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Strung Out kicks in

Posted Mar 3, 2010 by Clarisa Gerlach

Updated Mar 3, 2010 at 12:56 PM

Opening for a band with the live reputation of the Dropkick Murphys is not a proposition to be taken lightly.

“It’s always a challenge to play with a band that good,” says Jason Cruz, singer for Strung Out, which plays before the Murphys Friday at the Ritz Ybor.

“I’m looking forward to trying to win the crowd over,” Cruz says.

Assuming Cruz and his band mates – bassist Chris Aiken, drummer Jordan Burns, and guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos – can match the intensity of their latest album, last year’s “Agents of the Underground,” they may simply pummel the crowd into submission.

It’s metal-flecked hardcore punk played at a blistering pace, powered by the machine-like precision of Burns’ light-speed drums. 

Cruz says the album’s focus is a result of letting go of some commercial aspirations.

“We’ve given up the hope that we’ll reach any mainstream success. We know we’re not going to get radio airplay. I don’t think we’re capable of writing anything like that. We’re a working class band and we’re celebrating that,” Cruz says.

Original members Cruz, Kiley and Ramos formed the band’s first lineup in 1992. “Agents” is the band’s seventh album.

Cruz says as he grows older, it’s more important to have creative outlets outside the band.

“I have a country band, Blackheart and the Pistoleros, that’s not even in the same neighborhood as Strung Out,” Cruz says. “That satisfies a part of me.”

Cruz also is a visual artist. He credits the skate scene with inspiring him as a musician and as a painter.

“Art and music went hand in hand in skateboarding culture,” Cruz says. “I’ve always been an artist. To be in a band you have to be an artist. It can’t be all business. There has to be something aesthetic for people to latch onto.

“I’m happy being a musician,” Cruz says. “What more could you ask for? I feel fortunate that we can keep going.”

Strung Out opens for the Dropkick Murphys March 5 at the Ritz Ybor, 1503 E. Seventh Ave in Tampa. The show is sold out. Call (813) 247-2555 for more information.