Omaha's Stealing 8th Wave Away from Lincoln for the Weekend to Play Reunion (and Farewell?) Show

By:  Audrey Kay xx

They were just some kids fooling around, playing some music and getting into trouble.  Who would have thought that they would not only stay together as a band all this time, but achieved status as one of the area's most popular (and successful) ska-punk bands of their time?  Steve Ahl and Chris Crutcher of 8th Wave spend a little time talking past, present and future for the band, and individually.

1) When 8th Wave formed over a decade ago  what was the initial direction the band wanted to go musically?

Steve: "We originally were going for more of a ska/ska-punk sound. Our influences were bands such as Buck O Nine, Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, etc. As we continued to write more songs, we evolved into more of a punk band, with horns."

Chris: "As a guitar player, playing ska guitar parts always bored me... the name 8th wave was like, 'the 8th wave of ska', so with that I kind of just shied away from the up-picking and added a different flair." 

2) My favorite ska band of all time is the Uptones. They definitely seem to lean more toward reggae, while 8th Wave seems a lot more punk. Was there any intentional emphasis on a particular sound?  

Steve: "Some of our first songs were very simple (not that they were too difficult towards the end); ska verse, distorted chorus, ska verse, chorus, end of song...As we became better songwriters we leaned more towards the distorted punk verses, and actually put bridges in some of our songs!"

Chris: "The songs on Store Bought Punks are definitely the most diverse. We had our first ballad and we worked with doing some things we had never done with three part harmonies.  Then, there was a song that Kris, Steve and I all took turns singing lead vocals and yes, we did some fun bridges."


3) How did everyone come together as a band; were you all best friends and aspiring musicians or is there a cooler story behind it? 

Steve: "No cool story really.  A few of us started jamming and thought it would be cool to have horns.  [We] couldn't find a trombone player, so we put an ad in the local paper.  We rented a storage garage way out in West Lincoln and started writing songs." 

Chris: "I know that Steve and Emmy had gone to the same High School. As for when Timmy and I joined the band, we were in a band called Split Second that was starting to crash and burn.  So, when 8th wave needed new people, we jumped on it."


4) Growing up in Lincoln, did you have many opportunities first starting out to get your music out there?

Steve: "It was very difficult to get our name and music out there.  We had a friend who was a bartender at the old Hangar 18 bar in Downtown Lincoln.  They were nice enough to let us play some of our first shows there.  With the little money we made from our shows, we went to Omaha and recorded a 5 song demo.  We sent it into the local Lincoln station KRNU to have them play it.  I remember calling in about every night and requesting they play us.  They finally got fed up with me calling and told me they knew I was in the band and to quit calling and requesting our own songs.  After awhile, they told us they didn't have our CD and they couldn't play us.  Rumor has it that one of the DJ's scratched the CD so it wasn't playable any longer.  Knickerbockers in Lincoln is really where we were able to start getting a fan base.  The owners were very good to us and helped us out by letting us open for several shows that came through the area.  Thanks Chris and Shawn!!"

Chris: "I think the Cog Factory is where I first saw 8th Wave.  The Ranch Bowl helped 8th Wave out a lot."

5) What are some things the band has accomplished that made you all proud?

Steve: "We did everything ourselves.  We had no idea what we were doing, but we were able to put out 5 CDs, we traveled the country multiple times, our music was featured on MTV's show "Undressed", we recorded a music video for our song "Lost Between The Lines", we played on the Warped Tour in KC...We were able to play with nationally known bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Mest, Sum 41, The Urge, The Phunk Junkeez, etc. It's just crazy that we could accomplish all of this with very little help.  We really busted our butts!"

Chris: "We also had two songs get on regular rotation on The River."

6) Besides your home in Lincoln, where else have you played where you felt you had the biggest crowd reception?

Steve: "We did very well in Omaha, Grand Island, Shenandoah, IA and surrounding small towns, and the Kansas City area.  We did a nice job making friends with bands that were from the states all surrounding Nebraska.  We would trade shows with them quite often which help us build a fan base in those towns."

7) What about now? Is anyone working on music in other bands now, or solo work?  

Steve: "Chris [Crutcher], Emmy and Joe are all now in a band called The Curtain Calls, formerly known as No Action.  Kris Allison, Chris [Crutcher] and Emmy are also in a rap group called Bigg N Dirrty.  Kris Allison, Emmy and Joe were in a band called Trick Magnet, but they disbanded a couple of years ago."

Chris: "Audrey I think you saw us... we [The Curtain Calls] opened that Paper Tongues show."

8) Yes, I remember! That was such a good show.  A lot of the things you have all been doing are so much different than with 8th Wave. Though 8th Wave went through a lot of obvious changes over the years, what do you think kept the band going for so long even through all of that?  

Steve: "I think it was because of the fun we had.  Some of the best times of my life happened while 8th Wave was together playing shows.  When we get together now, we sit around and tell stories about all of the stupid things we did, and how we are lucky to be alive to tell the stories. We did some really idiotic things!  Also, we have some really great fans!  We kept playing, and they kept coming out to support us!"

Chris: "Speaking for Timmy and I, when we joined the band we were able to come out of our shells a bit. We were both always kind of reserved and a little quiet, but joining this band helped us to be more social and it helped me in the way that I write songs also. Steve's right, we did a lot of dumb things that I will always remember. We messed up the town of Iowa quite a few times."

9) At the shows this weekend, what can people expect to be familiar with, and what will be new?

Steve: "People can expect an old school 8th Wave show.  One of the things we pride ourselves on is our live show.  It will be very energetic.  We will be playing some old songs that we recorded on our first demo back in 1998 all the way up to our newest song recorded right before the band finally called it quits."

Chris: "We will have old members, current members, a dunk tank, a cotton candy machine, reunion t-shirts and a dolphin."

Flash back photo

10) Do you really think this will be your last show, or can Omaha and Lincoln expect more in the future from you? 

Steve: "8th Wave's last show?  C'mon! We've been playing our last show since 2004!  In all seriousness though, I couldn't tell you if we will be back.  I think some of us would like to play Lincoln again, especially at Knickerbockers.  I guess we will have to see how this weekend goes, and go from there......"

Chris: "I'm always down for whatever. It's all about if people want us to. We have members of 8th Wave in Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, San Fran... So, it's not the easiest task, but we will do it for our fans. This will be the first time in years I have seen some of the people who used to come to our shows."

8th Wavewill be in Omaha two nights in a row this weekend!  First show is on Friday, May 14th at the Waiting Room, alongside Flight Metaphor and Straight Outta Junior High!  8 bucks at the door, show starts at 8pm!  Saturday, May 15 they will be at the 49'er with equally phenomenal Lincoln band, The Killigans!  Come to one, come to both!  Either way, you will not want to miss their last (maybe) show together!

Audrey Kay xx

5.14.10