Crystal Motion
“Crystal Motion” was a singing group from “New Bedford” Massachusetts. The group was formed in 1974 and the original members were “Kevin Gomes”(lead vocals),” Rodney (Skeeta)Santos”(and cousin to Kevin), Daniel(Buddy)Monterio” (A lifelong friend),and “John Paris”. The group was managed by”Carter Management”(Eddie Carter) Of Onset, Mass., who now resides in Orlando, Fl.. They had a brush with stardom in 1975 with a recording called” You’re My Main Squeeze”, which was on the “Sound Gems” record label, and was a small hit in the Boston, Mass. and Providence, R.I. area. It also was played on radio stations in Philly, Atlanta and Houston, Texas.
The group was formed by Kevin in 1974 when he wrote a song with the help of his good friend, Arthur “Buddy Monterio” of New Bedford and sent it to a small record company in Philly called “Sound Gems”. The label had just had a super hit called ” Be thankful for what you Got” by “William DeVaughn” and Kevin decided to submit one of his own compositions to the label. Within a few weeks he received a positive response and was invited to the label for an audition. Without a second thought he called his cousin and his friends who were waiting for the results and the group was formed.
The recording “Main Squeeze” was written by a young man named “Pal Rakes “who still works with the Philly label and has had some success working with the “Allman Bros. Band” The song was a big hit with the teens across New England and drew lots of attention from other performers, producers and song writers. The group also drew attention from the producers for “American Band Stand” and “Soul Train”. The group, which was named by singer and member” John Paris”, toured the east coast in 1975 and 76 promoting themselves and preparing themselves for an upcoming album which they never got to finish. They had generated a fan base from Burlington, V.T. to Philadelphia, P.A. Eventually, John Paris was replaced by a long time friend “Douglas Mendes” and the show took to the road with nothing in their way. They seemed to be on their way to following the footsteps of their very good friends the “Tavares” Bros. when Kevin, the lead singer of the song “Main Squeeze” was forced to leave the group shortly after their success in 1976 for personal reasons and ultimately the group broke up after about a year of trying to keep it together. Sadly, Skeeta and John Paris have since passed on to a better place and the surviving members are, Kevin, Buddy and Dougie. Their hit song is still being played in the U.K. and other countries in Europe till this day. And, two of their unreleased recordings (“There’ll Be Another”) and (“Love is on its way”) were played on Soul Discovery Show in the U.K.
“Love is on its way” was written by Buddy Monterio (Arthur) and Victor Tavares of the Tavares Bros. who also sings background vocals on the song was the lead singer of the their own 1st hit single “Check it Out”. You can purchase Crystal Motions’ hit song “You’re My Main Squeeze” on various web sites around the internet. A Quote from the members: Thanks to all of you who helped with our career in music. Thank you “Carlton Pina”, “Johnny Morton” “David Antunes” “Mike Antunes” (from Eddie and the Cruisers) “Paul (Chips) Almeida”(Who was a big part of our life’s and we truly miss) “Tavares”(Who influenced us greatly) “Eddie Levert ” ( The O Jays) ,” Bob Wayne”(WNBH) “Big Ange”(WPRO), Etc. Crystal Motion would also like to thank all of you who remember us and supported us back in the 70s. From Burlington V.T. to Cherry Hill N.J. We still remember and will never forget. It was a fun time. Peace, love and God bless………
Kevin, Buddy and Dougie.