The sun sets on Eldorado Brown
March 9, 2020
“All things must pass”
George Harrison
The sun is finally setting on Eldorado Brown, at least in my eyes. The band ended in the late summer of 2019… July 27th to be exact…just 2 hours before performing at a private party. The end was ugly, to say the least, with nerves frayed and jagged. But after 3 year run, the break-up wasn’t quite the end. There were still the fans. There were still the social media profiles, a website, and a few other services that continued to linger.
This week the last of those services were shut down for good. The cloud-based Bandhelper account, which contained all the songs and setlists expired.
This passing made me sit back and reflect on the experience. Now I’m not one to publish my every thought or life event on social media, but looking back, I really feel now is a good time to write down some thoughts about the experience.
John Hughes (bass) and Byron Crews (guitar) had been playing together for nearly 10 years when I came along. A mutual friend and true music lover connected us, although I’d interviewed John many years before for an engineering position at my studio. Our first jam proved that there was musical chemistry there. John and Byron were both fabulously skilled musicians, and on a stage the three of us could flat bring it. Off-stage however, was a much different story. John and Byron were often like fire and water. Both had very strong personalities, and there were times I felt like the “man in the middle.” That wasn’t always the case, but that was my general take on things.
Over the years we found local success at many of the local music venues, and were involved in one of Dayton’s blues festivals. John was a Sales Engineer for Bose, and with that connection, we played at several of Sweetwaters annual GearFest‘s.
All in all, it was a good time. It was a growing experience, and I learned a lot.
What more can you ask for?
Is byron crews the son of Harry crews?
It is indeed.