Black Cross:Velocity Review
They don't build them like Black Cross anymore.
The five-piece outfit is almost like an all-star team of the local hardcore community.
Lead singer Rob Pennington, 32, is a bit of a Louisville music luminary, fronting such bands as Endpoint, Amaroq and By The Grace Of God. Guitarist Ryan Patterson, 26, played in The Enkindels and The National Acrobat, and is a vice president at Initial Records. The bassist is his 22-year-old brother, Evan, who also played in National Acrobat and now splits his time with the Initial band Breather Resist. Drummer Sean Johnson, 20, also keeps time for Ten to Midnight.
And it is in all these side bands and other responsibilities that Black Cross finds its stability. There is simply too much stuff going on to worry too much about the band. Show up, practice some songs, put out some records, hit the road and try not to think too hard about it.
Being a commercial success isn't something in which Black Cross is really interested. "Making it on your own terms is impossible," Evan Patterson said.
Background
Black Cross began on a lark. In the summer of 2000, Pennington was living in Colorado and "seeing what it was like living outside the black hole that is Louisville" when he got the itch to come home and form a new band.
Around the same time, still in the black hole, Ryan and Evan were starting a band with Thommy Browne, drummer for By the Grace of God and the Enkindels. When Pennington returned in 2001, the Black Widows were formed. In late 2002, the band signed a three-record deal with seminal hardcore label Equal Vision and changed its name to Black Cross, the result of learning that another band owned the Black Widows name.
Sound
Black Cross is a hyper-fast, pummeling hardcore attack. It's the kind of music that makes references to Hoobastank and Lost Prophets as heavy bands so comical. Black Cross will kick your ass and you will like it. It is frantic, loud spastic, explosive and poignant. It is the kind of band, as the players will attest, that would have been much more popular about 10 years ago.
In early 2003, the band released "Art Offensive," a J. Robbins-produced record that infused a touch of melody and anthemic choruses to the classic hardcore model.
When Browne left the band to spend more time with his family, Johnson defected from Five Hours to fill in permanently.
"It feels a lot more consistently honest and good," Pennington said, comparing his previous bands with Black Cross. "I still haven't felt that moment where it feels like I'm going through the motions. I have a more mature perspective of things."
Outlook
The future for Black Cross looks to be about as stable as any band could be. The band owes Equal Vision two more records, and on March 23 Initial will release a B-side/singles compilation, "Widows, Bloody Widows." (You can catch Black Cross on Friday at the St. John Center, 631 E. Market St. for a CD release show.) "We have a label that will put out our stuff without us having to do very much," Patterson said. "We don't have to worry about making money."
That's because they don't seem to be in this for the money, apparently. Patterson has his gig at Initial, Evan is a screen printer at Monkey Drive and Pennington is a special education teacher. Johnson works at Whole Foods and is a student at Jefferson Community College.
For now, Black Cross is keeping its expectations in check. "I've never been in a band that lasted more than a few years," Ryan said.
And what if the band defies the odds — and its own expectations — and hits it big? "My prediction, as a Louisville tradition, would be that we would keep trying to do it," Pennington said, "And then just break up."