Hit & Run Crash: Teen Band Releases Jazzy Sophomore Album

Listening to “Crash Course,” the new full-length LP from Waterville-based band Hit & Run evokes many images of yesteryear. This is music that should be played at a small rock or jazz club in the mid-‘60s with girls walking through the crowd selling Chesterfield cigarettes.

None of the members of Hit & Run are old enough to buy cigarettes…but they’re definitely old enough to rock. This six-piece band from the outskirts of the Toledo region has four members still in high school, while the other two are college freshman.

First, there’s lead singer Amelia Cappel, a smoky-voiced, kick-ass vocalist who channels the great chick singers of yore such as Pat Benatar or Grace Slick. Saxophonist Luke Willis plays his brass heart out, while guitarist Jacob Proctor wields his guitar like a battle axe, strumming out catchy rhythms that makes your toes tap. Laying down the beat are drummer Asher Serrato, and keyboardist Dominic Ruiz, while bassist and co-vocalist Griffin Greer slaps his bass with funky notes that would make Larry Graham proud.

The recently released, 11-track album “Crash Course” took about a year to write and record.

“We’ve been writing some of these songs for over a year working on them, and then there are songs that we only wrote a week before we recorded them, so there’s a wide range of time,” said Cappel.

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A delightful album from start to finish, “Crash Course” sounds like the band has been making music for a long time, although they’ve only been together for a couple of years. Take the opening track “Buzz,” which kicks off with a funky sax solo courtesy of Willis. On songs like “Enough,” Cappel and Greer duet together, sounding like a jazzier and funkier version of ‘50s duo Mickey & Sylvia (“Love Is Strange”), perfectly playing off each other. This is rock/jazz music the way it was meant to be played. Both Sinatra and Tatum would love these young people.

The band wrote all 11 songs on “Crash Course,” although their live show features many awesome covers and standards, including a version of “House of the Rising Sun,” which always brings down the house.

The origins of Hit & Run began when Greer and Proctor began jamming in middle school, adding Willis to the mix. They played with a variety of drummers and pianists before adding Ruiz as a full-time keyboardist. Cappel and Serrato completed the line-up when they were only juniors at Anthony Wayne High School.

Hit & Run recently played on the main stage at the Roche de Boeuf Festival, and can often be found playing at such venues as Toledo Spirits, and the Maumee River Yacht Club.

Though the band sounds tight and polished on “Crash Course,” both Greer and Cappel say the best thing about making music together is the level of improvisation that exists between the band members.

“I think the improvisation we do is great,” said Cappel. “I like when we make things up on the spot.”

Greer agreed.

“I like the freedom or playing rock and jazz music. There’s so much room to improvise,” said Greer.

“And songwriting is fun too,” added Amelia.

“Crash Course” is available on all music streaming sites and CDs and T-shirts are available at the band’s shows. The band has pages on both Facebook and Instagram (Instagram.com/hit_andrun24).

And what does the future hold for Hit & Run? For now, the band is just focusing on making music that makes them happy while they have the opportunity to play together.

“We just look forward to making more original music and hopefully recording another album while were all together and try to keep being a band, “said Amelia. “We just really love what we’re doing.”

Listening to “Crash Course,” the new full-length LP from Waterville-based band Hit & Run evokes many images of yesteryear. This is music that should be played at a small rock or jazz club in the mid-‘60s with girls walking through the crowd selling Chesterfield cigarettes.

None of the members of Hit & Run are old enough to buy cigarettes…but they’re definitely old enough to rock. This six-piece band from the outskirts of the Toledo region has four members still in high school, while the other two are college freshman.

First, there’s lead singer Amelia Cappel, a smoky-voiced, kick-ass vocalist who channels the great chick singers of yore such as Pat Benatar or Grace Slick. Saxophonist Luke Willis plays his brass heart out, while guitarist Jacob Proctor wields his guitar like a battle axe, strumming out catchy rhythms that makes your toes tap. Laying down the beat are drummer Asher Serrato, and keyboardist Dominic Ruiz, while bassist and co-vocalist Griffin Greer slaps his bass with funky notes that would make Larry Graham proud.

The recently released, 11-track album “Crash Course” took about a year to write and record.

“We’ve been writing some of these songs for over a year working on them, and then there are songs that we only wrote a week before we recorded them, so there’s a wide range of time,” said Cappel.

---

A delightful album from start to finish, “Crash Course” sounds like the band has been making music for a long time, although they’ve only been together for a couple of years. Take the opening track “Buzz,” which kicks off with a funky sax solo courtesy of Willis. On songs like “Enough,” Cappel and Greer duet together, sounding like a jazzier and funkier version of ‘50s duo Mickey & Sylvia (“Love Is Strange”), perfectly playing off each other. This is rock/jazz music the way it was meant to be played. Both Sinatra and Tatum would love these young people.

The band wrote all 11 songs on “Crash Course,” although their live show features many awesome covers and standards, including a version of “House of the Rising Sun,” which always brings down the house.

The origins of Hit & Run began when Greer and Proctor began jamming in middle school, adding Willis to the mix. They played with a variety of drummers and pianists before adding Ruiz as a full-time keyboardist. Cappel and Serrato completed the line-up when they were only juniors at Anthony Wayne High School.

Hit & Run recently played on the main stage at the Roche de Boeuf Festival, and can often be found playing at such venues as Toledo Spirits, and the Maumee River Yacht Club.

Though the band sounds tight and polished on “Crash Course,” both Greer and Cappel say the best thing about making music together is the level of improvisation that exists between the band members.

“I think the improvisation we do is great,” said Cappel. “I like when we make things up on the spot.”

Greer agreed.

“I like the freedom or playing rock and jazz music. There’s so much room to improvise,” said Greer.

“And songwriting is fun too,” added Amelia.

“Crash Course” is available on all music streaming sites and CDs and T-shirts are available at the band’s shows. The band has pages on both Facebook and Instagram (Instagram.com/hit_andrun24).

And what does the future hold for Hit & Run? For now, the band is just focusing on making music that makes them happy while they have the opportunity to play together.

“We just look forward to making more original music and hopefully recording another album while were all together and try to keep being a band, “said Amelia. “We just really love what we’re doing.”