Take The Crown

TAKE THE CROWN

Beau Bokan – Vocals Ryan Wilson – Keyboard Nick Coffey - Guitar James Campbell - Bass Trevor Bodawaitz - Drums Tony Gonzalez - Guitar

The loyal fans that have continued to fill the space of Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA, when Take the Crown (TTC) take the stage, are not the only fans to shout their lyrics. “The kids knew all about us along and you’ve known all about us all along…This is very unexpected, unordinary…I must be dreaming...don’t wake me up!” bellows TTC lead-singer, Beau Bokan on the recently recorded “Wake Up.” The kids that knew all about them all along are not a dream. They exist as far as Portsmouth, UK. “We had no idea we had fans in England,” says keyboardist Ryan Wilson. “When we toured there we would see kids singing along to songs from our [self released] EP, and we were so amazed, it felt like a dream.” After forming in 2004, Bokan, Wilson, Nick Coffey, James Campbell, Trevor Bodawitz and Tony Gonzales, come prepared and are ready to deliver their music to the willing ears that dare to listen. “We have been writing a lot of new music lately,” says Coffey. “We like to play local shows to test out the new songs and see if our fans are into it. Our goal is to get into the studio and put out a full length very very soon.” Hailing from all over Southern California, the twenty-somethings of TTC consider Huntington Beach, CA their home-base. Orange County—with all its preliminary notions—is the breeding ground for many great bands and upcoming talent. But, TTC does everything to defy these notions. “There are a million bands from [Orange County] OC, but we try not to blend in,” Wilson says. “We want to stand out and I think we’ve been doing a good job so far.” TTC has shared the stage in a supporting role—often handpicked—by prominent bands such as, AFI, LostProphets, Eighteen Visions and Saosin. The band has also appeared on the LA date of the 2006 Rockstar Taste of Chaos at Long Beach Arena. “Even though our friends are always there for us, we don’t depend on them for success,” says Bokan. “We give 110% commitment to our band and our work ethic and it’s what we pride ourselves on.” TTC has remained self-sufficient, while all members maintain day-jobs in construction and retail, by booking their own tours, acquiring their own sponsors (Paul Frank and Active RIdeshop), all while aggressively servicing their EP, Let the Games Begin to fans via shows and Smartpunk.com. Sales have easily achieved over 2k units. The band’s myspace.com page remains consistent with over 316k profile views and their songs average 55,531 plays. Most recently their profile has reached the 1 million plays mark! Fusing the sounds of steady synth, hard-driven guitar riffs, pulsating beats—all behind Bokan’s shrilling vocals—TTC blend to create the new post-hardcore. Wilson describes it as “hard hitting rock meets catchy choruses— with an added touch of synth.” The vocal melodies are catchy enough to sing-along to, while the instruments keep songs intense—creating somewhat of a sonic exorcism that consistently keeps your ears alerted. “This is Your Cue,” recorded in the bands early stages of development remains the fan favorite at live shows. More recent recordings, “Wake Up” and “That Girl Is About as Legit as a Three-Dollar Bill” show the band’s growth towards a more synth and guitar driven sound from a heavier screamo sound. “We like to make our lyrics to be easily relatable to our audience without always having to be completely literal or metaphorical,” adds Wilson. This method has continued to work for TTC—you can always find the crowd reciting every word that dangles on the mic from Bokan’s lips. With newfound fans that dare to listen to TTC— as far as the UK—you’re next to know all about them as they continue to work diligently on new music that will soon invade your ears…

For more information on Take the Crown contact:

www.myspace.com/takethecrown

BIG CHEESE MAGAZINE (UK)

October 2006



KERRANG! (UK)

October 2006



Rockstar Taste of Chaos 2006 Long Beach Arena

Long Beach, CA



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(L-R) James Campbell, Beau Bokan, Ryan Wilson, Trevor Bodawaitz, Nick Coffey and Tony Gonzales.