Jan. 3, 1996

My 3-year-old daughter now yells "I want rock 'n roll" whenever we go out in the car. That's because I listened to Dave Crimmen's new song, "If You Said Yes," while doing some errands with her. It's a snappy tune with Crimmen sounding a lot like Elvis Presley and my daughter loves it. (She hasn't heard a lot of Elvis, so it was a new sound to her.) Dave Crimmen will be a special guest on Channel 8's The Bruce Latimer Show tonight. He'll be performing "If You Said Yes," along with some other "rockabilly" style songs. "Rockabilly is so old, it's new again," says Crimmen, a Belmont resident who has performed extensively in the Bay Area with the group X-Tender (which has evolved into his own back-up band). "I think people are tired of being depressed by music.  We've come around to the time when people just want to dance and have a good time."

A Broadmoor native, Crimmen drives a delivery truck during the day and works on his music the rest of his life. "The guys in the band refer to me as the encyclopedia of rock and roll," he says. Crimmen's a guy who can rattle off classic rock statistics the way a baseball fan can spout historic pennant races. "I've seen Elvis twice," says Crimmen. "Both times at the Cow Palace. In 1972 and '76.  He put on an excellent show both times. He looked great in 1976."  A true-blue Elvis fan, Crimmen thinks the "King" deteriorated quickly and the bloated, overweight image of the singer only really existed just before his death in 1977. "I think Priscilla and Lisa Marie should be applauded," says Crimmen. "They've helped re-instate the Elvis of the 1950's." That's an image issue, of course, and it's something Crimmen is keenly aware of in the music business.  His own image consists of a wiry guitarist with turquoise jewelry.  He's got a ring on every finger. "Image is something I've been beaten over the head with," he says. "I got the idea of the turquoise jewelry from a Fats Domino video. It does get a reaction."

Part Cherokee Indian, Crimmen says he is also making no bones about playing up the Elvis "thing." His music is a direct descendant of the Presley music tradition and although he is not an Elvis impersonator, it's hard not to describe his sound as "Presley-esque." "I'm a real roots rock and roller," he says. "So it's a gift from God that this rockabilly revival is happening now." Crimmen points to Chris Isaac's great success in the music business as one example of the public's new enthusiasm for "rockabilly." And of course, he hopes to one day become equally successful. A Westmoor High School graduate who went on to Skyline College, Crimmen feels on the verge of breaking into a new level of musical success. He's paid his dues with X-Tender and other bar bands and is ready for people to recognize Dave Crimmen as a music force. "I consider myself a full-time musician," he said. "My day job allows me to buy guitars and pay for records. I am a rock and roll star, the world just doesn't know it yet."

Appearing with Crimmen tonight on the Latimer show will be Harry Mello, Sal D'Amato, Bill Shaffer and Leif Carlson. If you want to find out more about Dave Crimmen, and an upcoming album release party for the new single, call the Crimmen hotline at 650 589-5852.

-Chris Hunter

Aug. 29, 1990

Rock and roll is never as easy as it looks. Just ask the guys who make up the band called Xtender. "This incarnation has been together since December of last year," said Harry Mello, keyboard player and vocalist for the band. "But we've all been playing in this area for 15 years." With his shaved and shining head sitting behind opaque sunglasses, Mello is a vision of rock and roll caricature. He likes it that way, proudly listing the various pop looks he has cultivated over the years, from the gold chains of the 70's to the long hair of the 60's. Now, he's hoping that Xtender will make his look a familiar sight to rock fans. "I was in The Visitors in the 80's," Mello said. That band brought out an LP loaded with his original material and came close to snagging a record deal.

Tony Ramos, bass player, guitarist and vocalist for the band, has also paid his dues on the circuit. With the group Dr. T-Bone, the Pacifica resident played up and down the Peninsula, developing a solid reputation and appearing at such local spots as the late Mark Savage's Vallemar Station. Xtender recently recorded an album-length collection of original songs on the Vergone label. Mello and Ramos hope the production will help them move from the bar-band level to the higher reaches of rock stardom. "We have five entities in the band representing five decades of rock and roll," said Mello. "We cover a wide spectrum of rock and roll styles with strong roots in 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's."

Leif Carlson and Dave Crimmen both play guitar and sing for Xtender. They have a broad range of experience performing in the Bay area. Crimmen is a prolific songwriter whose work is being considered by the likes of Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Sal D'Amato rounds out the band with his drums, bringing an equal amount of musical experience to Xtender. All of the members are locally based along the Peninsula. "We're a PG band," said Ramos, "and most of our songs are love songs with a few political ones, but we really put on a show. We jump around a lot." "We're all just regular people," said Ramos. "Three of us are technicians and Harry works at Candlestick Park."

-Chris Hunter