At the leading edge of the new CCM generation is the David Crowder Band, a tech-saavy combo from Waco, Texas, and recent winner of three Dove Awards. Led by singer/guitarist David Crowder, the 5-piece band is one of the most unique and colorful in the genre, fusing traditional pop-rock instrumentation with creative sample looping and electronic textures. Roland and BOSS products blanket the DCB stage, and are key components of the band’s unique style and sound.

Roland met up with Crowder and his bandmates during their A Collison tour of North America. Here’s what each had to say about his approach to technology onstage and/or in the studio.

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David Crowder: guitar, vocals

On the band’s approach to using loops onstage: The electronics bring a lot to the table, but there’s still the organic, human element that you don’t want to squash in the process. I guess you could say our setup is my fault, because I don’t like using in-ear monitors. With technology where it is these days, most people just put in a click and play to the track. But with me not wanting to have a click through the in-ears, and the fact that you can’t have a click blasting through a wedge, we had to be creative to find ways around that. So we have loops coming in and out of the mix, which is tricky because you have to maintain the tempo.

 

Jeremy “B-Wack” Bush: drums

On the SP-606 and SPD-S: For some songs we play to full sequences. For other songs we just bring little loops in and out as needed. I trigger the SPD-S sometimes, and other times we have loops coming from the SP-606 [in Mike Hogan’s rig]. As far as drums go, it’s nice to not have to carry the entire percussive element of the show. Being able to let the electronic [loop] element do some of that, I can be freed up to play other types beats or sit out some of the time.

 

Mike D: bass

Bass sound for stage and studio: For the record, [A Collision] I used the ODB-3 Bass Overdrive. It was huge. We were looking for something that would keep the whole spectrum of sound intact, so the EQ controls on the ODB-3 were great. We ran it into a little amp and made some nasty sounds. Live, I use a BOSS line selector pedal, a tuner [TU-2], and I’ve messed a bit with the OC-3 octave pedal.

 

Mike Hogan: violin, turntables

On his use of BOSS pedals: I use the Super Shifter [PS-5] a lot. It does everything I need a whammy pedal to do, but it’s about one-fourth the size. There are a few points during the show when I hold it down, and it shoots the pitch up or down as an effect, but it’s mainly used for harmony to fatten the sound. I’ve also been using the Blues Driver [BD-2] for about six years, the tuner [TU-2], and the new delay box [DD-20].

 

Jason Solley: guitar

On the evolution of his pedal rig: My pedalboard is being reconstructed right now, but it’s pretty much gonna be BOSS when I’m done with it. Since we don’t receive clock from the drums, we’re just relying on our feet [for tempo sync], which I do with the DD-5 [delay]. I’ll be upgrading to the DD-20, though, and the cool thing about it is that you can store all of the tempos to the memory.

 

The DD-5 and the Blues Driver [BD-2] are the first two pedals I ever bought. They’ve been with me the whole time. There’s just something that feels good about using BOSS pedals. They’re durable; you can rely on ’em. They last forever.

Jack Parker: guitar, keyboards

On his BOSS pedal setup: I have the OD-20 [Drive Zone], the DD-5 delay, a line selector, a tuner, and an EQ [GE-7]. I used the OD-20 a ton on the [A Collision] record. With pedals like the phase shifter [PH-3] and the more ethereal effects, you get inspired to do things that aren’t so middle-of-the road. They make you venture out a bit.

 

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Keep tabs on the DCB at davidcrowderband.com and myspace.com/davidcrowderband.