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Caity vs. Stereo Age
I absolutely love opening our email and seeing messages from bands asking us to check out their music! I do a lot of internet crawling on the look-out for new bands on a nearly daily basis, but obviously I can't catch all of 'em, so when we get emails from bands asking us to check out their songs on Facebook, or to review a record or EP I get super psyched, ESPECIALLY when I totally dig their music!
That's exactly what happened with Italian band Stereo Age! I checked out the band's Facebook and listened to their song M(a)y Day and instantly fell in love with it! It took me right back to the early-millenium pop-punk bands that I still hold dear like early Green Day, MEST, Sum 41, MxPx, Jimmy Eat World, et cetera. Although their sound is a major throwback to early millenium bands, they still keep their sound modern, which is a necessity and the band manages to balance inspiration and an updated sound perfectly.
Even though the band has only one song uploaded to their Facebook, I decided that I definitely wanted to chat with them and learn more about their band (mostly be nosy and find out when we can expect more music)! I can not wait to hear the upcoming EP from Stereo Age, I'm positive that it'll be fantastic! So without further ado, here is Stereo Age! Read their interview, and as always there's some links below so you can check them out yourselves!
Please remember that Stereo Age is from Torino, Italy and English is a second language to them.
"Take your time and remember that first of all music is a passion! If you remember that you can do something good!" Dany, STEREO AGE
We like to start off our interviews with introductions, so could you tell us who you are and what you do for your band?
Poli: Hello guys and thanks for the interview! I’m Poli, I play bass and I sing in the band Stereo Age.
Dany: Hi! I’m Dany, I sing and I play the guitar… or I try to do that!
Bess: Hi! This is Bess, drummer of Stereo Age, I'm very happy for this interview.
Matteo: Hello everyone, I'm Matte, the guitarist.
Dany: Hi! I’m Dany, I sing and I play the guitar… or I try to do that!
Bess: Hi! This is Bess, drummer of Stereo Age, I'm very happy for this interview.
Matteo: Hello everyone, I'm Matte, the guitarist.
Can you give us a little history of your band? How did you guys form?
Dany: We formed about one year ago when Poli (I knew him for several years) told me that he wanted to make a new pop punk band after his previous band split up. I arrived from a previous unlucky musical experience too so I decided to do that!
Poli: Yes, Dany and I knew each other because we shared the stage a lot of times with our bands, and I knew Bess because we shared other stages as well. So we started practicing and we immediately began writing our own songs. Some months later Matteo joined the band and here we are!
Poli: Yes, Dany and I knew each other because we shared the stage a lot of times with our bands, and I knew Bess because we shared other stages as well. So we started practicing and we immediately began writing our own songs. Some months later Matteo joined the band and here we are!
How would you describe your live show to someone who had never seen you play before?
Poli: It’s just us playing songs and having fun on the stage. We hope that people have fun too and enjoy our songs.
Dany: There’s a lot of energy, impact and fun! We try to involve people as much as possible!
Dany: There’s a lot of energy, impact and fun! We try to involve people as much as possible!
Your Facebook currently has one song available to listen to (which is a fantastic song) called M(a)y Day. Tell us a bit about that song, what inspired it?
Dany: Thanks a lot, we’re glad you like it! We decided to put M(a)y Day online as the first song because we think it represents very well some situations we experienced in the past, in particular with our former bands. You know… line-up changes, different priorities in life and more, often create tensions within bands. We tried to talk about this in the lyrics and the title has a double meaning. “My Day” means “it's your day”, the day to show others what you are worth just because you have never stopped believing in this passion, or “May Day”, a day of may that represent spring, the beginning of a new musical life!
Are you working on new material for an EP or album? What can we expect to hear in the future of Stereo Age?
Poli: Sure, we’re writing tons of new songs aiming to record an EP at the end of the year/beginning of 2012. We’d also like to shoot a video for one of our tracks and last but not least, we want to play gigs everywhere we can.
What do you think each member of Stereo Age brings that's unique to the band? What do each of you contribute to the band dynamic?
Poli: I like that everyone in this band is giving his opinion while writing the songs, all of us have an important role in the band. We usually start with an idea (a verse or a chorus) but then we all create the song together, focusing on the drums and the guitars.
Dany: We always try to give freedom to all ideas because it’s very important that everyone is satisfied and able to give their best.
Dany: We always try to give freedom to all ideas because it’s very important that everyone is satisfied and able to give their best.
What advice would you give to other kids who are trying to start their own band and give the music industry a try?
Dany: Take your time and remember that first of all music is a passion! If you remember that you can do something good!
Poli: I don’t think that I’m able to tell kids what to do because I’m just at the beginning of my “musical career”, but I can suggest to start a band only if you’re willing to do it 100% because there are too many right now.
Poli: I don’t think that I’m able to tell kids what to do because I’m just at the beginning of my “musical career”, but I can suggest to start a band only if you’re willing to do it 100% because there are too many right now.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome it?
Dany: We are a young band so we’ve just begun. The biggest challenge we’ve won is definitely to be able to find a good stability, have started writing our songs and especially be pleased with how our adventure is going.
Stereo Age is based out of Torino, Italy. How is the local music scene there, and have you found it particularly hard to crack into?
Poli: Unfortunately you can’t find a “scene” here because there are too many bands and so it’s too hard to come out.
Dany: The good thing is that we’ve already played in other bands before Stereo Age so some people know us and try to help us, when it’s possible. We’re a little bit lucky compared to the bands who begin to play now for the first time.
Dany: The good thing is that we’ve already played in other bands before Stereo Age so some people know us and try to help us, when it’s possible. We’re a little bit lucky compared to the bands who begin to play now for the first time.
What do you do to pump yourselves up for a show? Any pre or post-show rituals?
Dany: Sure ahahah! Before our shows we usually put ourselves in circle, we hug and make a shout… it pumps us up so much!
Poli: There’s a stupid ritual I always have to do before a show. I pray that I’m not going to break a string of my bass in the middle of a song, because I’m always afraid of strings breaking in the middle of a show.
Poli: There’s a stupid ritual I always have to do before a show. I pray that I’m not going to break a string of my bass in the middle of a song, because I’m always afraid of strings breaking in the middle of a show.
At The Sound Faction we like to end all of our interviews with 5 random questions to end on a lighter note, are you up for that?
Dany: Yeah, of course!!!
If you could be any rock legend for a day, who would you be and why?
Bess: I’d like to be Travis Barker because he taught me a lot and I think he’s the god of pop-punk drumming.
Matteo: I choose Slash. Everybody would like to be like him for a day, one of the biggest guitar heroes in the world.
Dany: Certainly Kurt Cobain, it’s a true rock legend for me, a poet!
Poli: Tim Armstrong, my favourite punk voice ever.
Matteo: I choose Slash. Everybody would like to be like him for a day, one of the biggest guitar heroes in the world.
Dany: Certainly Kurt Cobain, it’s a true rock legend for me, a poet!
Poli: Tim Armstrong, my favourite punk voice ever.
What is a fashion trend that confuses you?
Bess: I’d say techno music and the people who are into it. In Italy they have specific fashion rules to follow and those kids are quite pathetic.
What was the first album that you ever purchased?
Matteo: “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” by Blink 182.
Poli: The first record I ever bought was the first tape of an Italian band called 883; it was 1992 and I was 6. The first cd was “Spice” by the Spice Girls ahhahhaha.
Dany: Uhm… I don’t remember exactly but I think it was Enema of the State from Blink 182 or Nimrod from Green Day.
Bess: Enema of the State too, but I bought the record some years after it came out.
Poli: The first record I ever bought was the first tape of an Italian band called 883; it was 1992 and I was 6. The first cd was “Spice” by the Spice Girls ahhahhaha.
Dany: Uhm… I don’t remember exactly but I think it was Enema of the State from Blink 182 or Nimrod from Green Day.
Bess: Enema of the State too, but I bought the record some years after it came out.
If you could be the champion of anything, what would it be?
Dany: I love cycling but unfortunately I can’t practice it because I don’t have much free time. Anyway I'd like to be a cyclist champion, even if it is a very very tiring sport.
Poli: I’d like to be a champion in writing melodies.
Bess: I don’t know, I don’t like sports so I would be happy just to have people interested in my band and maybe to tour Europe someday.
Poli: I’d like to be a champion in writing melodies.
Bess: I don’t know, I don’t like sports so I would be happy just to have people interested in my band and maybe to tour Europe someday.
If you could cover any song, what song would it be and why?
Poli: I’d like to do a rock version of Radiohead’s “Idioteque” because it’s one of the smartest songs I’ve ever heard. But I’m afraid I’ll do a bad job if compared to the original track.
Matteo: “Adam’s Song” by Blink 182, it’s a great song and it always gives me energy.
Dany: I really like doing covers of pop songs came out in recent years, so there are too many, I can’t choose! For example with my old band I used to cover Anastacia’s “Left Outside Alone”!
Bess: Something by August Burns Red, like “The Eleventh Hour”, because I recently fell in love with metal-core.
Matteo: “Adam’s Song” by Blink 182, it’s a great song and it always gives me energy.
Dany: I really like doing covers of pop songs came out in recent years, so there are too many, I can’t choose! For example with my old band I used to cover Anastacia’s “Left Outside Alone”!
Bess: Something by August Burns Red, like “The Eleventh Hour”, because I recently fell in love with metal-core.
And finally, here is your shameless self-promotion spot, feel free to add in anything that we left-out, or give a shout-out to your fans!
Dany: Hi guys, thanks a lot for the interview! It was fun. Feel free to visit our official page facebook.com/stereoage, follow us on Twitter, take a listen to our song “M(a)y Day” and tell us what’s your opinion about it! Your support is very important for us… and take care ‘cause we’re going to put out a new song called “The Roaming” in October!
Thanks again to Stereo Age for writing to us and telling us to check out their band! I'm glad I got a chance to hear their music, and I for one and anxiously awaiting the release of the EP! Make sure to head over to FACEBOOK.COM/STEREOAGE to listen to their music and learn more about the band, and check them out on twitter: @stereoage!
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