Stereo Sonic
139 plays
4,259 views
4,259 views
Self-described as The Flaming Lips meets The Who in some Nirvana orgy, Stereo Sonic reined the local Minneapolis indie-rock scene at the tail end of the 1990s. Featuring vibrato-filled vocals, a two guitar crunch and the most dynamic rhythm section in the city, Stereo Sonic also put the most important thing up font: the songs. Catchy songs... rocking songs... honest songs.
The legacy began with high school friends guitarist Mason Butler and bassist Jesse Miller collaborating as a musical duo and looking to form a band. They teamed up with songwriter Matt Kyle in the spring of 1998. The trio agreed to push Matt as the frontman since he wrote better songs than Mason & Jesseand more of them, too! A chance meeting with drummer Eric Reiter in a coffee house led to an impromptu public jam; the unit clicked so immediately and tightly, the audience believed them to be a real lineup although they had only met Eric that night. The rest of the year was spent building their live chops and creating a large repertoire of original compositions.
In January 1999 the band recorded their first demo, a cassette that contained 14 original songs and ran about 60 minutes in length! The demo secured shows all around the Twin Cities throughout 1999 and 2000, including the Terminal Bar, The Foxfire, The Fineline, The 7th Street Entry, The Turf Club, 400 Bar, Ryans Pub, Big Vs, Bon Appetite and shows in St Cloud, including the St. Cloud State University Battle of The Unsigned Bands. A buzz traveled through the music underground and the band became known for their trademark freak-out version of The Beatles I Want You (Shes So Heavy) and the total destruction of Erics drumkit and overall musical chaos at the end of each performance.
Early 2000 saw Stereo Sonic performing at Beatlefest in Chicago and the recording of the bands debut EP Art Rock & The X-Ray Style (also distributed as Songs and Snowy Days and Kid O). The bands live show became more intense with out-of control smoke machines, Erics drumkit wrapped in Christmas lights and the guitarists literally attacking each other with their instruments during musical climaxes. Approaching the end of 2000, Eric quit the group and relocated to Milwaukee, eventually playing drums for Joyride. Matt, Mason and Jesse reformed with a new drummer and a new set of songs as The Loudspeakers in 2001. They disbanded after self-releasing a 7 and a (very) mini-tour that summer. Mason & Jesse went on to form the noise-pop outfit The Gay Apparel, while Matt went on to play drums for The Blonde Alibi.
Presently in 2006, Matt & Mason play in indie-rock/new wave quartet The Childrens Hospital, while Jesse & Eric play in the avant-pop project The Curiously Strong Peppermints. Although there are no plans for a Stereo Sonic reunion, a DVD of live material is currently in the works.All comments (1)
139 plays
4,259 views
4,259 views
Admin
Jesse
@soniclovenoize
liked nightmare-good guitar work-the vocals remind me a little of elvis costillo-good tune-give my site a listen-send a comment-keep writing from the heart!