Music gets Stellastarr past the monotony

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 21, 2006 by Scott Iwasaki Deseret Morning News

Arthur Kremer, percussionist for the band Stellastarr, says he had no intentions of becoming a professional musician. It just sort of happened.

"I just wanted to hang out," Kremer said by phone from Norfolk, Va. "There weren't any musical influences. I just wanted to be with friends."

The hanging out, however, proved a little dry. "We got bored. So we started playing music to get us past the monotony."

And before long, Stellastarr -- comprised of Kremer, vocalist/ guitarist Shawn Christensen, bassist Amanda Tannen and guitarist Michael Turin -- was on the steady road to becoming a recording and touring band.

"We didn't really see it coming, although we had taken those gradual steps," said Kemer. "We 'officially' formed in 2000 and found ourselves signed to a record company in 2003. I'd be lying if I said that was a surprise. Because once we started those gradual steps, we knew there was some potential."

Still, Stellastarr is a new band with new-band challenges, said Kemer. "There are still a lot of people who don't know who we are. We're popular in some circles and unknown in others. So we've kind of given ourselves a mission to win people over with our music. We like going to places where people don't know us, because we want to make an impression."

Of course, he acknowledges that it's easier said than done. "There is such a huge amount of music out there. And there are thousands of bands out there. It's information overload. And trying to make a dent in the mass of music is almost hopeless."

However, a handful of music notables are paying attention to Stellastarr. The band went on a tour with punk pioneers Social Distortion and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And Social D's leader/ icon Mike Ness liked Stellastarr so much that he extended their opening slot from two weeks to six weeks. "When we played with the Chili Peppers, we were playing in front of 120,000 people. That was overwhelming."

Stellastarr recently wrapped up a tour of Japan. "So taking those baby steps were what we needed to do."

If you go

What: Editors, Stellastarr

Where: The Depot, 13 N. 400 West

When: Saturday, 9 p.m.

How much: $12

Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499

Web: www.smithstix.com

E-mail: scott@desnews.com