Stillwater Black came together in 1991 when Chris Thayer met Ahmed and Sam Pierstorff while playing in the pit band for a high school musical production. Issac McCorkell was quickly recruited on drums and the band recorded its first EP, The Last Virtuous Lady of Athens.

In 1995 they signed with Cleaves Entertainment, a now-defunct independent label based out of Southern California's Inland Empire. Stillwater Black recorded their debut LP, Adam. They played frequently with local and national acts including Dishwalla, Save Ferris, Reel Big Fish, and IE punk/ska mainstays, The Skeletones.

In 1997 the members parted ways and the project lay dormant for two decades.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Flashback '96: Most Days

The songs Chris wrote and sang were often lighter, bouncier affairs with much more mature arrangements than anything I would come up with. Where my writing tended to move from verse to chorus without a lot of musical interest to support the transition, Chris was forever bringing in these little bits that just made everything more . . . adult?

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Kids and Dobros

I had an amazing time with Chris this past Sunday. We were originally planning to lay down the drum tracks for Longshot, but Issac couldn't make it out. He had a prior commitment with his daughter.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Flashback '96: S?

Chris' dad had this amazing 5-car garage. We used to rehearse there from time to time.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Session cancelled

We had plans to lay down the final drum and bass tracks for Longshot today, but it turns out that Chris isn't feeling so good.