Did you know that local Dave Matthews tribute band Crowded Streets has only been to a handful of Dave concerts? Or that lead singer Gabe “Matthews’” favorite band is U2? Or even that they don’t watch and study the iconic band in order to replicate their sound and movements?
I learned all of the above during a recent chat with lead singer and founding member of Crowded Streets Gabe Badillo, also known as Gabe Matthews. (It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?)
Before Crowded Streets, Gabe was ironically enough in a band called Warehouse, not a cover band, but an original rock band. Once they parted ways, the former bass player in Warehouse asked Gabe if he wanted to start playing again.
“We started kicking around ideas and I didn’t want to do variety rock because I wanted to set ourselves apart,” Gabe explained. “My favorite band was U2 but there was already a tribute band around, so we thought of bands who had a good fan base and longevity…and it’s been working for us ever since.”
After becoming a Dave Matthews tribute band, Gabe started recruiting members, struggling but eventually finding sax and fiddle players. With all the pieces in place, Crowded Streets began learning radio songs, a daunting six-month task, before making their debut with eight or nine songs under their belt.
Obviously covering such an iconic and talented band, they’ve had their fair share of critics, and have been held to ridiculously high standards.
“There are always skeptics because their music is so complex. To try to replicate and amplify this iconic sound, and with the sax, is one thing, but to do it well is another.”
To ensure they live up to expectations, Crowded Streets spends months practicing just one song before they’re performance ready. And if you’ve ever seen them live, you know their sound, style and movements are dead-on accurate.
Dave fans know he has an infamous “two-step,” if you will, when he performs, and Gabe just happens to have a similar move he’s been doing since long before CS began.
“When I’m playing, I’m into the music and grooving so I don’t recognize myself doing it,” laughs Gabe. “These were things I was doing before Crowded Streets.”
Before you get too excited, the band has never played for, or met, the real Dave Matthews. But, things are looking up. The band will play at the Bullpen before and after the Dave Matthews concert at Nationals Ballpark on July 23, and rumor has it that Dave himself might stop by before or after to check out their set.
For new CS fans, expect “musicianship and energy” at their shows. If nothing else, Gabe hopes that you will sit back, listen and even become a Dave Matthews fan after checking out their live show.
“I wouldn’t trade any of this,” Gabe reflected. “Looking back, we may do things differently, but you never know. Our biggest compliment is always, ‘If I couldn’t see you guys, I’d think I was at the real Dave Matthews show.’”
For more information on Crowded Streets, visit www.crowdedstreetsband.com.
