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Stereo Skyline

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Stereo Skyline
Stereo Skyline performing at SXSW 2010
Background information
OriginEast Meadow, New York, United States
Genres
Years active
  • 2006–2012
  • 2019
LabelsColumbia Records
Past membersKevin Bard
Tom Angenbroich
Eddie Dizura
Clayton Johnson
Brian Maddox
Dane Milanovic
Jay Marotta
Rob Michelsen
Anthony Purpura
Matt Villani
WebsiteOfficial website

Stereo Skyline was an American pop rock band from East Meadow, New York, which was formed in 2006. The band's well-known line-up consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Kevin Bard, drummer Rob Michelsen, bassist Brian Maddox and lead guitarist Clayton Johnson.[3]

The group has played at The Bamboozle 2007, The Bamboozle Left 2009, The Bamboozle 2009, The 2010 Take Action Tour, The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010, released two EPs and two albums, Stuck On Repeat and The Good Life.

History

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2006–07: Formation and The Worst Case Scenario EP

[edit]

The band formed in 2006 while members of the group were still attending high school in East Meadow, New York.[4] Matt Villani left the pop punk group, Valet Parking to form Stereo Skyline. Villani initially played piano and synth and sang lead vocals for the band. He recruited Jay Marotta and Anthony Purpura of his former band, Aerosol, to play guitar and bass guitar, respectively, Dane Drozdzewicz to play drums and Eddie Dizura of Suddenly October to play guitar.[citation needed]

Soon after the formation of the first line-up, Drozdzewicz left the band and was temporarily replaced by Chris Capuano of Valet Parking/Set In Color until Purpura was moved to drums. Tom Angenbroich of Don't Fall Darling was recruited to play bass guitar and scream. Dizura also left and was replaced by his Suddenly October bandmate, Kevin Bard, who was recruited to play guitar and sing vocals.[citation needed] According to Bard, Stereo Skyline was named after their home state of New York and their love for music.[5]

They released their first EP, The Worst Case Scenario in 2006.[4] The EP was recorded by the producer Nick Zinnanti in his Bethpage, New York, studio. While studying at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, Rob Michelsen joined Stereo Skyline as the drummer through a mutual friend who told Michaelsen that Bard was looking for a drummer.[6] The band toured around Long Island in 2006 and 2007 to promote its release.[6]

2007–08:Stereo Skyline EP and departure of Villani

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The band signed with Ozone Management in 2007.[7] In winter and spring 2008, the band recorded an EP called Stereo Skyline at Stadiumred in Harlem, New York.[8] It was released on July 16, 2008.[9] Despite its lack of chart success, the EP managed to sell 12,000 copies in the US and 150,000 downloads.[3] The artwork for the EP was created by Alexander Sheldon of Match & Kerosene and was edited into its final state by Russell Heiman of Nice Guys Finish First.[citation needed]

In September 2008, Villani left the group.[4] He was replaced by Brian Maddox who joined the group in New York after his band Scenes and Sirens broke up.[10] In November 2008, Marotta left the band for undisclosed reasons. In January 2009, the band signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In February 2009, the band was taken on by the Paradigm Booking Agency. In June 2009, the band had signed a record deal with Columbia Records.[7] They made an acoustic performance at Denny's that same month.[11] The group performed at the 2009 Bamboozle Festival and supported Hey Monday's US tour in the summer.[7] The group toured with Mitchel Musso in September 2009.[12]

2010: Stuck on Repeat

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The band was featured in Alternative Press magazine as one of its "100 Bands You Need to Know" for 2010.[3]

Michelsen in 2009.

On April 26, 2010, after being the touring guitarist since January 2010, Clayton Johnson officially joined Stereo Skyline as its permanent guitarist and backing vocalist.[6][13] The band appeared on the MTV show Silent Library with Hey Monday.[14] They also performed at the Bamboozle Road Show 2010 in May.[15]

The band's album, Stuck on Repeat, was released on July 20, 2010. It was produced by Blake Healy (formerly of Metro Station) and includes production and songwriting work by S*A*M and Sluggo and Adam Schlesinger.[3] The album's lead single, "Tongue Tied" was released on June 15, 2010.[16] The group released the second single from the album, "Me & You" on November 30, 2010.[17] The band went on their first headlining tour called the Stuck on Repeat tour to promote the album with The Audition, Cash Cash, The Downtown Fiction and Cady Groves for support in the summer of 2010.[18] The group also headlined the Shop Til You Rock tour.[19]

On November 1, 2010, the band made their debut televised performance on Good Day New York.[20] The group toured for the remainder of 2010 with The Summer Set, Mod Sun and Austin Gibbs.[20]

2011–12: Departure of Maddox and Johnson and The Good Life

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In spring 2011, Stereo Skyline set out on Tourantula! supporting Family Force 5.[21] Their song "Uptown, Get Around" was played at the beginning of The Suite Life Movie.[1]

On May 21, 2011, Johnson and Maddox announced that they had left Stereo Skyline to form a new group called BLAC.[22] Bard announced that he and Michelsen would continue to tour and would release new Stereo Skyline songs, along with continuing with their planned Brazil tour.[23] On August 11, 2011, the band released the single "Kiss Me in the Morning" from their upcoming second studio album The Good Life.[24] Michelsen left the band before the release of their second album and the Brazil tour. The Good Life was released on November 1, 2011.[25] Bard brought back Purpura and friends Larzz Principato and Ryan Forsythe to fill out the touring line-up. They appeared in Brazil on MTV Brasil while on tour there.[26] In 2012, the band played a handful of shows as well as having drummer Rob Michelsen return to the group.[27]

After disappearing from the music scene for several years, Stereo Skyline returned in 2019 and released the single "Runaway's" with Hamptons.[28] To date, Bard composes music for several different artists such as The Summer Set and Dan + Shay,[29] as well as forming a musical project called Max & Simon in 2011. Johnson formed a band with his brothers called the Johnsons in 2017.[30] Maddox became a DJ and made music under the name BMAD.[31]

Members

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Former members

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  • Kevin Bard – lead vocals, guitar (2006–2011)
  • Rob Michelsen – drums (2006–2011, 2012)
  • Matt Villani – vocals, piano, synthesizer, guitar (2006–2008)
  • Tom Angenbroich – bass, screaming vocals (2006–2007)[32]
  • Jay Marotta – guitar, bass (2006–2008)
  • Anthony Purpura – synthesizer, drums, bass (2006–2007, 2011)
  • Eddie Dizura – guitar (2006)
  • Dane Milanovic – drums (2006)
  • Brian Maddox – bass (2008–2011)
  • Clayton Johnson – guitar, backing vocals (2010–2011)

Former touring members

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  • Ryan Forsythe – bass (2011)
  • Cal Knapp – guitar (2009)
  • Larzz Principato – guitar (2011)

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and sales figures
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[33]
US
Heat.

[34]
Stuck on Repeat 133 4
The Good Life
  • Released: November 1, 2011
  • Label: Stereo Skyline, Twilight (Japan only)
  • Format: CD, digital download
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with sales figures
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
US
[35]
US
Heat.

[36]
The Worst Case Scenario
  • Released: September 24, 2006
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
Stereo Skyline
  • Released: July 16, 2008
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD, digital download
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Heartbeat"[37] 2008 Stereo Skyline
"Tongue Tied"[38] 2010 Stuck on Repeat
"Me and You"
"Kiss Me In the Morning"[39] 2011 The Good Life
"That Everything"[40]
"Runaway's"[41] 2019 Non-album single

References

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  1. ^ a b Whitney Shoemaker (June 18, 2020). "10 neon-pop bands who need to make a comeback". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Alex Darus (July 8, 2020). "10 songs you forgot you had on your Myspace player". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Glenn Gamboa (July 15, 2010). "Stereo Skyline hits new heights with major-label debut". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Andrew Leahey. "Stereo Skyline Biography by Andrew Leahey". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "J-14 Hot Band Alert: Stereo Skyline". J-14. July 19, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Tammy La Gorce (January 7, 2011). "Drawing a Crowd With Positive Pop". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Jon Ableson (September 29, 2009). "Interview: Stereo Skyline - 29/09/09". Alter the Press. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Clients". Stadiumred. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  9. ^ "Stereo Skyline - EP by Stereo Skyline". iTunes. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  10. ^ Jason MacNeil (March 8, 2010). "Stereo Skyline Interview: SXSW 2010". Spinner. AOL Radio. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  11. ^ Julie Jargon (June 30, 2009). "Denny's Tries Night-Owl Vibe". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "Stereo Skyline / Mitchel Musso Shows". YouTube. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  13. ^ "Clayton Johnson on Twitter: "It's official!!!"". Twitter. April 26, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
    - "Twoo - Meet New People". Formspring.me. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  14. ^ Whitney Shoemaker (August 27, 2019). "10 times Silent Library featured some of our favorite bands". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  15. ^ Carrie Stafford (May 26, 2010). "10 Best Moments of the Bamboozle Road Show". Spin. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Gabriella Landman (August 8, 2010). "Stereo Skyline Builds Solid Foundation on Repeat". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  17. ^ "Stereo Skyline - Me & You". YouTube. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  18. ^ "Stereo Skyline headlining the Stuck On Repeat Tour Summer 2010". YouTube. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
  19. ^ Jessica Norton (September 20, 2010). "Life Is Better Blonde: Stereo Skyline". Seventeen. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Exclusive: Stereo Skyline Tour Blog". Seventeen. November 19, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  21. ^ Dou Van Pelt (March 29, 2011). "Family Force 5 announce Spring Tourantula". HM. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  22. ^ "Mandy Jiroux & I got to interview our friends Clayton". Buzznet. September 20, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  23. ^ Mayu Yamamoto (November 4, 2011). "Stereo Skyline Interview". Geki Rock (in Japanese). Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  24. ^ "Stereo Skyline streaming new single". Alternative Press. August 13, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "The Good Life by Stereo Skyline". Apple Music. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  26. ^ "Acesso MTV - com Stereo Skyline e Cash Cash - 24/11/2011". MTV. November 24, 2011. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  27. ^ @tomtomsays (December 29, 2012). "Don't have plans today? Be sure to go check out my friends Stereo Skyline at @li_vibelounge! @kbarstereo @robstereo @therealtonynash" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "Runaway's - Single by Stereo Skyline, Hamptons". Apple Music. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  29. ^ "Kevin Bard Songs - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  30. ^ Rachael Dowd (December 16, 2020). "Lana Del Rey and Stereo Skyline's Clayton Johnson are reportedly engaged". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  31. ^ Sarah Afshar. "Meet BMAD: DJ, Artist and Producer". www.sarahafshar.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  32. ^ @tomtomsays (April 20, 2015). "2007 Stereo Skyline is still my jam!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ "Stereo Skyline Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  34. ^ "Streo Skyline Chart History (Top Heakseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  35. ^ "Stereo Skyline Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  36. ^ "Streo Skyline Chart History (Top Heakseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  37. ^ "Stereo Skyline - First Avenue". First Avenue. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  38. ^ "Tongue Tied - Single by Stereo Skyline". Apple Music. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  39. ^ "Kiss Me In the Morning - Single by Stereo Skyline". iTunes. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  40. ^ "Stereo Skyline post album teaser for "The Good Life", release new song". Alternative Press. October 26, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  41. ^ "Runaway's - Single by Stereo Skyline". Spotify. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
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