Soak in Summer with Wave Crush

Words & Photos by Ava Firmani

Meet Wave Crush, the newest startup band based in New Jersey. With hopes of putting out their first single, you should put them on your radar. The band plans on playing shows locally, desiring to put themselves out there. They are starting with covers until they release their original sound. What a great time to hop on the bandwagon and become one of their first fans!

Here is a little more about each member in-depth, answering the question “Who is Wave Crush?”

My name is Chris Primiano, the drummer of Wave Crush. I have been playing the drums since 5th grade. I decided going into middle school to be in my schools band, and I wanted to be the best percussionist I could be. Outside of band I also play a lot of volleyball which is where I met Jake. We played volleyball together at OCC, and the rest is history. I am from Jackson, but we as a band practice in Toms River.  Me, Jake, and Bane have been playing together for a year now. It started out for fun, jamming with other people and just making music. I'd say for about the past 6 months at least, we have been going by Wave Crush started making a roster of covers we can do and working on singles. We are hoping to get a single or two out by the end of the summer and play out wherever we can.

My name is Jake Sullivan I’m the bassist for Wave Crush. I first picked up the bass around three or so years ago, it started when a neighbor of mine gave me his bass guitar for free. I started to get back into it once I learned Bane played the guitar, we eventually were playing consistently last year. Then I learned that my volleyball teammate, Chris played the drums. So the three of us all started playing for a year until we met Mike who is our fourth member of Wave Crush. So far the game plan for us is to play at a few shows and release two or three singles before the end of this summer. Hopefully, we can make the most out of it by collaborating with other bands and making music everyone enjoys.

Hi, I’m Bane, the guitarist of Wave Crush! Our band originated when I met Jake at college and we started a guitar/bass duo, from there we met Chris on the drums and a few months later we added Mike to the band. We’ve been playing together consistently for the past 2 months! We’re fairly new but we’ve all connected very well and I’m super excited to see how it translates in our music. I have been playing guitar for 3 years now since I was about 18. I started playing later than I wished, but luckily I fell in love with the instrument

I grew up in South Seaside Park and have always loved it down here at the Jersey Shore. the culture over here in Asbury, Seaside Park, and lbi, and the other shore towns are so unique and I want to transfer that vibe into the music we make. We’re looking to come out with some singles by the end of the summer and play lots of live shows around here while in the process of making our songs!

Heyoo, my name is Mike Cara! I play guitar and sing lead vocals for Wave Crush. I currently reside in Lavalette, NJ but spend most of the year living in Nashville, Tennessee studying music and live venue management. Coming back to New Jersey this summer I was looking to dive deeper into all of my creative passions and work towards finding out more about myself, especially since this upcoming year will be my last in college. In early May I happened to meet our bassist, Jake, we talked and quickly realized we pretty much all liked the same music and had similar visions. I figured this would be a cool venture to be a part of, and here we are! Personally, I have always followed a goal of living a truly fulfilling life of experiences and creativity. It's what makes me feel alive and keeps me going. When I was around 7 years old I picked up the drums and I fell in love with playing live music. To this day I am still a drummer, although with some gaps throughout the years. In my early high school years, I became a music producer and made songs of all genres, day in and day out transferring me into the digital world. It wasn’t until around 16 that I picked up my first guitar and fell deeper in love with every aspect of playing an instrument. Drums will always be right there with me but I knew that guitar was going to change everything for me. Right now, I’m focusing my time on songwriting and playing some pretty awesome music with some cool dudes. Other than my time with the band you can find me making and designing clothes and apparel, climbing some rock walls along the East Coast, and working on my VW Bus preparing for a soon-to-be life on the road. I’m excited to see where this takes me and all of us. I hope you stay in tune and check out our shows here on the Jersey Shore, we have a lot in store for all of you. Thank you for listening to my little backstory, we appreciate your time and hope to see you around!

Check out our full collection of Wave Crush portraits below! All pictures by Ava Firmani.