Staggered Crossing

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Published on Monday, 06 July 2015 08:53

This week we would like to introduce you to fully energetic band Staggered Crossing, sometimes nicknamed StagX by fans. The quartet has been friends and band mates since their high school days in Toronto. The group offers a mixture of rock, blues and a little pop that most times comes out in what reviewers have called jam rock.

The members have been sharing one main interest in common, a joy that comes when making music. After a lot of practicing, the group began to play in local clubs and quickly gained local followers in North Toronto due to their frequent performances. A year after their red-hot album was released they recorded their first EP with Toronto musician and producer, Darrell O'Dea in 1996.
In less than two years, the band developed a dedicated fan base as well as had attracted the attention of Frank Davies, president of The Music Publisher and in 1999 the band was signed to Warner Music Canada. Later that year they signed with manager Larry Wanagas, founder of Bumstead Records. The group won awards for their songs, only to be forced to fight tooth and nail in a court of law to secure their publishing rights.

The band's self-titled full-length debut came out in February 2001. The album went on to sell over 13,000 copies across Canada. The first single, "Further Again" was a notable success, ending the year as the sixth most played song on rock radio and it stayed on the Canadian rock charts for more than 12 weeks. Subsequent singles "A Million Works of Art" and "Old Man" also received significant airplay.
One of the highlights in Staggered Crossing's rock carrier was their performance on the Mike Bullard show with Canada's Prime Minister. Not only their fans were convinced about their unique and catchy songs, also Jean Chrétien called the musicians as his favorites during the show. The Canadian Organization of Campus Activities named their self-titled album the Best Contemporary Music Recording of the Year at Universities and Colleges. 

Soon after the band parted its ways over creative differences with Warner Music Canada and formed their own publishing company and record label, Bent Penny Records, later this year. Fully prepared to do battle in the often-harsh music industry, their unparalleled work, ethic and unbridled passion for bringing quality music to the people were what brought the band back to the top. The band continued to tour and perform across Canada with groups such as Nickelback, Big Sugar, Blue Rodeo, Spirit of the West, The Guess Who, Wide Mouth Mason, Midnight Oil and Crowbar. It gave the members a chance to polish their skills and stage presence. Their fans all agree that Staggered Crossing’s high energy live show is the band’s trademark.

The band’s sophomore record, was recorded in the spring of 2002. The album was produced by ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett, the independently released “Business As Usual” kept the band in the public eye.
Staggered Crossing is back in a big way with the indie release of their third studio album, Burgundy & Blue, where the bands merges different musical genres into one collective fusion. The album weights in with the best of what Canada has to offer. In mid-January 2006 it reached the Top 10 on the weekly Nielsen SoundScan sales charts for the Toronto market.

Even the mighty suffer bumps and bruises along the way. Special about the band members is their common birth year “1978”. Therefore, they even named a couple of recording sessions after this time. Nonetheless, Staggered Crossing split up in August 2007, but their friendship remains. Indeed in the long run, the highs and lows don't really matter the focal point is that the members of Staggered Crossing truly loved what they done.

We invite you to listen to the creation of these friends, where you will discover so much great music :)