Hot in the heat of SXSW 2010, I ambled over to Rusty Spur to see an artist named Becca. I, along with several dozen people, were in for quite a treat as Bec Hollcraft hit the stage with guns blazin' on her six string. Singing songs from her album
Alive!!, Becca was a cool waft of fresh air in the maddening cloud of hipster indie rock.
Not only were her songs fizzy pop rock candy, Ms Hollcraft could shred with the best of 'em, even playing some tasty licks with the guitar behind her head...was I watching the embodiment of Jeff Beck and Ritchie Blackmore in the body of a 20-year old girl? You're damn right I was. As a prodigy at the age of ten, Becca had already spent half her life perfecting her craft, one which was discovered by Meredith Brooks when she was thirteen.
After the conference was over, I came to learn from an associate, whom was working with her, that her biggest audience was in Japan, which is where a "Best of" CD/DVD hit stores in March 2011. With no plans for a stateside companion release, there wasn't any word of a future album to come. Life went on.
So when a tweet crossed my timeline about a month ago announcing that Becca (aka Bec, short for ReBECca) was now fronting a band called
Stars In Stereo, I was eager to know more, but other than a free download of an amazing new song called "The Broken," there wasn't much more to know about SinS.
The enchantment of a mystery began.
Soon thereafter, a tweet asked whom in LA would like to see the band play...though with no details. Curious. Mystery combing an elusive path.
And then another bread crumb.
Stars In Stereo would play the Troubadour on Sunday April 22. I went to the Troubadour web site to buy tickets and the calendar said "Private Event" on 4/22. No way to buy tickets to a band playing their very first show ever?? Curious-er.
A few days later, less than 140 characters came again. Fans had to tweet the band back to be eligible for possible guest listing. Lucky fans would receive a password for entry. Perhaps they were shooting a video for the band's EPK crossed my mind.
The mystery was now playing loudly in stereo in a Sims-style game of Myst. Cognitive transmission intact.
The morning of the show, a stream of responses littered Twitter announcing the password for entry was
The Broken. An onion wrapped in SinS smelled deliciously sweet.
Arriving at the Troubadour, we were not asked to recite the "secret" password, but were greeted by a well-dressed woman that welcomed us. Curiosity continued to swirl.
The Secrets Have Spoken...We Are The Broken!
And that's when I felt like I entered level two of an alternate reality...
Were we all extras in a Muppet Movie sequel?
Was it Year Zero? Were we Fixed at Zero?
I went into the main bar to the left of the front entrance, and was met with the notion that perhaps, in jeans and a tee shirt, I was a bit under-dressed for a rock show???
The area was packed with well-heeled industry types and the bar itself was plastered with trays of imported salami, prosciutto, cheeses and baguettes while a meticulously appointed waitstaff, with platters of pizza with kale, flash-fried shellfish and forkfuls of spaghetti, roamed the crowd.
And to wash it down, there was a full open bar.
And a futuristic dessert cart with astonishingly decadent chocolate truffles decorated as sparkly glam pops. Blatantly blissful and seductively SinS-ful!
Curiosity had stumped the pretty kitty...but it was going to be a glittery night in the city.
I then overheard someone chattering that they worked on the Dr. Phil show. And with that I glanced to my left and noticed a tall man in a crisp white dress shirt. I turned away to grab another succulent hors d'oeuvre and then did a double take. It was the "actual Dr. Phil" standing next to me.
Ok, do they ever do episodes of Punk'd with entire groups of people? Was this a weird Tim Burton-inspired Flash Mob?
What the Hell was going on? This reality TV channel was deep in the dial. Had I not come to the Troubadour to see a little known (and little known about) rock band play their inaugural show?
I had. We had.
What I soon learned was that one of the guitar players in Stars In Stereo is Jordan McGraw...son of Dr. Phil McGraw (did not know the Doctor's last name. And now I do). Everything came into focus. The reveal.
Now it was time to rock.
All Together, we will lose it all...
Flanked by Jordan and Ryan “Frogs” McCormack (and his trademark mohawk) on Guitars, Drew Langan on Drums and Justin Siegel on Bass, Bec was back where she belonged...rockin' in the free world...yes, an intentional allusion to the fact that Neil Young played his first solo show at The Troubadour in June of 1969.
Playing seven original songs, including the arena-ready anthem "The Broken" and a epic version of Nine Inch Nails "Closer," Bec's voice sounded phenomenal as she commanded the attention of the enthusiastic crowd with the confidence of a budding superstar.
Complimenting Bec's riffage, Jordan is also a deft guitar player with a commanding stage presence. In only a matter of time, Hollcraft and McGraw will be
superstars in stereo.
Over the course of their tight-knit set, Stars In Stereo came across as extremely well-rehearsed, both sonically, and showmanship wise...even having part of their entourage pass out flashing multi-colored glow sticks to the entire audience...which, of course, will look fantastic in the EPK!
The "first" show needed to be well-choreographed with a national tour with The Used and Dead Sara on the horizon (begins today in Buffalo).
43 years After the Gold Rush, another precious stone illuminated the iconic stage...and its incandescence shone like
stars in stereo...
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle---Twinkle
Stars in Stereo
Troubadour
W. Hollywood, CA
Set List (4/22/12):
1. Dealing Secrets
2. All Together
3. Red-eyed Romance
4. Closer (Nine Inch Nails cover)
5. At The Stroke Of Midnight
6. Violence
7. The Broken
8. Every Last Thing
Stars In Stereo
Tour Dates
May 12 - Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 13 - Albany, NY @ Northern Lights (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 15 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Living Arts (The Used/Dead Sara)
May 16 - Huntington, NY @ Paramount (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 18 - Providence, RI @ Lupo's (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 19 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 21 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 22 - Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 23 - Charlotte, NC @ Fillmore (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 30 - Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
May 31 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 01 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 03 - Winnipeg, CAN @ Garrick (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 05 - Edmonton, CAN @ Starlite (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 06 - Calgary, CAN @ Macewan (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 09 - Vancouver, CAN @ Vogue (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 10 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 11 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre (w/ The Used & Dead Sara)
Jun 15 – Indianapolis, IN @ Deluxe; Old National Ctr (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 17 – Des Moines, IA @ Wolly's (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 19 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 20 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 22 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rock (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 24 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Coach House (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 25 – Las Vegas, NV @ Aruba Hotel & Spa (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 27 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jun 29 – Knoxville, TN @ The Valarium (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 02 – Columbia, SC @ New Brooklyn Tavern (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 03 – Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 05 – Richmond, VA @ Canal Club (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 06 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 07 – Springfield, MA @ Pearl Street (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 08 – Manchester, NH @ Rocko’s (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 10 – Toledo, OH @ Mickey Finn’s (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 11 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 12 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere’s (w/ Foxy Shazam)
Jul 14 - Kenosha, WI @ The Brat Stop (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 15 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 18 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 21 - Hartford, CT @ The Webster (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 23 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligan’s Music Hall (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 25 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 26 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 27 - Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s (w/ Hoobastank)
Jul 31 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rock (w/ Hoobastank)
Aug 01 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch (w/ Hoobastank)
(Stars In Stereo Troubadour photos by Picksysticks)
