Overview
Gannon Fremin & CCREV’s tunes are heavy, with a sonic heft to match the outsize emotions at play. The Oklahoma four-piece deals with the tough stuff of existence by churning out big blasts of hard rock dusted with the red dirt roots music of their home state and — ironically — it’s that catharsis that makes their shows such a helluva good time. While Fremin howls in his twangy growl about crushing breakups, toxic cycles, and more unhealthy coping mechanisms than you could shake a Fender Jazzmaster at, the band delivers meaty post-grunge riffs, and the crowd, fully immersed in the wall of sound, rises to meet their energy. They can work an audience into a frenzy anywhere, but it’s at home that people show up ready to party. Because after nearly a decade playing out around the Sooner state, a CCREV show feels like a family reunion.
“It’s loud, everybody’s crashing into each other everywhere, they’re throwing stuff…” Fremin says with a chuckle and more than a hint of pride in his voice. “Yeah, it’s a good time.”
Part of the reason for that, despite the rocky territory their songs traverse, is the camaraderie bred into the group’s bones. CCREV is a brotherhood. Fremin handles rhythm guitar on top of vocals, while the group is rounded out by Tyler McCartney’s driving drums, Wade Cartwright’s thundering bass, and Travis Julian’s blistering lead guitar. Fremin, McCartney, and Cartwright have all known each other since they were little kids growing up in Walters, Oklahoma (motto: “Small town; big heart”). Julian linked up with them in their teens when the band was formed.
They’ve since released numerous singles, the perfectly titled Okie Thump EP, and the locally recorded Live from Grady’s 66 Pub, featuring “Too F***ed Up to Drive,” where Fremin sings: “Well, the small-town blues takin’ its toll, feel like it’s getting me down / Five or six people show up to our show, the same old folks hang around.” But they’ve spent big portions of their years on the open road, playing festivals like the legendary Calf Fry in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and making memories — like three nights of sleeping in a van on the beach in Corpus Christi, Texas.
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