Jim Crean prides himself on being one of the hardest working musicians in Buffalo and his latest project, Scream Taker, already has what it takes to be a memorable addition to his resumé. Rounded out by French guitarist Steph Honde and legendary drummer Vinny Appice, the trio released an album from Deko Entertainment titled “Kill the Beautiful” that is cut from the same Dio/Sabbath cloth that you’d expect given the personnel involved. 12 hard and heavy tracks that are meant to be heard at maximum volume, so don’t be afraid to let your neighbors know what kind of people they’re dealing with.
I caught up with Crean recently to talk about the band and whether or not we can expect them to be taking this material on the road in the future.
MNOD: I’ve been listening to the new album, “Kill the Beautiful,” quite a bit this week and the vibe is definitely menacing. The lead single, “Stone Cold,” sounds as if it’s a direct descendant of Black Sabbath’s “Dehumanizer” from 1992. How did the project come together?
Crean: Well, guitarist Steph Honde and I spent a few years writing back and forth, so we have a great working relationship. My bandmate from the Appice Drum Wars Artie Dillon produced the record and Vinny Appice joined up to play drums. COVID afforded me a lot of time to write songs and we shared files electronically until we had a whole album’s worth of material. We’re excited about it and ready to play it live for the fans. The response has been positive and people are already asking us about a tour, so naturally I think it’s going to happen at some point. We have offers for South America as well as Las Vegas at the moment. Vinny is doing stuff with Last in Line at the same time, but it’ll happen once we coordinate everyone’s schedules.
MNOD: For those who don’t know, describe how your relationship with the Appice Brothers came about.
Crean: The Drum Wars project used to pick up local musicians from every city they played in and I ended up being asked to come finish out a tour before it turned into a full-time gig. We worked so well together that Carmine asked me to become the musical director for the band, which was quite challenging during that first year due to having to bring different guys in every night. Now, we have the same band together for every show and it’s a lot of fun. Vinny has played on my solo albums and
MNOD: How did the concept for the “Stone Cold” video come about?
Crean: We were initially asked to put together a video to promote Music is Art, but it ended up becoming a mini movie. We filmed different scenes almost like a horror movie and my wife Colleen is even an actress in the video. It’s really cool.
MNOD: Who would you say has shaped your songwriting the most?
Crean: Ronnie James Dio is an obvious influence, but I would have to say that Phil Naro was the most influential for me. Talas is my favorite band. Phil and I spent so much time writing together from the time that I turned 15-years-old until right before he passed. We have a 35-40 year history. He was just an incredible singer and person. I still have videotapes and other stuff that I’ve never shown anyone else, but I’d like to unveil it all someday. We worked so closely together for so long that he shaped my songwriting more than anyone else.
MNOD: On the Hair Nation front, do you guys have anything big coming up?
Crean: We have opening slots for some bigger acts that will be announced soon, but I also have a live DVD that I filmed in 2019 at the Whiskey with the Jim Crean Band that has been sitting on the shelf. I’ll hopefully be putting that out soon.
MNOD: As one of the hardest working musicians in Buffalo, the fact that you’ve been able to work with so many hard rock and metal legends throughout your career must feel surreal at times.
Crean: I’ve definitely been fortunate to work with a lot of big names. My album, “Insatiable,” featured guys like Mike Tramp, Frank DeMino, Tony Franklin, and Rudy Sarzo, so it probably would have gone platinum had it been released in a different time. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame was a great honor, as well. This is a 24/7 job and I’ve put in a lot of hard work to get to this point.
“Kill the Beautiful” is available now wherever music is disseminated, but do us all a favor and pay for a physical copy.
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