Charlie Crane is a guitarist/songwriter from central Massachusetts who writes doctrinally sound contemporary Christian music that glorifies God. He also serves as the worship leader at Bethlehem Bible Church. His first home-recorded CD "In The Cellar" is available now upon request. Click here to request a copy or to contact Charlie directly.

Background

Charlie Crane began his musical career by studying drums in school. When he was twelve years old, Charlie found a chord chart and his mother's classical guitar and began teaching himself guitar. Charlie's older brother, Jeff Crane, who was very proficient on guitar and had been playing in bands for years (Commandos, Raw Power, Surreal McCoys), also gave Charlie some pointers. Still officially a drummer, Charlie was asked to play guitar in the high school "stage band" by his music teacher Mr. Herb Maynard because there were too many drummers, and not one guitarist. It was the pressure of this assignment that helped Charlie decide to work hard on becoming proficient at guitar.

Shortly thereafter, Charlie joined a band of other high school kids (Jim Been, Jay Givan, Erik Tarkiainen, and Larry Christiansen) to form a cover band that played at school dances and parties. While the end-product of this band could be "rough" at times, Charlie learned the ropes of song construction and arrangement by playing well-written tunes (at least musically) by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, UFO, the Kinks, Eric Clapton, Rush, Michael Schenker and others.

It was at this time in his life that Charlie became a Christian. His parents had been converted at a Billy Graham crusade and quickly began sharing the gospel to him. They began taking the family to a small believing church in West Boylston called Bethlehem Baptist Church. There, Charlie grew in his new relationship with the Lord and got involved with the youth group. Encouraged by his pastor Bob Bowman, he began playing guitar for youth group meetings as well as mission trips. This is where the seeds of a music ministry were first planted.

During the late high school and early college years, Charlie worked on his guitar skills while playing drums in his brother's bands. He dissected guitar solos by Mark Knopfler, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Michael Schenker and Gary Moore - most of whom were introduced to him by his older brother Jeff Crane.

After high school, Charlie got accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston. He studied guitar there for two and a half years. He was married in 1989 and he and his wife settled back to the central Massachusetts area where they currently live, blessed with five children.

Charlie took up the role of worship leader at Bethlehem Bible Church seven years ago (formerly Bethlehem Baptist Church). He also played guitar for a brief while with the Christian cover band "Presence" (Charlie, Mike Young, and Joanne Geeze). It was in Presence that Charlie met Joanne Geeze for the first time. The two formed Joanne Geeze and Witness - to this day, one of the most proficient and polished bands in the local Christian music scene.  Joanne Geeze & Witness  The first iteration of the band was comprised of Joe Giotta on drums and Bill Roy on bass. The newly formed Witness helped Joanne finish up her first solo CD "Pain of Love". The CD was recorded at Turning Point Records, which is where Charlie met singer/songwriter/guitarist David Coate, owner of TP Records. David was in need of a rhythm guitarist in his project band and asked Charlie to join him on an as-needed basis. Charlie has been playing with the David Coate Group for three years now. The project has afforded Charlie the opportunity to play at large festivals such as the "Inside Out Soul Fest" and on the same stage as Michael Sweet of Stryper fame, News Boys, Petra, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc.
As if this were not enough, Charlie did a brief stint as the rhythm guitarist for the Christian blues-rock band "Raging Grace". Charlie eventually left the band due to time commitments and RG decided to remain a power trio. Charlie was given the opportunity to help produce Raging Grace's edgy third CD "Bittersweet".

Charlie eventually left "Witness" as well, but continues to play with the David Coate Group when needed. Charlie continues to have an active Worship Band ministry away from church. His worship band, Seraph's Cry blends contemporary songs with re-vamped hymns. Seraph's Cry has been well received and often used for worship times at men's retreats and even home-school conferences at the Worcester Centrum.

In May of 2004, Charlie re-formed his band "Covenant" was formed with Erik Johansen, Brian Workman and Dan Rathbun. Covenant ranges from adult contemporary to something approaching metal. You are most likely to see Charlie these days playing in Covenant. Visit Covenant online at www.covenantrock.net.