Crazy 8s is an

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rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band from

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

History

Formation and first album

The Crazy 8s were formed in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

as "The Cheeks" in 1982. However, because a UK band had already used this name, the band changed its name to "The Sweet Cheeks." During their earliest days, they were notorious for their raucous frat house party gigs and mostly covered songs by their favorite bands. Later in 1982, Todd Duncan, former sax player of Eugene rock band "The Sneakers", proposed that The Sweet Cheeks open for Billy Rancher and the Unreal Gods at La Bamba's in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. The month before the gig, Todd changed the name of the band to "Crazy 8s" and added several new songs to the band's lineup. The members of the newly monikered group were noticed by Tony DeMicoli, the owner of La Bamba's, during their performance and he hired the band to perform in the upcoming months. In addition, Crazy 8s became a regular opening act for Billy Rancher's band. The band opened for

Romeo Void Romeo Void was an American new wave/post punk band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. The band primarily consisted of saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, vocalist Debora Iyall, guitarist Peter Woods, and bassist Frank Zincavage. The band ...

at Oregon State on October 5, 1982 and with

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at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

the same year.Schauffler, Anne. A History of the Crazy 8s. 2006. In ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine, the Crazy 8s were defined as one of "nine bands to watch"Wing, Eliza. "Small-Time Rockers on a Roll." Rolling Stone: 1985. February 18, 2008. In addition, the Crazy 8s played alongside several well-known bands such as

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

, the

Violent Femmes Violent Femmes are an American folk punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band consists of founding members Gordon Gano (guitar, lead vocals) and Brian Ritchie (bass, backing vocals), joined by multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza (joined 2004 ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

The Three O'Clock The Three O'Clock is an American alternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of the ...

, and the

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between 1984 and 1985. In order to release their 1983 debut album, ''Law and Order,'' the band formed their own record label titled "RedRum Records". Not having the financial means to fund such an endeavor, the Crazy 8s turned to Joe Johnson's brother, Steve Johnson, an Oregon State University and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player, who invested $8,000 in the recording, production and distribution of the album. The band rejected offers from several major labels, including Warner Brothers. After the release of the hit single "Johnny Q", the band's album reached the "Top 20" on the Gavin Report.

Reception

The Crazy 8s were written up in several newspapers, magazines and other news sources, including ''

'' Other, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', ''The Rocket'', The

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, The

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

, the ''Scene Magazine'', ''ISU Daily'', ''The Varsity'', ''Two Louies'', ''This Week'', The

Corvallis Gazette-Times The ''Corvallis Gazette-Times'' is a daily newspaper for Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon, United States. The newspaper, along with its sister publication, the ''Albany Democrat-Herald'' of neighboring Albany, Oregon, is owned by Lee Enterprises ...

, ''The Mast'',

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and

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

.Schauffler, Anne. A History of the Crazy 8s. 2006 Greg Barbrick, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

writer for ''The Rocket'', wrote: For Barbrick, Crazy 8s was a group that deserved to be "international sensations." In another issue of ''The Rocket'', released not long after the ''Rolling Stone'' article, he wrote that: However, Crazy 8s did not break into mainstream pop culture. The Crazy 8s were the only ''independent'' release to have a song to reach number 69 (or higher) in Tower Record's ''Pulse Chainwide Sales Chart.'' Their 1985 song "Touchy Situation" reached the #6 position at CFNY (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

) and #13 at Z100 (

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Founding members

*"Tasty" Phil Allen,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

*Todd Duncan, lead

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

. - played in ''The Sneakers,'' from

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

in 1979 to 1982. *Bruce Marler,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Casey "Spacey" Shaar,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. *Malcolm "Sweet Pity" Smith,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Tim "The Fat Man" Tubb,

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

. - wrote the piece ''"Johnny Q."''Johnny Q. (Sheet Music). Tim Tubb *Mark "Wah-Wah" Wanaka,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

. *Rick Washington,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. *Gary "The Warehouse" Williams,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Additional members

(listed chronologically) *Joe Johnson,

. *Jim Wallace,

, also played in seminal Portland bands, (i.e. The Odds, 2:50, Map of France, Theatre of Sheep) *Mike Regan,

currently employed at Gordon Russell Middle School as the band director. *Carl Smith,

, currently working with renowned concert violinist Aaron Meyer *Dan Schauffler,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

originally a member of the band

Nu Shooz Nu Shooz is an American R&B group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Nu Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s. Their third album, '' Poolside'', brought th ...

. *Jerry Burton,

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

, replaced Danny and was on the 10th anniversary reissue of "Law and Order." *Ron Regan,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

alto sax The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

*Lance Kreiter,

, replaced Howard Clarke in 1993 and was in the band through the NYE show of 1994/1995 at Key Largo. Rejoined in August 2014.

Discography

*1984 - ''Law and Order''. *1985 - ''Nervous in Suburbia''. *1987 - ''Out of the Way''. *1988 - ''Big Live Nut Pack''. *1989 - ''Doggapotamus World''. *1992 - ''Law and Order re-release ''. *1992 - ''Still Crazy After All These Beers''. All albums were released under the Crazy 8s' official label, RedRum Records.

Awards and honors

Player of the Year Award: *1987 - Dan Schauffler (Two Louies) Horn Player of the Year Award, The Crystal Award: *1992 - Tim Tubb.Tim Tubb, 2009 Oregon Music Hall of Fame: *2007 Crazy 8's. ;Billboard Hits: *1984 - ''Law and Order'' (

College Media Journal CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

) *1984 - "Johnny Q." (Screamer of the Week for WLIR) *1985 - ''Nervous in Suburbia'' (#69, Pulse Chainwide Sales Chart) *1985 - "Touchy Situation" (#6, CFNY Station) *1985 - "Touchy Situation" (#13, Z100 Portland)

References

{{Reflist Musical groups established in 1982 American ska musical groups Rock music groups from Oregon 1982 establishments in Oregon 1994 disestablishments in Oregon Musicians from Corvallis, Oregon Musical groups disestablished in 1994