Crutch Field News
Crutch Field’s music definitely "heaven sent"
Allyson Levine - Lincoln Times News
John and Kerri Crutchfield may be proof that the couple that plays together stays together.
The Iron Station pair, founders of the contemporary Christian band Crutch Field, have combined two things they love very much: God and music.
“It was kind of our vision when we got married,” said Kerri.
Making music for the Lord may have been their vision, but neither could have imagined that vision would end up making them award winning musicians.
When the couple decided to begin their musical ministry, John called his friend Carl Cartee, who works in the music industry in Nashville.
“We went to Nashville and recorded a CD with some amazing artists,” John said.
Along with vocalist Erin Maynor and guitarist Christian Acker, John, who sings and plays guitar, and Kerri, who sings, made the CD with musicians Bryan Sutton and Wanda Vic Burchfield. Their friend Cartee produced the album.
Later, drummer Eric Taylor, mandolin player Mark Stultz and bassist Dave Whissel joined Crutch Field, forming the group’s current line-up.
According to the couple, the band’s coming together may have been the result of some divine intervention.
“We pretty much came to know these people through Christ Community Church in Huntersville,” said John.
Yet none of the band members are members of the same church.
“It’s like we were all there for a purpose,” Kerri said.
That purpose turned out to be making music with a unique sound and a Christ-centered message.
The band’s sound is original and therefore hard to pigeonhole. A review written by Crutch Field friend Brian Bailey mentions the group’s penchant for vocal harmonies and says their music should appeal to “bluegrass, new grass and worship lovers everywhere."
The new grass sound mentioned in the review is an update of the classic bluegrass sound that incorporates drums and different beats than traditional bluegrass.
“We definitely have an acoustic sound with hints of new grass, bluegrass, folk, blues and country,” said John.
Both John and Kerri write songs for the band, as do Maynor and Acker. According to John, all of Crutch Field’s songs are written “straight out of scripture.”
One day, during an online search for other independent Christian bands, Kerri came across indieheaven.com, a website that promotes independent Christian artists. Crutch Field became one of about 700 artists featured on the website.
The band members knew how valuable such a website could be in providing support and networking opportunities. Yet they had no idea just how rewarding their association with indieheaven.com would turn out to be.
On March 31, the site honored independent Christian artists at the Christian Independent Alliance (CIA) Summit in Nashville. Part of the event featured the presentation of the organization’s 2007 Momentum Awards, the independent Christian artists’ equivalent of a Grammy.
Crutch Field won the award for Country Artist of the Year and was chosen to play a showcase during the summit.
The group was obviously thrilled with the honor. Yet John says that, while the band members love making music, it’s the larger purpose behind the band that they’re really passionate about.
“Our focus is ministering to people,” said John. “It’s really to lead people to Christ, to lead them to a new place of worship.”
In the year since Crutch Field released its first CD, the album has sold around 2,000 copies, a good amount for an independent band that has only existed for two years.
The group will most likely begin a tour in October, after Kerri gives birth to the couple’s second child in September. They have already played numerous shows at churches, coffeehouses and even birthday parties. The band is also in the process of prepping for a new album.
Crutch Field even has fans halfway across the world. A man in Switzerland recently bought a copy of their CD on the website cdbaby.com.
All the members of Crutch Field have contributed more than musical talent to the group. John and Kerri handle bookings, mandolin player Stultz does the website, drummer Taylor deals with promotions and bassist Whissel takes care of the business end.
Everyone in the group has a musical background that includes singing in church choirs and they have each brought a love of music and a passion for ministry to the band.
Their winning the Momentum Award certainly speaks to Crutch Field’s talent. For John, it was an affirmation that the vision he and Kerri had truly was heaven sent.
“It was very humbling,” John said. “To me it just said, you can do this.”