By Mitch Lafon

Chris Van Dahl has landed the coveted singer spot in AEROSMITH’s former guitarist Jimmy Crespo’s new outfit, THE JIMMY CRESPO PROJECT. The band is currently on the road reacquainting fans with songs from Aerosmith’s Rock In A Hard Place album. In early 2011, they’ll hopefully head into the studio to record an album of all new music. Bravewords.com sat down with the one time L.A. GUNS and CHERRY ST. singer to trace his path from growing up in Detroit to connecting with Jimmy in Las Vegas.

BraveWords.com: How did you and Jimmy Crespo ‘hook’ up?

Chris Van Dahl: “I’ve been doing a lot of stuff in Vegas over the last year mostly with AEROMYTH (the Chris fronted Aerosmith tribute band), so I met a lot of people and made a lot of connections. Different agencies out here started calling because they were interested in doing something with me and two different people were trying to put Jimmy and I together. One was for a project called, Voodoo Train. One of the concepts was to do a house band thing in one of the larger casinos out here and then bring in guests. They wanted Jimmy and I to be staples in the band. Up to that point we had never met or had any contact. It sounded interesting, but I’m doing the Aeromyth thing and Jimmy is from Aerosmith so hmmm… How is this going to be received? We eventually exchanged a couple of phone calls, but it was slow. There were a lot of email contacts before that…”

BraveWords.com: It must have been strange for Jimmy as well. You were once in Aerosmith and now you’re going to work with a guy who’s in an Aerosmith tribute band…

CVD: “Being the person that he is, Jimmy is so humble and so not self-involved it wouldn’t stop him and it brings us to how we got together. We both decided that the things that were being offered didn’t make sense. So, we took a pass, but we stayed in touch. Shortly afterwards, Aeromyth was playing the Las Vegas Hilton and I got in touch with Jimmy and said ‘hey man, how do you feel about coming up and doing some songs with the band?’ And he was like ‘that would be really cool.’ So, we picked some songs, he did it and we had a ball. It was very cool and the people had a really good time. It was wild. Every song Jimmy played, he got a standing ovation. I think that sparked something in him because Jimmy’s always been a busy guy from Aerosmith to ROD STEWART to BILLY SQUIER… So, we’ve been in touch for maybe a half-year about maybe doing something. Long story short, about four months ago, I decided to make the move to Vegas and I saw that Jimmy was playing with SIN CITY SINNERS and he asked me to come out. So, I did then they asked me to come up and do some songs, so I did and ‘some songs’ turned into five and we had a ball. We had a real energy. It was pretty clear. About a month later, I got a call from Sin City’s manager and he said he was putting together a new thing and would I like to learn some songs and come on down. It turns out, of course, that it was Jimmy with guitarist Michael Ellis (who plays in Sin City Sinners), Kyle Kyle on bass (from BANG TANGO) and Phil Varone on drums (from SKID ROW and SAIGON KICK). It was instant chemistry. It was plug in and go and we all knew it. The next day they said ‘this is the band’ and I said ‘really?’ By the time I got home, my Facebook was blowing up ‘cause the news had already been posted.”

BraveWords.com: It’s has to make you feel good that somebody of the caliber of Jimmy (who has played with Aerosmith and Rod Stewart) says this is the guy I want singing with me.

CVD: “And that despite the fact that I have the tribute band. What I really found interesting, and I found out later, is that they had a list of guys that they planned on auditioning, but things worked so well that they just didn’t proceed with it. We just locked it in.”

BraveWords.com: Are you an Aerosmith fan? Or is your tribute band just a gig that pays the bills?

CVD: “Here’s the story, I grew up in Detroit and people used to call me ‘monkey face’. Kids are evil man, they are direct, and my neighborhood was tough. I had my ass handed to me everyday because of that, but Detroit got FM radio early and one of the first band’s that really broke was Aerosmith. So, all of a sudden I went from being ‘monkey face’ to that kid that looks like Steven Tyler. It changed my life. So, yeah – I’m going to check out Aerosmith and because of it I fell into music. It saved my life and if it’s a phase, I’ve never grown out of it. So yes, I’m a huge Aerosmith fan. Here’s the other side of the coin though, I’ve been performing on stage since the age of fourteen and I’ve never set out to be Steven Tyler, so I’ve been fighting it my whole life…”

BraveWords.com: That explains your ‘look’ in L.A. Guns with all the piercings and the mohawk…

CVD: “You got it. That’s exactly it. I had to do something drastic. Even in Cherry St. everywhere I went it was ‘Tyler, Tyler, Tyler…’ and I was trying to carve a path as an original artist. So, when I joined L.A. Guns, I joined so thinking we were going to make a great rock record, but Tracii (who is highly influenced by what he is into in the moment) happened to be going through a PANTERA and those type of bands phase… Suddenly, L.A. Guns became this really heavy machine. I went in to the band thinking one thing and it became another. I found out later that they brought me in because they were trying to keep the band current. That ‘80s stigma was really bad for bands for a while. L.A. Guns has always been everybody’s tenth favorite rock band, so they didn’t get beat up as bad and they were always pretty street. They did the hair and stuff for a while, but never went over the top with it. Tracii even cut his hair for the 'Ballad Of Jayne' video… Suddenly, they made this really heavy record and I was like ‘well, might as well make it work’. Hence, the dreaded Mohawk and the forty-seven facial piercings, so I suggested we change the name of the band.”

BraveWords.com: That would have been the smart thing to do…

CVD: “Yeah, if the band was to have any longevity doing what we were doing, but then you have the politics. Record companies are like ‘sure, we’ll sign you, but you have to be L.A. Guns. We’ll put you on tour, but you’re L.A. Guns,’ because that’s branded. They wanted that name on the label and they knew they could sell X amount of records before people would say ‘what the hell is this?’ I don’t think it was a bad record. I just don’t think it was an L.A. Guns record. If I had my way, I would have done something closer to an L.A. Guns record because I was a fan of the music.”

BraveWords.com: When you joined L.A. Guns were you expecting to make a more radio friendly album?

CVD: “I always thought that L.A. Guns was a really good rock band and whatever face you put on it is going to change it. Even if I went in there being who I am with the intention of doing Cocked & Loaded – it’s not going to be Cocked & Loaded. So, I figured the band is who they are and I’ll be who I am – we’ll collaborate and it’ll be what it is. As far as preconceived notions, yeah – I thought we were just going to be a great rock band.”

BraveWords.com: How did you come to the decision to join L.A. Guns because at that point they were nothing more than an L.A. Guns cover band?

CVD: “My band, at the time, Boneyard was about a week away from breaking up. So, that definitely fueled the decision…”

BraveWords.com: So, had Boneyard not been dysfunctional you would have stuck it out…

CVD: “Yeah, I would have because I’m fiercely loyal. Well past the point that I should be for self-preservation. I’d be a lot further if I had been willing to step on people to get to where I wanted to go. Tracii came to a sound check one afternoon and that night he came back to the show with Steve Riley… At that point, L.A. Guns was disbanded and they were talking about doing Killing Machine – which probably would have been a better call for the type of band that we were doing. They approached me after the show and said, ‘if you are willing to join, we’ll keep L.A. Guns together’. It surprised me, but I was like ‘ok’. I wanted to get together to write to see if there was any chemistry. That was the first condition. The second condition was that Johnny Crypt comes with me. They said ‘ok’. We went to Tracii’s place and started noodling around and it really seemed to be going in a great direction. We said ‘we’re in’ and that’s how that L.A. Guns was formed. Kelly Nickels was still in the band at that time, but shortly before the first tour he left and we switched Johnny over to bass and became a four piece.”

BraveWords.com: What did you do after L.A. Guns?

CVD: “Johnny and I joined LOVE/HATE. Johnny was playing guitar and I was playing bass. We put the band back together with Jizzy, but just before we got touring he got the call to join RATT. So, he left Love/Hate to go do Ratt.”

BraveWords.com: What’s your relationship like with Tracii Guns? He’s gone through dozens of lead singers and seems to be a guy that burns a lot of bridges. Seems to have no loyalty and simply moves from guy to guy to guy. He puts L.A. Guns back together with Phil Lewis, but then Nikki Sixx knocks on his door so he drops Phil. Then he ditches Nikki and brings in Ginger from THE WILDHEARTS and that doesn’t work out. There just seems to be this constant rotation of personnel and nobody seems to be able to get along with him…

CVD: “Are you sensing a pattern?”

BraveWords.com: Yes, and you were out before you even got going with L.A. Guns. So, how did it end?

CVD: “I’m always honest to the best of my abilities. So, on the record, this is what happened. The band is touring along doing something like 200 dates in a year. The band was just touring like crazy. It was brutal – we were doing punk versions of Ballad Of Jayne. People were losing their mind. It was not what fans were expecting and I got it. If I went to see a band and was expecting one thing and I got what we were – I would have been pissed off too. It has to be a least marginally familiar. So, we’re touring and it started out awful, but shortly before I left the band it had actually gotten to the point where our audience had gone from predominantly female to dominantly male and people were starting to get it. This was no longer your mother’s L.A. Guns. This is a completely different beast. The name might be the same, but the game has changed and it started working. So, we started writing for the second album, feeling it out at soundcheck and people were starting to get it… the problem was ‘this isn’t who I am. I’m not happy and this isn’t what I want to be doing. It’s not what I signed up for. I gave it an honest shot’. Do I want to be this guy? And the answer was ‘no’. I called Tracii up and I said, ‘you know I love you, but this isn’t working’. He wasn’t pleased, but he was accepting. About a week later, I get a call from Steve Riley and he’s like ‘Chris bro, we need to keep the band together man. Let’s have a meeting’. So, I said ‘sure’. I didn’t have anything against anybody, so we got into a room and we talked about it and we said we’d make changes and work through it. It was a tear jerk kind of a scene. I love you guys and we all love each other, so ok we’ll stay a band. Now, I’m back in the band, but two weeks later I get a call from Tracii and he says ‘you’re out of the band’. I was like ‘what?’ And he says ‘it’s not working. You’re out’.”

BraveWords.com: Had they found a new guy by then?

CVD: “I was told through back channels that at that time they were trying to get Phil Lewis back in the band. Phil had been saying ‘no, no, no and no’, but then suddenly said ‘yes’. And then he was ‘no’ again. So, they called me to do it, but then Phil was ‘yes’ again, so I got the call and they let me go. Since then, Phil and I have met and I like him. We’ve hung out and we’re in contact and when he comes to town we’re going to get together. I’m good friends with Stacey (Blades) and I love all the guys in the band (the real L.A. Guns fronted by Phil Lewis). We’re all in touch, but with Tracii – not so much. I tried. He’s got a Facebook and time has passed. So, we’re not playing together, it doesn’t mean we can’t maintain a relationship. I wrote him and nothing – just crickets. I’ll send him another email and nothing. I’ll write a note saying ‘how are you?’ And nothing. I’ve always known Tracii to be the kind of guy that whoever is in his band is in his life. Whatever he’s excited about in the moment is what matters to him; which is kind of sad. At the end of the day, he may wake-up and find that there is nobody. I’m not knocking the guy and this is just a personal interpretation based on my own life and experiences.”

BraveWords.com: Let’s get back to the current music. With Aeromyth, you are doing all the classics: ‘Walk This Way’, ‘Sweet Emotion’ and what not. Now, with Jimmy you are doing more of the Rock In A Hard Place songs. How does it feel to do those songs since most fans and critics at the time panned that album?

CVD: “Challenge is an appropriate word choice. Tyler’s lyrics and melodies on a lot of this stuff are ludicrous. It’s a mouth full, but I love the challenge. I love the idea of being able to help Jimmy bring some of this stuff to light. There’s some great material on that album and it didn’t get the attention it deserves. If people want to diss Jimmy because he’s not Joe Perry maybe they should step back for a minute and think that without Jimmy there would not have been Aerosmith in that era and possibly no Aerosmith for Joe Perry to come back to.”

BraveWords.com: That’s very true and without Jimmy (and Rick Dufay) there might not have been an Aerosmith in 1987 to make Permanent Vacation and the band might not be around today.

CVD: “Yeah, so be grateful that there is an Aerosmith around today and Jimmy contributed a lot to that. A lot of people don’t realize that he wasn’t just a guy that replaced Joe Perry. He was a legal member of the band. Rock In A Hard Place is a great record and I’m happy to be able to help him. I’m also incredibly excited about the writing process because at the end of the day that’s what this is really all about…”

BraveWords.com: Playing new music…

CVD: “We’re doing a record and my hope is that we’re doing many records. We’ve started writing and good God…”

BraveWords.com: With the guys you have in the band, this should be kick ass rock n’ roll, right?

CVD: “We are picking up where Aerosmith left off when they turned left. I have nothing bad to say and they’ve done incredible stuff, but my favorite stuff is the stuff I cut my teeth on… I’ve now found a guitar player that is my muse. Jimmy writes riffs and hands them to me all day long and it’s great song after great song…. I’m like a kid in a candy shop.”

BraveWords.com: Let me ask you about the album. When you’re in Aeromyth you try to sound as close to the original as possible, but on the studio album will you try to sing more in ‘your voice’?

CVD: “Here’s the thing – physical comparisons aside, Steven Tyler and I have a lot in common that isn’t apparent on the surface. The way I move, my singing style and one of the reasons I believe Aeromyth works so well is because it’s not a stretch. It’s very natural to me. I don’t spend hours watching videotapes and studying Steven Tyler. A lot of that is just me and I’m just embracing it now. So, are people going to hear a lot of Aerosmith in this record? There’s no getting around it. I should hope so. Is every track going to sound like Tyler singing it? No, I’m not Steven Tyler.”

BraveWords.com: So, if it sounds like Steven it’s by coincidence and not by design.

CVD: “No, there will be nothing disingenuous in it at all. I tell you this, I’m already three songs deep into this and it’s as raw as somebody’s leg that just got dragged behind a car.”

BraveWords.com: That’s how a rock record should be made. Taking fourteen years to make a record with over sampling is not rock.

CVD: “We won’t be adding forty-seven guitars to a track. When you get the record it’ll sound exactly like the band does live.”

BraveWords.com: Fantastic. I’ve always said if you’re going to make a rock record than make a rock record. If I wanted something over-produced, I’ll go buy a Madonna record and I don’t want a Madonna record.

CVD: “Keep in mind, Jimmy is in the band and Jimmy is an old-school rock guitarist. He’s got a very greasy feel and the stuff he’s been pushing to the side for the last twenty years is all coming to the surface and he’s excited man. This is for the people that are really hungry for a down n’ dirty honest in-your-face straight-up put the peddle-to-the-floor rock record. Les Paul, guitar chord, Marshall, go…”

For more about Aeromyth visit: Aerosmithtribute.com

For more about Jimmy Crespo visit: Jimmycrespo.com

For more about Chris visit: Facebook