Graham MacDonald
Graham MacDonald, was born in Glasgow, Scotland but since the days of his youth has called the West Coast home and has mostly lived in and around Vancouver, BC, Canada. But music has always been Graham's natural habitat beginning in the late 80’s when he fronted Vancouver’s Big Electric Cat. This particular Cat garnered a huge following which culminated in sellout performances at the world famous, Commodore Ballroom and 86 St. Music Hall.
Big Electric Cat came on fast, burned bright and felt waves of great acclaim in the scene. Offers poured in but tragically something so bright can also flame-out. This was the fate of Big Electric Cat, but a wise man once said, "It's better to burn out than fade away".
When the fire went out of Big Electric Cat they were scattered to the wind. It was then that Graham began fronting Liquid which rose from the ashes of the once great Cat. As the fates would have it, Liquid fractured at the very moment that deals lay on the table and pens hovered above dotted lines. Ah yes, rock 'n' roll dreams...they come...and go.
Then tragedy struck at the dawn of the 90's when Graham was involved in a brutal car accident in which he was a passenger. During his recovery, he wondered if he would be able to return to his love of making music and singing at all, due to the extreme nature of his injuries and the long road to recovery which lay ahead.
As he began his journey back he received word that an old friend was trying to track him down for a new project. That project became Warjunk and that friend was Glen MacLeod.
Glen MacLeod
Glen MacLeod, was born in Vancouver, BC, Canada and joined his first band, the punk group Contraband in 1982. Contraband (who was heavily influenced by Winnipeg's legendary Personality Crisis) played non-stop anywhere, anytime. And of course they graced the boards and stages of seminal and legendary venues of the day including the fabled Smilin’ Buddha Cabaret and the iconic Town Pump. Contraband also played shows with D.O.A. and other Vancouver legends of the time. They recorded and released an EP of all original material that quickly sold out through word of mouth.
After Contraband, Glen spent the next years on the road to ruin in a varirty of original and cover bands that toured up and down the West Coast. In the late 80’s Glen worked with the legendary Brian “Too Loud” MacLeod (no relation) who produced several projects, initially Centerfold and then Front Line. These projects led to the formation of Shy Thunder in 1988. Shy Thunder rose to the top of the heap in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canadian hard rock scene. Relentless touring and recording made them a steady draw with sellout performances at the Commodore Ballroom, Town Pump, 86 Street, Club Soda as well as SRO stops in Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton and many towns in between. In 1993, Shy Thunder became Crown Of Thorns before crashing and burning and acquiescing to new styles and therefore new musical opportunities.
This led to Glen and fellow guitarist/producer Deon Scott to start a new project. That project eventually became the very ambitious, multimedia touting, oil drum bashing, sex-doll augmenting behemoth that was Warjunk.
Warjunk
Right from Warjunk's inception, Glen and Deon sought out Graham as the perfect singer/frontman for the project. Warjunk recorded their self-titled debut in 1999, mixed by GGGarth Richardson at Bryan Adams' The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver. In 2001 they released the Fluff EP. They followed this up in 2002 with the mammoth and epic Radiate. Warjunk released their final full length, Without Wax in 2005.
Warjunk “live” was a beast to behold featuring a multimedia presentation years ahead of its time. Warjunk garnered a devouted following in the Pacific Northwest and their live shows became the stuff of legend. 40 televisions flanking the stage anybody? And that was just for starters!
Warjunk lowered the final torn curtain in 2011 after 3 albums, 1 EP, a final single - Love & Hate and a legacy of creativity and audacious live performances.
Crash World
After Warjunk's demise Glen took 3 years to study Jazz theory and styles and began to focus on acoustic music with an eye towards a primarily “live” musical endeavor aimed at connecting with an audience in intimate settings and through a wide variety of genres performed acoustically. When Glen ran into Graham at a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds show in 2014 he proposed the idea of an acoustic duo. Well a year of rehearsals later, CRASH WORLD made their “live” debut on September 5, 2015. Many performances later at such venues as Guilt & Co., Ouisi Bistro, El Camino’s, Cottage Bistro, Slickity Jim’s, The Main, The Cascade, as well as a Jazz Fest 2019 appearance, CRASH WORLD have established themselves as a unique night out. History meets music, with a live radio show vibe and CRASH WORLD's growing audience have shown a hunger for more of what they're offering up. CRASH WORLD has a presentation and style that appeals to a incredibly wide age demographic. All ages indeed!
In 2022, Crash World released, "So The Story Goes" an immersive full-length debut album which showcases their multifaceted talent. Their work is wildly sincere, endlessly captivating and refreshingly accessible to all. Progressive Canadiana is one way to describe Crash World as they cover a lot of musical ground both in terms of songwriting and arrangements.
"So The Story Goes" has received stellar reviews from all around the world and Spotify streams are closing in on 340K.
And Crash World returned to the stage in 2022 to support the album and continued performing regularly throughout 2023 where they shared songs from "So The Story Goes" and so much more to wildly enthusiastic audiences!
In April of 2023 Crash World released the brand new stand-alone single and video, "Cup Of Coffee".
The song is about our human connection, the face-to-face connection and how beautiful it can be. Nobody said it was easy, but it is so important for us all.
And coffee is a very common age-old component of connecting. A common ground for humanity.
It can be one of the binding elements in a relationship..."Remember, we met over coffee?" or "Remember we used to meet at the little coffee shop on the corner?"
"Cup Of Coffee" is uplifting, optimistic, and in this chaotic world and life, as we all lean on each other, it’s a reminder that we're all in this together.
So, for every relationship that’s been started, ended or mended over coffee...this one's for you.
In November of 2023 Crash World released their first ever Christmas song, “Ol' Christmas Mission”.
"Ol' Christmas Mission" plays into our collective desire to make Christmas "special". These feelings are often based on our early, youthful Christmas experiences. Throughout life the pressure to make Christmas "wonderful" can be a lot to manage. So the lyrics slide through the years and touch on different times of life. The ol' Christmas mission of the title is about bringing something truly special back to the season and creating a warm, safe welcoming place for one and all.
A song of hope, of realizing dreams and being reunited with loved ones at Christmas.
Happy Holidays from Crash World!