University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 9, 1996 Page: 5 of 15
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■ : ^October 996 —
St. Louis band is causing a Stir
By Aaron Deacon
Arts and Enterainment Editor
People often wonder how a local
college band goes from playing covers
in local clubs to signing a contract with
a major record label. Stir, a St. Louis-
area band, is beginning to find out that
music review
it takes a lot of hard work and a little
luck. In an unusual agreement, Capi-
tol Records has re-released the band’s
self-titled album which was initially
released earlier this year on the small-
er label, Aware Records.
Drummer Brad Booker says that he
and songwriter/guitarist Andy Schmidt
first met at a birthday party when they
were ten. They played a little through-
out high school and hooked up with
bassist Kevin Gagnepain the summer
before they began attending the Uni-
versity of Missouri. There they met
Rick Smith, who sang covers with the
band under the name the Choice.
A few years later when Smith left
the band, the other three wanted to
keep playing. They fortunately dis-
covered that Schmidt was nearly as
good a singer as he was guitarist. As
Stir was just getting underway, Gagne-
pain says that the music was “a little
more laid back, [with] country and
blues influences.”
He says, though, that the band has
become “more aggressive, ” and it shows
on their new album. Stir is a difficult
album to describe, in part because it
tries to go back to the basics. Gagne-
pain said that the band, as is usual, is
trying to avoid a label, especially since
the phrase “alternative music” has
become obsolete. When pressed he
simply described the music as “rock ‘n’
roll.”
They claim diverse musical influ-
ences: “the Beatles, a lot of 70s
rock... .Andy had a year or two when
he was even into country.” The coun-
try influence is apparent in the songs
photo by Lisa Johnson
Stir (left to right): Kevin Gagnepain, Andy Schmidt, and Brad Booker
“Star” and “Ten Dances,” southern
rock songs which recall another re-
cent Aware Records discovery, Better
than Ezra.
The music is fun. They break the
GenX-whiner-slacker-my-music-is-a-
social-political-statement stereotype.
Their songs are “personal, but they
could be personal to anyone,” says
Gagnepain. He continues, “Making
records is a way to have fun.” Stir
makes it fun not just for themselves,
but for their listeners as well.
Their debut album is diverse-. One
critic described it as “Candle Box meets
Hootie and the Blowfish.” The influ-
ences of R.E.M. and Toad the Wet
Sprocket are also obvious. Some songs,
such as “Stale,” make one think of a
more authoritative Michael Stipe from
the early 80s. “Star” is a folksy song,
with a hint of bluegrass, and slightly
boyish lyrics.
And “Lady Bug” might remind some
UDers of the former campus band Bean,
with funky guitar and varied tempos
and such lyrics as “I don’t
want to be like Elvis / I don’t
want to be like Jim / I just
want to be myself right now /
I’ll be better off than them /
Gotta feel just like, lady bug/
I think I’ll fly away, lady bug.”
The band derives most of
its energy from performance.
When recording Stir, Gagne-
pain said, “We just went into
the studio and did what we do
live.” And they play live a lot.
They are in the midst of a
tour that, just in the first few
weeks of this month, includes
fourteen shows in fourteen cit-
ies, among them New York,
Washington D.G., Atlanta,
New Orleans, and Dallas. They
play at Trees on Friday, Octo-
ber 18.
With that much time on
the road, do the band mem-
bers get sick of each other?
Not really, says Gagnepain.
“When we get home for a cou-
ple days, I usually hang out
with one of those guys.” They
say that chemistry is what
makes the band’s live shows
so successful.
And what does the future
hold for the band? Their next
album, probably out some-
time next year, “may be bet-
ter because songs will have a
freshness in them to our
minds,” according to Gagne-
pain. “When you’ve been play-
ing the same songs for two
years, you can’t play with the same
emotion.” And he says he “would love
to do a movie soundtrack, where you
have visuals to work from.”
The band plays good music and
has a lot of potential, but a movie
soundtrack may be a ways off yet.
They’ll have to settle for simpler goals
for now. Gagnepain seems to have no
problem accepting that: “We just got a
new [tour] van! I’m psyched!” With a
new record contract to go along with
that tour bus, I don’t blame him.
courtesy photo
UD alum Trish Murphy plays, along with Ray Wylie Hubbard, this Friday at Poor David's Pub, 1924
Greenville. Call 214-821-9891 for information.
There are no small
victories in the fight
against heart disease.
0
American Heart
Association
© 1992, American Heart Association
In Concert
October 10, 1996
Joan Osborne
Dog’s Eye View
Sundance Square, Fort Worth
FREE CONCERT
October 11, 1996
Heater
Bellevue
Lotus Nette
Hurricane Garter
Trees, 2709 Elm
Gall 214-748-5009
October 11, 1996
Hard Day’s Night
Citizen Lane
Sunflower
Club Dada, 2720 Elm
Gall 214-744-3232
October 11, 1996
Steve Wynn
Expanding Mann
Galaxy Club, 2820 Main
Call 214-742-5299
October 11, 1996
The Trish Murphy Band
Ray Wylie Hubbard
Poor David’s Pub, 1924 Greenville Ave
Gall 214-821-9891
October 12, 1996
The Nixons
Imperial Drag
Bronco Bowl, 943-1777
Gall Ticketmaster
October 12, 1996
Pushmonkey
Beef Jerky
McOverlord
Diablo Sol
Trees, 2709 Elm
Gall 214-748-5009
October 17, 1996
Edie Brickell and the Slip
Majestic Theatre
October 18,1996
Stir
Vertical Horizon
Trees, 2709 Elm
Call 214-748-5009
October 18, 1996
The Heads
(Talking Heads minus David Byrne)
Deep Ellum Live, 2727 Canton
Call 214-748-6222
October 18, 1996, 8:00 p.m.
Alan Parsons
Bronco Bowl, 214-943-1777
Call Ticketmaster
October 18, 1996
Primitive Radio Gods
Patti Rothberg
Hard Rock Cafe, 2601 McKinney
Gall 214-885-0007
October 25, 1996
Bob Dylan
Bronco Bowl, 214-943-1777
Gall Ticketmaster
At Starplex:
October
Ozzy Osbourne, Danzig, 13
Dave Matthews Band, 26
Call Ticketmaster for information, 214-
373-8000
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University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 5, Ed. 1 Wednesday, October 9, 1996, newspaper, October 9, 1996; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth841509/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.