Stephanie’s Id put on a show Friday night at Downtown After Five in Ashvegas that’s still got us scratching our heads, so we thought we’d vent a little and see if somebody out there could help us understand what the hell is going on with one of our favorite local bands.
Stephanie rocked her best Elvis glasses, a white fru-fru dress thingy and some kick-ass thigh-high boots and took the stage Friday night. The first thing we noticed was that Stephanie had a shitload of people up on stage with her. Why? What was up with that? There was a Menage chick. There was some other chick in a striped shirt. There was some sweaty, stringy-haired dude who could sing. There was another chick named Amy that Stephanie called up on stage.
Stephanie was huggin’ up on all these people, playing to them, letting them take the spotlight. What the hell? This band is called Stephanie’s Id for a reason, isn’t it? Why not get back to your roots of a stripped down band and let Stephanie soar. That’s what she does. The music takes her and her vocal chords, and she soars.
But not Friday. Hell, the stage was so crowded at times that we couldn’t even find Stephanie in the melee. What was going on?
Next, Stephanie told us she would be playing a lot of new material. It was new material that we didn’t really like. It was ok. Just ok. That’s about all we can say. It’s not slow-jam sweet and it’s not hard-rockin’ heavy. It was just in-between.
Another thing – Stephanie’s Id is clearly getting more savvy in terms of marketing, and making marketing a push. Yet another dude got up on stage and urged people to join Stephanie’s “street team.” This was described as some sort of viral marketing group that would work to get the word out about the band in various forms. Stephanie said that if you join, you’ll sometimes get little perks. What, exactly? Why the sudden emphasis on street teams and web sites and stuff?
Of course, we think we know the answer. Stephanie’s Id is working to break through, break out, get discovered. And that’s cool. We think they deserve to hit it big. Stephanie’s voice is awesome, and the songwriting is pretty darn good. But don’t lose what got you to this point. Kay?
Please take this for what it’s worth, Stephanie’s Id: just some thoughts from fans who don’t know a whole lot except that we love your music.
Finally, we know of yet another big change in the life of Stephanie’s Id. Stephanie is getting married. Yup. She’s getting hitched to Chuck, the guy who plays keyboards in the band. They’re going to get married in Iceland in October, according to the band’s web site.
Congratulations, Stephanie!
We wish you and the band all the success in the world, Stephanie, and we hope you don’t think we’re a little whacked. You see, we exchanged e-mails recently cause Steph wanted to use some of our awesome photography. We said cool. We said congrats on the wedding, keep us in the loop and o, can you answer these dumb questions we just made up? Like, “How do you keep your vocal chords in shape?”
Stephanie never answered. We can only hope that she sees this and still loves us.
5 Comments
hi ash and ashvegas,
though you posted this months ago, i’m just reading for the first time and wanted to respond.
thanks for caring enough to write about us, and for being worried that i’m headed in the wrong direction.
but please understand that my process is my process. those songs mean a lot to me.
my writing is a solitary endeavor (the ocean of opinions about the songs notwithstanding) while playing music live involves lots of other people. this is what i do all the time (not as a hobby); live music circumstances are forever changing, and i’m managing the logistics as best i can, and luckily i have some help now, which is a godsend. meanwhile, the songwriting and arranging is a whole other process, and i believe in it with every ounce of me.
maybe there’ll come a day when your taste and my process are aligned again. until then, we still play a lot of the older material too; and when i see you at a show (idfest perhaps?), i hope to be sufficiently rested and creative due to the valiant efforts of street teamers who have spread the word about the performance so i didn’t have to work so hard.
chuck and i did get married. thanks for the congrats. the wedding was a most memorable and moving experience.
sincerely,
your spank bank sweetie (i’ll tell you how i keep my pipes in shape if you tell me what that means),
stephanie (of stephanie’s id)
Breaking News Ash… you might want to sit down for this: Your ‘Spank Bank Sweetie Stephanie’ is getting hitched in November. True story. You missed your chance. Sadness.
Lots of little indie bands are doing street teams now. It gives fans a chance to feel more connected to the artist, and it gives the artist free little worker elves who will go and preach their awesomeness to the world. Stuff I have gotten from being on street teams: Free tickets to shows, free shirts, hang-out time with my fave artist before a show. Stuff I have done while on a street team: printed and hung posters all over town, and run a merch booth.
thanks big red! damn! i need to check out hollywood red. he sounded great. and i loved the blue rags back in the day.
its woody wood from hollywood red and blue rag fame dude!