Tell us about: 

Your latest music you have released: 

We just finished our latest release ‘7^TH HEAVEN’ – which happens to be our 7th CD as well. This is our most powerful and  passionate to date. ‘7^TH HEAVEN’ starts bold out of the gate. Not only 5 songs written by the  band but we also cover a ‘70s song by Christian alt rockers The Call and even reach back even  farther to the glory days of the 60’s Detroit music scene by ‘Crystalizing’ a classic SRC rock  tune. How’s that for diversity in music? We previously released 4 singles from ‘7^TH HEAVEN’  during 2020/21 with video support (on our YouTube channel and other social sites) but thought  waiting until this New Year (with the very challenging last two years behind us) might be just the  spark our fans and audiences would appreciate to make 2022 a much happier New Year  indeed.  

Your first single and how you felt when it was released: 

Our official first single was recorded on an 8 track analog tape system back in the 1970’s (we  were all just out of high school with rock star aspirations!). The first time I (Marq Andrew Speck  aka Q) heard that Sweet Crystal song on radio…took almost a minute into it before I realized  what it was and started yelling “That’s us! That’s us!” to my mom (I was still living at home…). 

Your favourite song that you have created that is an album track: 

From our ‘III’ Cd released a few years back,  the song “Warriors” is our musical salute to the men and women of the Armed Forces and to  their loved one left at home. We don’t have to support any war, but we have to support all our  warriors – what they sacrifice for us can never be repaid but can certainly be honored. We  always dedicate this to the veterans at our shows.

Your favourite song to play live: 

That’s a tough one as we have so many songs released over the years. Probably “Foot Of The  Cross” (from our ‘QUAD’ CD – https://sweetcrystal.bandcamp.com/album/quad ) because it’s a  full throttle rock song that features Bill on some great slide guitar and allows me to play from  underneath the keyboard rig for my solos (a signature Q move with videos to prove it), adding  just another layer of sweet to the show. 

Your most emotional track: 

“When I Tell You I Love You” from the upcoming ‘7th HEAVEN’ release – because sometimes  all you can do to help someone you know get through a very hard time…is just tell them that  you love them. 

The best lyric you have ever written: 

The lyrics to “Heaven’s Call” from ‘7th HEAVEN’ CD were written in 30 minutes  when we heard the news of a very dear friend to the band unexpectedly passing away this last  year… devastating to us all these are the lyrics that came to me faster than any I had ever  penned: 

Have you ever thought of all the friends you’ve got? 

There is one that you just know was sent to you from God? 

Now you’ll understand how we felt about this man 

He came into our lives one day 

How we hoped that he would stay but then 

An angel got their wings today 

Just before they flew away 

We heard you had answered Heaven’s call 

When we think of you, my friend 

How one day we will meet again 

Until then, we’ll wait on Heaven’s call 

You opened up our minds to the higher truths we’d find 

Acting as a guide, a friend, we felt that this would never end 

If we’d only known you’d soon be called back home 

We would have told you from the start 

You have a place within our hearts and now… 

An angel got their wings today Just before they flew away 

We heard you had answered Heaven’s call 

When we think of you, my friend How one day we will meet again 

Until then, we’ll wait on Heaven’s call

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show: 

We hope that the music, message and words we sing will make a difference in the lives of  everyone who hears them. Our music is about us, but it’s also about you. We hope someone  who attends a Sweet Crystal show will come away feeling better about themselves, knowing  that whatever they are dealing with, chances are we’ve dealt with it as well. As the main lyricist  for Sweet Crystal, I feel if the song doesn’t speak to me as I sing it, it won’t speak to anyone  else so I make sure that what I write is inspired by my faith and is presented by the band as  sincerely as it can be. 

The hardest track to play live: 

We have an instrumental called “Anthem” (also from the ‘QUAD’ CD) that is an emotional song  that we get ‘lost’ in on stage as we play it… meaning it can come across so strong that even a  seasoned musician can get caught up in the spirit of the tune and if we don’t have full  concentration on all the passages, things can get…blurry. But when it’s on, it’s very sweet  indeed. 

Essential items you always take on tour with you? 

A sense of humor, a good road crew and a backup to every piece of gear that is critical to the  show. 

Describe your fans in three words: 

Very sweet indeed. 

A song by another artist or band you wish you had written: 

There is nothing stronger than the emotion and performance of Roberta Flack singing “The First  Time Ever I Saw Your Face”… might not seem like a song a progressive rock band like SWEET  CRYSTAL would admire but greatness like that can’t be denied.  

What we can look forward to from your band this year: 

New songs already being recorded for our next release ‘8’ this time around featuring  more lead vocals from (guitarist) Bill. New promotion company Rogue PR taking the reins for a  while to get the Sweet Crystal brand into more markets. Booking shows and benefit concerts to  play again as we all get back to normal.  

Basically we plan to remain exactly who we are for as long as can. 24 Detroit Music Awards  can’t all be wrong! As our trademarked slogan puts it, we will continue to keep “Reaching The World, One Song At A Time”™