With the release of the new album Blessed and the warm reception of Live First Album: 50th Anniversary, their penultimate live record, it was high time for me to catch up with frontman, singer, and principal songwriter John Palumbo. What follows is a candid conversation about the band’s origins, the label ‘progressive’, double guitar lines, societal misunderstandings, and above all: the undiminished joy of making music.A lightning bolt over PennsylvaniaThe story of Crack the Sky begins in the early seventies, when John Palumbo formed a power-pop trio with guitarist Rick Witkowski and drummer Joey D’Amico that played mainly covers. ‘We kind of stuck around in the region,’ Palumbo recalls. Until that one evening in a club somewhere in Pennsylvania. ‘I looked at Rick and said: we have to get out of here. We’re going to New York.’And they did. With guitars under their arms, Palumbo and Witkowski simply walked into record companies, it was still possible back then, and asked if they could play. They got a contract, but with a caveat: the songs were ‘too complicated’ for a duo. Would they consider forming a full band? On the way to New York in an old mail coach, they drove through the mountains as a storm rolled in. A lightning bolt struck nearby. ‘We thought we were going to get hit.’ Someone shouted: ‘Crack the Sky!’ ‘That stuck.’ A band name was born.https://crackthesky.com/Sponsors:https://waterflyshop.com/mattnappohttps://nextbase.sjv.io/oq1e79https://propmoneyinc.pxf.io/c/3290446...https://vapeworld.evyy.net/c/3290446/...https://eycemolds.pxf.io/c/3290446/16...https://wineexpress.vneoga.net/yqG3E3https://www.dubby.gg/discount/minddog...🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/57153483...