County Music Awards have “grown up together.”

Brown, who runs music publication “Live Magazine,” discovered

Scarlet Crush through one of his writers.

“They were one of the first bands we contacted to play at our

first show,” Brown said. “When we asked them, they were into it.

They’ve helped our credibility a lot.”

Scarlet Crush developed a fan base and gained local credibility by

playing at small venues throughout Orange County. Lead guitarist Jeff

Sterzer estimates the band has played at 90% of venues in the county

since they began playing together formally in 1998.

Each member of the band grew up in Orange County, and they

congregate regularly at Sterzer’s Costa Mesa home studio.

With musical influences such as the Beatles and Led Zeppelin,

Scarlet Crush has both a rock and pop influence.

“We’re a rock band at heart,” Sterzer said. “But we’re not an

angry, screaming, nonmelodic band.”

Band members say their February 2004 release, “Hands of Love,” is

much edgier than their first album, “Worth Waiting For,” a 2001

release that they describe as “purist pop.”

The new album includes the track “Tune in, Fade Out,” which won

“Best Song” at the 2003 Orange County Music Awards. Also included on

the album is “Something to Say,” which won the 2002 “Best Song”

award.

“They write great melodies and have great hooks,” Brown said.

“They are very talented. It’s a travesty they haven’t been more

successful on a larger scale.”

Things were moving quickly for the band in early 2002, when it won

local radio station Cool 94.3’s first Battle of the Bands

competition. The band’s songs were in regular rotation on the

station’s “OC’s Most Wanted” show.

Smetana said during a stretch from July to November, the band had

a song on every countdown.

“We were their mascot,” Smetana said. “The radio play helped us

get noticed locally.”

But the station was sold to another owner, who immediately

switched to a different format. And the band was set back again, when

its independent record label went out of business.

Scarlet Crush took control of its own music, with the help of

drummer Johnny Glover, bassist Brett Scott and vocalist Dax Maddocks

and producer Justin Gray.

The band is working on a third album and is performing a set

Thursday at Morongo Casino, Resort and Spa in Cabazon for a chance to

win a spot at this summer’s KIIS-FM’s Wango Tango concert.

Still, Scarlet Crush is keeping the focus on local audiences.

“We’d love to hear our music heard around the world,” Smetana

said. “A lot of that’s out of our hands.”