Stages and Stereos/Facebook Tallahassee act Stages and Stereos will perform at WUTT’s Kingsfest event on April 18 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Vaughn courtyard.
Stages and Stereos is an Alternative band based out of Tallahassee. It was named one of Alternative Press’ 2014 Bands You Should Know and the New Music Conference 2014 Band on the Verge. The band is headlining the Live Free Die Young Tour during the entire month of May and headlining KingsFest, WUTT’s spring concert series on April 18 from 12 to 4 p.m. in the Vaughn Courtyard. The Minaret had the opportunity to talk with Alex Reed, the guitarist and newest addition to Stages and Stereos, about life on the road, musical influences and the upcoming performance at The University of Tampa.
The Minaret: Describe your first show together.
Alex Reed: The first full band show that I did with them was actually a hometown show. It was a CD release show for their current record, Small Town Favorites. It was really cool. It was a nice way to break in. It was a packed, small club with a lot of our friends and fans. It was a nice way to be welcomed into the band and also be playing in front of my peers. It was nice to get right back on the horse and be performing immediately again after the Go Radio break up.
M: Who are your musical influences?
AR: My entire family is my biggest influence musically. My dad and mom were both orchestra teachers when I was growing up. My brother went to school and got his Master’s in bass performance. My uncle is a classical guitarist, and my grandfather was a classical pianist up until he died in his 90s. I don’t think I would’ve had the exposure to music, or gotten into it at such a young age, if it wasn’t for them. It would be impossible growing up in the environment I grew up in to be in any other industry.
M: Growing up in a small town, did that provide you extra motivation to make a name for yourself?
AR: Being from a small town, it definitely makes you want to get out. Especially post-high school, you see a lot of people that don’t get out of that small town. They get locked down in their small town, and that’s as much as they see of the world. I feel like there was something to prove to myself and my town––to kind of branch out, and become something greater. I’m glad I took that course, although it doesn’t come without struggle.
M: Describe your writing process: Do you write together as a band? Are the writings scheduled, or do you work as the ideas come to you?
AR: Somebody usually has an idea or a riff that they have in their head. No idea is ever a cohesive done product. It’s mostly like I have this one guitar riff. We are all in the room and sit down and decide to have a writing session. The last thing we did, based on a couple guitar riffs, we wrote three songs. It was just everybody in the room bouncing ideas off each other. It’s a very organic way of writing. There’s a very mutual respect between everybody in the band. There’s no one person that considers themselves higher qualified or more talented than any other member of the band. When you have that going for you, you feel like you’re at a level playing field.
M: Favorite song to perform live?
AR: Currently, I’d say “Coup De Grace.” It’s an upbeat crowd, jumpy song. “Small Town Favorites” is definitely one of my favorites, because that’s one of the songs the crowd is most familiar with. A lot of crowd participation. Daniel’s voice just soars. Sometimes we’re playing it, and it just gives me chills. It’s powerful.
M: What do you hope students can take away from your songs?:
AR: When I listen to music, I listen to it from an emotional aspect. Within me, I develop an attachment to the emotional point of a song. I’d like to say that people take away a certain sense of hope, whether they’re going through a hard time or a good time. Hopefully the good time song accentuates their good feeling, and hopefully the darker songs can help them realize they aren’t alone in feeling like times are tough. That, and a sense of inspiration. We’ve been working on music for the better part of a decade, some of us even longer. Hopefully people can take that if it’s your dream, your passion, what you love to do––find a way to do it and never give up on that.We all have failed, we all have succeeded, but we’re all willing to go down in flames if you’re going down for your dream. If you believe you can do something––go out and get it.
M: What can students expect from your performance at Kingsfest and why should they be excited to attend?
AR: They’re in for a fun show––high energy, sing-alongs, ballads. Mainly, they’re in college. All these people are there for one reason: pursue their dream or figure out what they want to do with their lives. There is a struggle. School is hard––it’s stressful. There’s exams, all this stuff and that’s coming up. What they can expect at our show is that they can relate with us, we can relate with them. We’re out here trying to do what we love, what we’re passionate about, what we studied for our entire lives. We’ve all fell down, but we’re back up and doing what we love. Maybe they can see that there is a passion there and that inspires them to go out there and fulfill their dream. We’re all the same––we all have dreams.
Stages and Stereos Album Small Town Favorites is available on iTunes now. Check them out on the Live Free Die Young tour this May.
Brianna Kwasnik can be reached at brianna.kwasnik@spartans.ut.edu