Debuting at Blowout: Magic Jake & the Crystals

DC: No one seems to know that much about this band, except for those most closely connected to it; likely your most reliable source is someone who's been in the room as it's steadily...well,...crystalized.

Magic Jake on guitar...Robert Harlow on guitar...Justin Walker on bass...Ben Luckett on drums...

They play the 14th Metro Times Blowout on Friday, 11pm, in the Gates of Columbus Lounge.

Magic Jake (Culkowski) needed a backing band. He recruited his roomate (Luckett), and his nearby neighbor (Walker). Harlow joined to roundout The Power Crystals.

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Communique recently received from Harlow has shed some light on the bands' origins and the status of their recorded expositions (out next month on Burger Records).

Robert Harlow: "Magic Jake conjured us through telepathy, I think. ...I can't remember.

This happened about a month, or so, ago.

Magic Jake's sound is real heavy. You know, he's all bass so it's a subsonic thing. The Power Crystals bring the lightening to Jake's thunder. That's our job.

This is a tight group. We've just finished our first, full length album. It was written and recorded in 6 days. Then we took a break.

Magic Jake's a tough guy to work for. Not everybody could make it in his band. He demands perfection. He wouldn't let us eat while we recorded the album. He said that he didn't want the fat in our brains. He told us that the parts had to be real lean. No pork, no sex, and we couldn't wear shoes.

He kept us in the cellar and summoned the devil. Then he beat the devil. He just beat him around the basement for a while. Then, we laid down some tracks.

All four guys, The Power Crystals and Magic Jake, have a lot of style. The first time we plugged in our instruments and played together, all of the power in the house went out. We got that sorted. Then we plugged in again and sucked all of the power out of the block. We had to get the city of Detroit to come and hook up special generators just so we could play one song. After they heard our song, the mayor gave us the key to the city. We're not gonna use it for evil, though..."

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