The Strangers Utah
The Strangers, a band who truly believes that Rock N Roll can save your soul.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
The band has a lot of history, so we will start from the begining. Dave and Stan, (a member of a former band) held auditions to find a lead guitar player; enter Kai. We played for a few months nameless, just the 3 of us. Elliot joined the band as a second guitar player and shortly after Gabe joined as a bass player; we went by the name Black Leather. We played a few good shows and a few bad shows before Kai and Stan left the band. (Editorial by Kai - They were all bad: some were worse than others)(Rebuttal by Dave - The first show was great almost historical)
Sticking with the name Black Leather, Gabe moved to lead guitar, Dave to rhthym, Elliot to bass, and we replaced Stan with Andy Hood on drums. We played al ot of parties as mainly a cover band.
When Gabe left on his mission (LDS Church for non-Utahns), we disbanded and started new projects. Dave formed Blackwater a Hard Rock/Metal band, Elliot formed Chrome-Tone a Rockabilly Punk band with drummer Derek Smith. After a year or so Blackwater broke up, and Dave joined Chrome-Tone to play bass. Soon, Dave switched to guitar, Elliot to Bass, and a familiar lineup began to reshape. When we decided to move forward with this project we wanted to get Kai on board but none of us had heard from him in years.
One day after practice we decided to go to a cafe because they served a kind of drink no one else did (iron port) when we got there we found Kai behind the counter. (is that fate or what...) Dave, Kai, Elliot, and Derek made the first line-up of The Strangers. After a year of playing very heavily Elliot left on his mission (see note above) and Kai moved. Dave and Derek decided to start recording demos and replace members while we recording to keep us busy. Steve joined the band as a Keyboard player, Dee Jarvis on bass, and a rotating door of lead guitarists. This time, however, we'd kept Kai's email before he left.
We booked time at a pro-studio. We asked Kai to record the songs with us; and when we ran through the songs before recording, something clicked. When the sessions were done Kai rejoined the band as a full time member. As months went by Gabe from Black Leather, returned from his mission and joined The Strangers as our third Guitarist and completed the current Strangers line-up.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
We play live wherever whenever for whoever - which means occasionally in some tiny venue for two other bands and their girlfriends .
Your musical influences
If the Replacements got into a bar fight with the Stones, with Springsteen behind the bar, and Petty and Mellencamp in front of it - our song would be on the jukebox. Three chord rock about love, loss, and the lure of the highway.
What equipment do you use?
Fender Guitars, Ibanez Basses, Marshall & Crate Amps.
Anything else?
We would like to thank everyone for helping us along the way. God, Jesus, our parents and our familys, Hal Miller, Tom Jones, Rich Stofleth, Elliot Harwood, Our Friends, Jesse Llewylen, Tom Carter, Jason Anderson, Annie Lemings, Nate Bell, Mike Morgan, Wade Allan and so many more. Our Fans, One Angry Swede
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