Brothers Mike and Tony Beliveau grew up in
Andover, Massachusetts, a suburban city north of
Boston. Tony started playing piano by age six, and began to write music during middle school. After high school, he briefly studied jazz piano at the
University of North Texas before deciding to return to Boston and ultimately attend the
Berklee College of Music, where younger brother Mike was already a student. After Berklee and relocating to Los Angeles, Tony sent Mike (who had relocated to New York) some recorded tracks he had been working on. Impressed with the tracks and Tony's singing, Mike packed up and moved to LA a week later. A few months after the band's formation, Crash Kings drew the attention of songwriter and record producer
Linda Perry, who met with Tony and signed the group to her label,
Custard Records. After the band performed for
Sylvia Rhone, president of
Universal Music Group's
Motown Records, Crash Kings were directed to
Dave Sardy, who produced the band's eponymous debut album for Custard/Universal Motown. it reached number 30 on
Billboard's U.S.
Top Heatseekers albums chart. The album's first single, "
Mountain Man", entered the
Billboard Alternative Songs chart in November and peaked at #1 on March 28, 2010. The band has toured with such artists as
Chris Cornell,
Anberlin,
Stone Temple Pilots,
David Cook,
Jet,
The Bravery,
Mason Jennings, and
Rooney. In June 2013, Crash Kings released a second album, titled
Dark of the Daylight. ==Band members==