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Ed Sloan and his hard-rock band Crossfade recently played The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, which was particularly exciting for the lead singer/guitarist because one of that evening's guests was Sharon Osbourne. "We took some pictures with her backstage — she's so beautiful up close," he says. "We gave her a few CDs, told her to give them to Ozzy and her kids. She probably just tossed them out — she'd never heard of us."

Sloan is used to people not recognizing his band. Not long ago, the North Carolina quartet was stuck playing local shows, recording in its garage-based home studio, and self-releasing its albums. But in the past year, they've shot from zeroes to heroes on the strength of the breakthrough single "Cold" off of their self-titled debut album (Columbia). Success is particularly sweet for Sloan and bassist Mitch James, who've been playing together in bands since the late Nineties. As he prepares to take Crossfade — rounded out by Tony Byroads (vocals/turntables/samples) and James Branham (drums) — out on the SnoCore Tour with Chevelle and Helmet. Sloan talke to us about finally hitting it big.

When you signed with Columbia Records, they made you change the band's name from its original moniker, Sugardaddy Superstar. What were you guys thinking with that name?

Ed Sloan: I really don't know, man [laughs]. One of the first songs that I ever wrote after we built our studio was this old Seventies song with horns and stuff. It was about this coke guy back in the Seventies and was called Sugardaddy Superstar. So just jokingly, we named our band after the song.

Columbia flew us up to New York City to play a showcase for them. As soon as we finished our set, we walked offstage, all the Columbia folks surrounded us, and Don Ienner, the head of Columbia, got up and said, "Fellas, welcome to the Columbia family. The only thing is, you got to change your fucking name, 'cause I hate it!"

You guys recorded the album yourselves in your own studio. What motivated you to build your own studio in the first place?

About three years ago, we were about to go into a local studio and we didn't have the money. So we decided that instead of spending that kind of money every time we needed to record, we'd save up $5,000 or $6,000 and buy some modest equipment.

You know, for us, we'd always go into a real studio and a week later we wouldn't be happy with what we had. By far the best thing about having our own studio is being able to finish songs, and then weeks later go back in and revamp them, change a part here or there, and it's just that easy.

When you guys signed with Columbia in early 2003, your album was recorded and ready to go, but it wasn't released for almost a year. What happened?

Columbia was merging with some other company, so they were firing people, getting rid of bands. They shelved our record about four times in 16 months. We'd actually already released it independently two weeks before Columbia got ahold of us, so we had to yank all the records off the shelves in the local stores. For a year and a half, we just kept our day jobs and called the guys at the label every week to find out what was going on. We made it through, but it was by the grace of God, man.

[Laughs] No., we don't, but that's just what we call Tony - he's really more of a backup singer and he's more a sampler than a DJ. You know, in the studio there's a lot of things we did that we're not able to recreate live because we don't have two guitarists, so Tony does things on his sampler that fill in the gaps.

Your song "Cold" is everywhere. Did you guys know as soon as you wrote it that it had that sort of hit potential?

We had no idea, man. It was just a quirky little song - it wasn't even three minutes long when we first finished it. We were just throwing it on the album because it was kind of cool. After Columbia Records signed us, they told us that "Cold" was probably going to be the song that they put out there first, and we were like, What?! Of course, now we know it was a good idea.

To the public, the success of most bands seems to happen overnight. When a band comes out of nowhere, people assume the road to success was a short one, capped off by signing to some prominent record label. What they don’t see are the hours dedicated to crafting killer live shows, the months spent initially practicing in garages just to make the band a cohesive unit, and the years spent touring and sometimes playing to five people a night.

For most young bands this is what goes down before they ever get signed ... if they ever get signed.

Such is the story with South Carolina’s Crossfade, though most wouldn’t guess it. The Columbia-based modern-rock quartet is one of those bands that seemed to come out of nowhere. Their recent success, however, was years in making.

In early 2004, they released their self-titled debut on Columbia/FG Records. The grand, emotive lead single, “Cold,” immediately caught on with modern rock radio — including Charleston’s 98X.

As music critic Johnny Loftus of All Music Guide recently wrote, “Columbia’s signing of the band makes sense, as Crossfade combines the most marketable elements of Nickelback and P.O.D. (check “No Giving Up”), throwing in the brooding aggression of Cold and Disturbed as bonus glue. Its occasional flirtation with synths and sampling is negligible, as discordant guitars dominate the album’s mix.”

Perhaps more dynamic than much of what ends up on contemporary commercial rock playlists, “Cold” is energized by lead singer Ed Sloan’s strong voice, as demonstrated in the big singalong chorus as he croons, “What I really meant to say / Is that I’m sorry for the way I am.”

Propelled by that single and a guitar-driven rock sound in the vein of Nickelback, the album is just shy of platinum status, with around 900,000 copies sold.

But Crossfade didn’t just “happen.” It’s been a steady rise for vocalist-guitarist Ed Sloan, bassist Mitch James, and newly-added drummer James Branham since Crossfade started years ago, first as The Nothing, then aas Sugardaddy Superstar — when no one outside of the mid-state even knew their names. Despite the success of “Cold,” it still took about a year for the album itself to take off.

Due to the steady sales of Crossfade, the guys are still out on the road promoting the album. That puts them out for over 15 months straight, with a few five-day stints back home.

“I think we call our home a big, dark brown tour bus,” jokes Mitch James. “We all have apartments or a house in Columbia, but we’re seldom there.”

Endless months on tour and time spent away from loved ones create the type of experience that inspires a sophomore album, and Crossfade are well aware that a follow-up record looms on the horizon.

For some, writing new songs on tour fits perfectly in the time between playing shows and taking care of band business. The process doesn’t suit the members of Crossfade quite as well.

“We try to [write out on the road] just because we know we’re going to have to write the second album pretty soon,” James admits. “But it’s pretty hard to get into the right mode when you’re bouncing down the road or doing press or doing the shows. I think once we get home and get situated, it’s going to be a whole lot easier just to let it flow.”

With plans to wrap up touring for Crossfade in September, the band will head home and get straight to work on the new album. The guys hope the album will be ready for release in early ’06, but we all know how well things in the music industry run on schedule.

Regardless of when Crossfade’s sophomore attempt finally drops, one thing is for certain: the trio will be back on that dark brown tour bus making friends and bringing the rock across the country for another year or more.

Crossfade's self-titled debut album has now gone gold for sales of over 500,000 copies as certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band's success has been a slow build off their hit single, "Cold," and the album is now perched at Number 52 on the Billboard chart.

In celebration the band is releasing their album as a dualdisc, with a video component. The disc, which will be re-released March 29, will come packaged with live footage and interview segments.

Meanwhile, the band has booked its first headline tour, which will kick off March 23 in Albany, Georgia. The band is currently touring as part of the SnoCore Tour with Chevelle and Helmet.

• This time last year, Crossfade was best known as a rock band from South Carolina. Now, one year, five hundred thousand album
sales, two smash hit songs, 250 live shows, and ten national TV appearances later they've become the artist development story of the year and #52 on Billboard Top 200 Bestselling Albums chart, with a bullet!

Their success can be traced back to last spring, when the quartet hit the
road in support of their self-titled debut. They played anywhere and everywhere, regularly whipping audiences into a frenzy with a set that was raw, sweaty and absolutely electrifying. Word of their unique sound: a hard edged rock band amplified by the addition of a DJ/turntablist began to spread and radio took notice. Little by little, lead single "Cold" began to generate heat and slowly started tearing through stateside playlists.

Within a few months, the band was everywhere: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Fuse and VH1 (where they are now in large rotation). They shared stages with bands such as Shinedown and Helmet and quickly established themselves as one of rock's exciting new voices. By year's end, "Cold," which had charted for more than 40 weeks, had become 2004's #1 most played song at Active Rock radio and Crossfade was well on its way to Gold status. Not bad for an album that the band recorded in a tiny garage studio in Columbia, South Carolina.

"We really followed our creative vision," says lead vocalist/guitarist Ed Sloan about the making of the record. "The ability to record at home and on our own time was great. It gave us complete control over our environment and allowed us to experiment in ways that, in a normal studio, would not have been possible due to budget and time constraints. It took about nine or ten months to complete this recording." Impressed with the album's sound, Columbia /FG practically released the disc "as is," with only minor post-production assistance from award-winning producer and engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, P.O.D., 3 Doors Down).

Crossfade is maintaining momentum with their second single "So Far Away"
(already a top five radio fixture) and the announcement of their first-ever headlining tour to follow the current Sno-Core tour. The trek begins March 23 at the State Theater in Albany, GA with openers Strata. On March 29, Columbia / FG Records will re-release the self-titled album as a Dual Disc, loaded with bonus features. Side A will feature the full-length CD audio album while Side B of the disc offers the DVD content including interview segments, live footage, acoustic performances and the "Cold" video, all delivered in a
speaker-shattering surround sound mix.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Benny Tarantini • Columbia Records (212) 833-5858 •
Benny_Tarantini@sonymusic.com
www.crossfadeonline.com

"Cold," the first single from the band's self-titled debut, was the year's most played song at Active Rock radio.

The album recently was certified gold, but the song's overwhelming impact does not surprise its members.

"We count our blessings everyday," said bassist Mitch James. "We've had great success throughout the year, and it hasn't slowed down. We always knew we had the music, and when people finally started hearing it, they kind of latched on to it like we hoped they would. The only thing that was surprising to us was how well it was received. In the entire country it was pretty much embraced."

Crossfade will play Saturday with Chevelle, Helmet, Future Leaders of the World and Strata as part of the Sno Core Tour at the Congress Theatre, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.

The show starts at 5 p.m. Tickets are $21, available through Ticketmaster outlets.

"We're a good fit for Chevelle, which has really heavy guitars but have really melodic vocals, a lot like us," James said.

Although Crossfade gets labeled as a hard rock band, James would prefer people think of the group just as a rock band.

"That's good enough for us," he said. "We don't want to be stuck in any particular category. We don't want to be stuck with one label, and then come out with something a little different and people think we have done something bad to them."

In releasing its debut album, Crossfade's main goal was to get its music out to as many people as possible.

"We are trying to stay out on the road and keep our heads together and make this is a living and not just a short chapter in our lives," James said.

With so many bands reaching for success, he admitted that luck plays a big factor in getting on the radio.

"There are a lot of good songs that no one every hears because the bands don't have the right people in their corner or they aren't in the right spot at the right time," James said.

"There's nothing but a snowball effect now, so we want to keep that rolling," James said. "We want to perform music until we decide it is not fun anymore."

NEW YORK, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- As record labels struggle to pull out of one of the worst slumps in their history by better relating to consumers and by cost-effectively releasing their strongest product, one company has quietly turned to the fans' opinions for the ultimate solution ... .and is succeeding in guiding labels and artists in choosing their strongest music and biggest hits. The company is promosquad HitPredictor, and it performs online predictive music research with a huge nationwide database of music fans on the "Hit" potential of new songs before they are released to the radio and retail.

Lead by music industry veterans Rick Bisceglia, Guy Zapoleon, and Doug Ford, Promosquad HitPredictor over the past 2 years has become the undisputed #1 brand of predictive music research in the nation, with charts featured in Billboard magazine, the Billboard Radio Monitor, and Entertainment Weekly. Many major and independent record companies, artists, and artist managers now utilize promosquad HitPredictor's music research as a regular and essential part of their rollout of new music. HitPredictor's results are incredibly accurate, and are used to guide labels in picking which singles to release to radio, and even on which artists to sign to record deals.

The fact is that there are countless examples of many labels that have literally changed their minds on which song to release to radio based on HitPredictor results, and have scored with some of their biggest hits ever as a result of following the opinions of promosquad.com's members. "It is a very competitive field, and labels spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make and break their music," says Rick Bisceglia. "Getting actual music fans' opinions of music prior to release has now become a valuable part of the process" Guy Zapoleon says he hopes HitPredictor research results will "continue to encourage radio programmers to take more chances and stick with songs for longer periods of time."

The latest proof that the HitPredictor model works comes in the form of the band Crossfade, a group that promosquad HitPredictor discovered, researched, and signed to Columbia Records. The group's first single "Cold" is now rapidly climbing the Mainstream Top 40 radio charts after hitting #2 at Alternative, #1 at active rock, and gaining status as the most played single of the year nationwide at that format. Their self titled debut release was just certified with Gold status by the RIAA.

"We have worked this record for over a year and a half, and it continues to perform", says Columbia Records Group Executive VP Stu Bergen. "The radio research on the song "Cold" has been amazing; exactly as promosquad HitPredictor's system predicted it would be."

"promosquad.com operates a "Get Famous" program, which accepts unsigned releases from its members. "Standouts are placed into the HitPredictor system for predictive testing. Artists whose songs show hit potential are then A&R'd more thoroughly and then considered for signing", according to promosquad HitPredictor's Doug Ford. Crossfade was discovered through this process, and brought to showcase for Sony Music Label Group President/CEO Don Ienner, who obviously was intrigued by the research, heard the hits with his own ears, and offered the band a deal on the spot.

"It took the research of promosquad.com's HitPredictor and the undying support of that company to finally close our deal." says Crossfade's manager Chris Long. "This is proof that they have a way for unsigned bands to prove they not only deserve a deal, but can compete against the big bands." Crossfade's Ed Sloan agrees, "Promosquad HitPredictor was there from day one, and was the primary reason we were brought to Columbia records. Without them, we never would have gotten where we are today".

The bus. The band. The bills

Crossfade isn’t rich yet, but the ride’s getting better and the climb, higher

By Otis R. Taylor, Staff Writer
« Published: Sunday, Jan 9 » Columbia Tunes

Crossfade’s spring tour started in guitarist Ed Sloan’s conversion van.
Next came a small RV, then a midsize RV. The four Columbia residents still had to take turns driving.

“That’s when you know you’ve made it,” said drummer James Branham. “It’s nice. We can’t complain and we don’t have to drive anymore.”

The bus has been home since October for Sloan, Branham, Tony Byroads and Mitch James, and it’s more macked than anything they left behind when they hit the road in April.

It has 11 — count them, 11 — TVs, including a 42-inch plasma flat-screen in the front lounge. The back lounge has three computers and a laser printer.

The bus has eight bunks, two Playstations, a full bathroom and a kitchen. It even has a vacuum cleaner that sees regular use.

“And we have a driver,” said James, the band’s bassist. “It was the worst part before — working all day and driving all night.”

Now after loading up, the band members sleep as they are chauffeured to the next town.

The grayish-blue, nondescript bus idles in the parking lot behind Headliners on Dec. 17 as roadies load in Crossfade’s gear. The band, which hadn’t been back to Columbia since June, played two shows that weekend at the Vista club.

“It feels good to come home,” said vocalist and sampler Byroads. “But after a week, I’ll want to go back on the road.”

While in Columbia, James and Branham hung out with their daughters. Byroads showed his fiancee around Columbia (she’s from California; they met on the road), and Sloan hung out with family and friends.

Instead of going to his apartment, Sloan slept on the bus the night before the first Headliners show.

Not since Hootie and the Blowfish sold 16 million copies of “Cracked Rear View” has a Columbia band been so successful — though Crossfade hasn’t quite reached those heights.

Powered by “Cold,” the No. 1 single of the year in what’s called the “active rock” format, Crossfade has sold more than 250,000 copies of its self-titled debut, including 17,000 the week of the hometown shows.

“Nobody at Columbia Records had a clue,” James said. “It was a wait-and-see mentality.”

After more than 40 weeks, “Cold” is still charting high and might cross over to Top 40 radio, which undoubtedly would boost record sales.

No matter how big Crossfade gets, these guys always will remember where they got their start. The Dec. 17 show at the 900-seat club sold out, and Headliners added a Dec. 18 performance. In spaces in front of the stage with barely enough room to wiggle, fans somehow started body surfing. Several girls — singing along with each song — sat on people’s shoulders to get better views.

“That hasn’t been on radio, so they’ve got to have the record,” Chris Long, the band’s manager, said after “Colors.”

Branham ferociously beat the drums. James, with his spiked hair, thrashed the bass and Byroads was his usual laid-back self. Sloan, who has polished his lead-singer stance, played it cool, sometimes playing with a cold towel wrapped around his neck.

He didn’t want a repeat of Roanoke. “It was like 130 degrees in the club,” Branham said. “Ed got so overheated that he threw up behind his amp.

Saving the best for last, Crossfade played “Cold” during the encore on the first night. On the second night, the band performed an acoustic version of the song.

“The show was off the chain,” said 19-year-old fan Christina Bosworth. “I think it’s cool they’re from Columbia. It’s awesome.

After both shows, the guys hung out with the fans, signing CDs, T-shirts, posters, stomachs, jeans and pants.

“It’s like this all the time, my man,” said road manager Barry Corley. “This is nothing new.”

Sloan and James have stuck together from The Nothing, to Sugardaddy Superstar, to Crossfade.

That’s 13 years of name and lineup changes. James says the two knew “from Day One” they would end with a hit record.

“It was never a choice,” Sloan said of the partnership he and James formed in 1991. “We would’ve kept going until 2012.”

The determination that Sloan and James share led to a change in the lineup after Crossfade signed with Columbia. Branham joined the band in January. Branham says he’s lucky the band asked him to play, but Sloan sees it differently.

“From the first day he was here, the band has seen paramount improvements,” Sloan said. “It was very simple — almost like it was meant to be.”

Touring with bands such as Shinedown and Alter Bridge, Crossfade has criss-crossed the country, and on some nights performed in front of as many as 15,000 people.

“When you have that many people singing ‘Cold,’ it overpowers the amp,” said Byroads, who has a Crossfade tattoo on his left forearm. “And it’s a good feeling.”

Crossfade also has been a popular band on the talk-show circuit, with performances on Spike TV, Fuse, ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza,” the “Tony Danza Show,” “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Later this month, the band will be on the Sno Core Tour, which features Chevelle, Helmet, Future Leaders of the World and Strata.

And “Cold” has just broken into the New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles radio markets — which likely means another surge of album sales.

Sloan, who has become something of a heartthrob “for 12-year-old girls” on blogs, accepts the success as part of what was meant to be.

“It doesn’t get profound or surreal. It seems natural,” he said. “It doesn’t seem strange doing something we always wanted to do.”

With a quarter-million records sold, a No. 1 single and a tour bus, you might think Crossfade is rich.

The guys have enough money that they don’t have to work 9 to 5, but they don’t have “MTV Cribs” kind of cash. Not yet.

They have bills to pay such as album- and video-production costs, tour expenses and the bus lease. Sloan said a lot of the money the band made was reinvested in gear.

Columbia Records is pushing the album harder than ever; Long said it should reach platinum (1æmillion sold) this summer.

“Everyone at the label is trying to create something for the band so they can work with the band,” Long said.

For its end-of-the-year shows in Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach, Crossfade drove a van around the state.

The bus went to Nashville to be serviced, but it will be back this month to take the guys across the country again.

“I’ll get the itch to get out,” he said. “Just that feeling of being out there — that’s home to us.”

And then? “The next step is the biggest bus,” James said, “but then it’s all downhill from there.”

- review by Reach Taylor at (803) 771-8362 or otaylor@thestate.com | Columbia Tunes

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- 2005 is already shaping up as a very good year for Crossfade, the South Carolina-based rock band whose breakthrough single, "Cold," was 2004's Most Played Song at Active Rock radio, surpassing every competing act at the format, according to Billboard Monitor. In the week ending January 2, 2005, Crossfade's self-titled debut album has jumped an astounding 58 spots on the Billboard Top 200 Bestselling Albums chart, bulleting from #125 to #67. With weekly sales more than doubling since late November, Crossfade has sold more than 100,000 copies in the past four weeks and is rapidly approaching the RIAA Gold mark.

While Crossfade held fast at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart for 11 out of 12 weeks from October 10 through December 26, 2004, the Crossfade-penned "Cold" spent a full seven months in Active Rock's Top 10. New York's influential KROQ has added "Cold" to the station's power rotation while the video clip for "Cold," featuring GUESS? model/"Entourage" actress Beau Garrett, is currently in rotation on FUSE and VH1. The "Cold" clip was lensed by Martin Weisz, whose music video credits include Live, Fuel, and Nickelback.

Crossfade recently performed "Cold," on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and the group's performance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" re-aired on January 6.

Crossfade will continue to connect with the group's fans on the road as the band has just been tapped to join the WINTERFRESH(R) SNOCORE TOUR presented by MTV2 with Chevelle, Helmet, Future Leaders of the World and Strata. The 2-month winter lifestyle tour launches January 22 in Vail, Colorado. See upcoming dates below.

Featuring the dual vocals of frontman and guitarist Ed Sloan and DJ/Vocalist Tony Byroads, Mitch James on bass (and backing vocals) and James Branham on drums, the hard rock quartet detonated on impact with Crossfade, an explosive album of sprawling melodic rock which was released in the spring of 2004. Created in the spirit of independence, with post-production assistance from award-winning producer and engineer Randy Staub (Metallica, P.O.D., 3 Doors Down), the debut is a reflection of the environment the band members created for themselves.

"So Far Away," the second single from Crossfade, has reached the #2 slot on the Active Rock Top 10, according to R&R.

Survivor finds life in zine
By Jessica Del Curto
Published: Thursday, December 2, 2004
Article Tools: Page 1 of 2

Allie Shaw, owner of Hyperactive Music Magazine, stands with members of Crossfade, from left, Tony Byroads, Mitch James and Ed Sloan.

Lying in a hospital room gave Allie Shaw plenty of time to think.

While alone in the dark, waiting for her next procedure, she was inspired to change her life.

Shaw, a restaurant manager, decided to start a music magazine that would cover local and national bands.

Now the 30-year-old is the owner and publisher of Hyperactive Music Magazine. She has a small staff of dedicated workers who helped get the first issue off the ground.

"We figure we'd have a national artist on the cover, and then inside, readers can learn about local bands," she said.

The magazine not only keeps her incredibly busy, but it revived her soul and gave her a reason to live, she said.

In January, Shaw was in Colorado Springs helping the managers of Il Vicino upgrade their restaurant. She was downstairs in the office when a former employee snuck through the back door with the intentions of robbing the store.

He said "Give me the money," she said. "I thought it was a practical joke. Then he pulled a gun out of his backpack. I took a step forward. He took two steps forward and had the gun pointed at my head the entire time."

"He shrugged and took the gun from my head down to my stomach and shot me," she said.

As the room began to spin, Shaw realized she had been hit. In the hospital, she stopped breathing for about 20 minutes. When she finally came to, she found out she may never be able to run again or have kids.

In April, after countless operations, Shaw realized she needed something to keep her mind off what had happened to her.

Before Shaw got caught up in the security of a nine-to-five restaurant job, she was a music journalist. The first big act she interviewed was Boyz II Men. She worked for the Daily Lobo, was a stringer for MTV's Web site and started several local music magazines.

"Eventually, I couldn't fly off and interview rock stars," she said. "It just became too much after awhile, and I fell into a work humdrum."

After the shooting, Shaw took her vast store of music trivia and put it to good use. Continued..

Rising Band Crossfade Generating Heat
Fri Nov 19,10:42 PM ET Entertainment - Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Crossfade is finding its new name much luckier than its old moniker of Sugardaddy Superstar.As Crossfade, the Columbia, S.C.-based quartet has seen its self-titled Columbia debut earn its sixth week atop the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, which tracks the progress of developing acts. The album's success is fueled primarily by the first single, "Cold," which is currently No. 5 on Billboard's airpla-based Modern Rock Tracks chart. Just three years ago, Crossfade released the same single, along with seven other tracks, on its self-released set "Cold" as Sugardaddy Superstar.

That disc found its way to FG Records principals Doug Ford, Rick Bisceglia and Guy Zapoleon. They also run Promosquad.com, whose Get Famous program accepts releases from unsigned artists. FG signed the band and brought it to Columbia parent Sony BMG. Columbia, in turn, brought in veteran rock engineer Randy Staub to remix the group's previous set and record two new songs, "So Far Away" and "The Unknown."

Columbia Records Group executive VP of rock music Stu Bergen says the label focused its early marketing efforts on radio. The subsequent airplay success of the "Cold" single led to supporting tour slots with Shinedown and Alter Bridge. The band -- which comprises singer/guitarist Ed Sloan, bassist Mitch James, drummer Brian Geiger and turntablist Tony Byroads -- will headline its own dates in December.

Bergen says the label will now concentrate on promoting the video for "Cold," which is getting airplay at VH1. At the same time, second single "So Far Away" is starting to climb the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and is currently at No. 25. "We always thought it would be like that," Sloan says. "Not quite an overnight success, but everything happening at a good pace where we just get to really look around and enjoy ourselves."

-review by Margo Whitmire @ Reuters/Billboard

Crossfade's metallic overtones (especially the guitars, which travel from Soundgarden to Ill Nino), meshed with its penchant for balladeering a la Three Doors Down make for quite the bland offering. There's not much on the quartet's eponymous debut release that Sevendust hasn't covered, and the DJ meets rock band aura that pervades tracks like "No Giving Up" and "Disco" just gives off the perception of Crossfade being a poor man's Linkin Park. Even though Crossfade's debut is consistently competent, the big arena sound that it bellows talks loud and says virtually nothing. www.columbiarecords.com
3 rock horns
- reviewed by Mike @ PitRockMag.com

MEINL welcomes James Branham of Crossfade to its family of endorsing artists
Nov 15, 2004

MEINL cymbals would like to welcome James Branham of Crossfade to its family of cymbal artists. James and Crossfade have been touring relentlessly in support of their self-titled debut record, opening for bands such as Alter Bridge and Shinedown. With their unstoppable hit radio single "Cold," music lovers across the US have been getting hipped to Crossfade day after day, hour after hour. Radio programmers just won't quit playing the band, and for good reason. With their refreshingly melodic and memorable, heavy-modern rock tunes, Crossfade has their audience singing every word and pumping their fists all at the same time.

A TAXI T-Shirt sighting during Crossfade's appearance on the tonight show with Jay Leno

By Rachel Laskow

When Crossfade's Ed Sloan first started to submit songs to TAXI, they were all country. After a while, however, he switched his genre to melodic hard rock – and his submissions were forwarded nearly every time.

TAXI was directly responsible for Crossfade getting hooked up with both their manager (former TAXI A&R staffer, Chris Long), and one of the top music attorneys in the business.

One of Crossfade's forwards through TAXI went to the West Coast office of Columbia Records. But in the end, it was Columbia's New York office that signed the band.

And while some bands and artists feel that their labels don't do enough to launch their careers, that isn't the case for Crossfade. The label has provided strong support for the band throughout the recording and promotion of its debut album, Crossfade.

"The people at Columbia have been a real pleasure to work with at every level. They've proven to us why they've always been considered the most desirable label for an act to sign with," commented Crossfade's manager Chris Long.

Recently, Columbia helped get Crossfade a landmark appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." The show exposed them to millions of viewers who otherwise might not have heard the band. The widely televised performance could also be key in helping Crossfade's album reach Platinum. (It has just been certified Gold by the RIAA.)

Crossfade will present TAXI with a Gold record in a couple of weeks to show the band's appreciation for TAXI's role in its success. But TAXI CEO Michael Laskow begs to differ.

"The real seeds for all of Crossfade's success were their great songs, and their great work ethic. The guys deserve everything that comes their way, and then some. I hope they inspire other members to work hard on their songs, and never to quit trying."

11.26.04 - Crossfade's Ed Sloan: if you want to complain, you must vote
Crossfade prefers not to air their political views, but frontman Ed Sloan does insist that everyone who can vote today (Election Day, November 2nd) should do so if they want to have a say in the direction of the country. "There's a lot of people who are complaining about the country and the things that are going on, and, you know, half of those people probably don't even vote to try to make it what they want it to be. So you've got to get out there and do your thing, and then you have the right to say whatever you want."

Crossfade plays in Seattle, Washington tonight, but the Columbia, South Carolina-based band has already voted by absentee ballot. The next single from Crossfade's self-titled major label debut is called "So Far Away.

Crossfade playing to an older crowd on Alter Bridge tour
Opening for the former members of Creed in Alter Bridge, up and coming lineup Crossfade are finding themselves playing for an older audience than they're used to. As Crossfade bassist Mitch James notes of the tour, which ends November 20th in St. Petersburg, Florida: "It's an older crowd than we're used to playing to. I guess, you know, Creed's been around for 10 years, so they've got an older fan base, and so I guess a lot of the people that know who they are now, who stuck around, are a lot older. So it's a little different than the younger crowd that we usually play to, but they're still good, packed, sold-out crowds nonetheless."

Although Mitch James recently said that Crossfade enjoyed playing Halloween gigs in their hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, this year Crossfade played in Spokane, Washington on October 31st. They appear tonight in Vancouver, Washington (November 1st), and tomorrow (November 2nd) at Seattle's Graceland club.

Three of the four members of Crossfade are natives of Columbia, South Carolina, the state capitol whose previous claim to musical fame was Hootie and the Blowfish. In fact, Crossfade recently joked to Fox News, "If we can sell 10 million records, call us 'Hootie' as much as you want to."

Crossfade amazed at single's impact on fans' lives
While Crossfade's single, "Cold," has deep personal meaning for the members of the band, bassist Mitch James said he's amazed at the impact the track has had on the lives of their fans: "We have people that send us emails and talk to us and say, 'You know, I got back together with my husband because of that song.' Having that kind of impact on somebody is just - that's what we're in it for, for one thing. But we have maybe ten or twenty songs that have ever done that to us, and to be one of those for somebody else is just really cool."

"Cold" was recently named the most-played song at rock radio stations nationwide.

Crossfade's self-titled major label debut features eight songs initially issued by the band on an independent album called Cold. The group remastered those tunes and added a few new ones for their first official Columbia Records release.

The Columbia, South Carolina-based band recently wrapped up a tour with Alter Bridge and is now headlining clubs on their own. They perform tomorrow night (Friday, November 5th) in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Crossfade's 'Cold' written out of desperation
Crossfade's first single, called "Cold," was written during a particularly trying time in the band's career, according to singer Ed Sloan. "Pretty much we were all pretty desperate, really wantin' this thing really bad and it was affectin' all of our lives. We were neglecting a lot of friends and family and just kinda burying ourselves in our music and that was one of the songs that came out of that period."

Since those days, however, the South Carolina-based band has landed a major record deal and sold over 100,000 copies of their self-titled debut album. Meanwhile, the popularity of "Cold" has even spread overseas to U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. "We've heard from several people there who heard the song while they were here and then got shipped out, and anybody that writes us, we send 'em a free copy overseas if we can, so, yeah, we've heard from several people who've identified with the music over there as well."