Stillwater Black: Dispatches

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.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Flashback '96: S?

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

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.

Finished the arrangement, we have.

We cemented the Longshot arrangement along with the lyrics and vocal melody. Still working out the harmonies and instrumentation. Hand him an axe, and you know Chris is a madman. You may not know that he's also a Jedi behind the mixing console.

This is going to be amazing.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Them bones

The sessions continue in Redlands. We hammered out the bones of Longshot.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Can we talk?

I called Chris on the way home from work. It’s an insane child’s world where men standing at the gates of hard-won wisdom are deemed aesthetically irrelevant. What business do the four of us have revisiting our relationship with rock music?