Bio
Diva Crush
Not an ordinary band
San Diego's favorite rock band! We write our originals with bite, drive and scintillating lyrics - we'll make you dance and sing, cry and pine, laugh and stomp your feet - we'll make you LOVE us!
What do you get when you put four completely different musicians together with all different backgrounds and ask them to create music that can fit into multiple genres? Diva Crush! We are:
Pat Bennett - Singer, Songwriter, Bassist, Music Production
Pete Shaw - Lead Guitarist
Eric Cathcart - Rhythm Guitarist, Sound Engineer, Producer
Steve Mitchell - Drums
Pat Bennett started Diva Crush in 2015 as an all-female rock band. After several years of unsuccessfully chasing the sound she wanted, she found Pete, Steve and Eric and now Diva Crush is the hard-rocking behemoth that we are today.
Our style is irreverent, non-conforming and aggressively foot-stomping rock-punk-indie; our originals will keep you on your feet, raving and dancing. With raw, rebellious and often confrontational lyrics, powerful vocals, and hard-edged melodies, Diva Crush is like nothing else you'll ever experience!
Origin: San Diego, CA
Genres: Rock, Punk/Alt, Blues Rock, Indie
Years Active: 2015- Present
Label: Diva Crush Publishing
Website: divacrushrockband.com
Diva Pat
A prolific writer, Pat used to read the dictionary for fun when she was about 8 years old. She started playing music at 12 years old when her mom bought her a nice classical nylon string guitar. Her mother had asked if she would like a guitar; Pat said no, she wanted a horse. The guitar showed up instead.
Pat and her sister performed as a duo at local assisted living facilities until her sister moved to Los Angeles. By that time, Pat was a dyed-in-the-wool rocker girl but she didn't really get serious until 2013 when she formed a garage rock band and bought an SRV Strat.
In 2015 she met Beverly Graves, a phenomenal lead guitarist, and they formed the Curve band with three other women. Pat traded in the Strat for a Tele and a Marshall half stack, and also bought a bass; when Curve broke up, Diva Crush was born. Pat plays bass most of the time but is equally comfortable playing guitar, and writes all our original songs. After such a long hiatus, Pat is thrilled to be playing with the new Divas in the band!
Crush Eric
Rhythm Guitar, Production and Engineering, Studio Drummer
Eric began his musical journey in 1976 playing the pan flute. He quickly realized that his dreams of becoming the next master of the pan flute were completely out of reach, so he transitioned into percussion and drumming. Throughout the 1980’s, Eric played in numerous rock and jazz quartets along the eastern seaboard of the United States. Weekly gigging in a college rock band led into a few rounds of touring in the United States and one overseas gig.
Eric is a NAUI certified Dive Master and a professor of Geology at USD in San Diego. In 2015, a chance meeting with an old high school friend lead to a music production job that has continued to the present day with his creation of Anticline Studios. Since late 2022, Eric has been recording and producing multiple tracks for Diva Crush. He's a huge addition to the band and creates our hard-edged sound on all our recordings.
Crush Pete
Lead Guitar
Our easy-going lead player Pete took classical piano lessons from age 6-11. The first time he heard "Purple Haze" on his transistor radio, it was bye-bye Beethoven and hello Hendrix. He taught himself to play guitar on an acoustic his dad gave him on his 12th birthday, and has played guitar and keyboards in various San Diego bands since 1980. His leads are intense, intuitive and fit our songs perfectly. He's a real find and brings that perfect sound to Diva Crush!
Crush Steve
Drums and Percussion, Live Performance
Steve is a hard-hitting, hard working and enthusiastic drummer, and he fits in with us extremely well. Steve gets our weird sense of humor and we love his drum solos! He got his first drum set at the age of 8 because his mother got tired of him beating on pots, pans and everything else in the house. From his high school days to now, Steve has played in several different bands at various venues. He is rocking the world now with Diva Crush!