Crazy Ivan Returns After Two Year Hiatus

One of the most popular bands in Tuolumne County will return to the stage this evening after a two year hiatus.

Greg Noll, lead singer of Crazy Ivan, was Thursday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.

Crazy Ivan first formed around seventeen years ago. Noll and Jim Anderson (drummer) remain the originals. Before disbanding a couple of years ago, the band was best known for their classic rock cover tunes.

“We play songs that for the most part, everyone knows.” said Noll. “It wasn’t always that way, but the more cover tunes we played the more we saw our demand and popularity increase.”

So why did Crazy Ivan go into hiatus?

“I had a stroke that nearly killed me,” says Noll. “I was paralyzed from the nose down and I was ready to accept that I was going to die.”

Medication was given to Noll and considering the circumstances, the drug worked rapidly. Noll was soon able to breathe on his own and regained control of most of his body. There was plenty of therapy involved.

“Ever since the stroke, I now have a love for life and I never take anything for granted,” explains Noll. “I hope I wasn’t a miserable person to be around before. This stroke changed me physically as well as mentally. I’m much happier now.”

One of the long term affects that Noll has been affected by was losing the ability to fully control his left hand. This affects his guitar playing.

“I’m working on that. Lots of exercise and I’m confident that I’ll be able to fully function again,” said Noll. “I’ll be singing lead tonight”.

Finally, Noll says that he has missed seeing his fans and is looking forward to seeing many of them in the audience this evening.

Crazy Ivan takes the stage, inside of the Willow Creek Lounge at Black Oak Casino tonight at 8 pm. The show is free, but all attendees must be 21 and over.

The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45am.