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Biographies // There have been a few different versions of the 'official band biography' as time has passed, so here's each version that I've come across or had sent to me... The newest version is at the top, oldest on the bottom, not too hard to figure out. I'm sure that some day when I'm fixing little things - tidying - I'll move these onto their own pages, as this is a lot of text for one frame. But until then, whatever. :D


Band Biography 3: October 29th, 2002 //

  Stereo 360 is one of the hottest new outfits to come out of one of the hardest music markets in the world: Los Angeles. Fusing honest, introspective lyrics with loud, clear rock rhythms, Stereo 360 has something to say to anyone who will listen and is not afraid to say it.   Gearing up to release their first full-length album, tentatively titled 'Enjoy Your Life Poolside' on their label, Baby Pea Records, Stereo 360 is on the verge of making a profound musical imprint upon the industry. Their songs come to life as illustrations of the band's philosophy and challenge listeners to take intimate looks into their own lives. Produced by Ryan Greene (NoFx, Tonic), the album is poised to make a booming impact within the industry. "They have the ability to get across a song that can rock hard with some pop like vocals that seem to fit like a glove," says Keith Hannaleck of Muzikman. With songs like 'Beautiful,' 'Sick of You,' 'California,' and 'Superstar,' the band is here to prove themselves as unique artists.
  "Musically, I think this record is going to tell people that we want to rock and everyone is invited," says lead singer Shad Hills. "We want to get things back to the basics. I think the vast majority is starting to get tired of what I call 'laminated rock bands.' It's never a good thing when the packaging becomes more important than the art."
  Hills wrote nearly 200 songs before entering the studio in early 2002. Recorded over a two-month stint in studios in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the album features guest performances by extraordinary keyboardist Arlan Schierbaum on the Hammond B3 organ and Wurlitzer. The band plans on releasing the album in mid-December 2002 or January 2003 via their official website, as well as other major online distribution channels. The album will be available in regional record stores as interest grows. This project is not the first attempt at recording, however, for this driven band. This road is one that all members have been down at least a time or two before.
  1999 saw the release of the group's first ever studio EP, Vegas Mechanics. The album became an instant hit among fans and critics. In 2001, the band, then known as The Shad Hills Band, changed their name to Iroquois Stealth Pilots and released yet another EP, Sick of You. Sensing confusion among the industry in separating ISP, the nickname created by fans around the world, from 'STP,' the Stone Temple Pilots moniker, the boys decided to change their name forever. Now Stereo 360, the name stems from vinyl album covers from the sixties and seventies that bore the 'Stereo 360 sound' imprint. The first release under the new name was 2002's Quadruple, and the disc generated mass attention from both major labels and other larger independent labels.
  Not a surprise for a group of guys who have been preparing for this their whole lives. Stereo 360's formation began nearly twenty years ago in Canada. Shad, a young expatriate from Vancouver, British Columbia, grew up listening to his parents' favorite records, and was influenced by legendary artists such as Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Tom Petty. His younger brother, Shane, expressed a keen interest in music as well, and together the brothers forged a musical relationship that has lasted throughout most of their lives. While both were in their early twenties, Shad and Shane made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles, California. Telling customs officials they were simply crossing the border for gas, the two kept driving and never looked back.
  Their drive for success led them to successful stints with several bands. While both were in Atlanta-based band Cool for August, they were signed for a brief time to Warner Brothers Records, and released one full-length album, Grand World, in 1997. The experience led to opening acts with popular groups such as Third Eye Blind, Matchbox Twenty, Sevendust, Creed, and Cheap Trick. The album was received well by both critics and fans but the brothers decided to pack up and move back to Los Angeles. Now skittish of major labels, Shad decided to take his career, both musically and personally, into his own hands. In 2000, he created his own label, Baby Pea Records.
  Already including a full-time staff of four people, the label uses the advantages of internet technology to market the band. It nurtures positive relationships inside the music industry by maintaining a good reputation and upholding their standard of quality music.   With Baby Pea's formation complete, Shad and Shane, known by fans as Moon, began the search once again for new band members, and their efforts proved worthwhile. They joined forces with Trevor Zimmerman, a bassist from Fairfax, Virginia, and Luis Galdames, a guitarist originally from Washington, D.C. The dynamic of the band now complete, Stereo 360 was ready to take on the world.
  Using marketing skills gained from years of experience, Shad quickly managed to create a solid interest in the band by forming close, personal relationships with fans around the world. Says Shad: "Someone once said, 'My favorite records found me.' Those are the people that we are trying to hit." In the last year, the band has distributed more than twenty thousand CD samplers, and the response has been overwhelming. That success has helped create an international fan base in the thousands.
  Believing in the selling power of live performance, the band misses no opportunity to entertain in one of Los Angeles's many venues. Whether performing at Johnny Depp's popular Viper Room, or at the band's favorite, The Knitting Factory, Stereo 360 manages to embrace a firm following through their music. "The live show is high energy, especially with Moon behind the kit," says Shad. "We perform straight from the heart and don't f--- around with any pretense. We are a rock and roll band and that's what we deliver. If you want aliens coming from prosthetic stomachs, or want something to break, Korn and Limp Bizkit are for you."
  If anyone knows the stresses of trying to find their niche in an already-drenched industry, it is Stereo 360. They're not worried though. "It's an honor to be playing with the guys in Stereo 360," says Moon. "Everyone is so talented and brings something completely different to the table. I appreciate the fact that these are the guys I get to play, create, and hang out with on a regular basis." Adds Shad: "The music is always the glue that keeps bands together and sometimes that isn't even enough. A band is like any marriage - it takes a lot of hard work and compromise - you have to ask yourself sometimes if it's worth it - in this case it is."
  For any of the critics of the band hoping to discourage them even the slightest bit, Luis has this to say: "Keep writing about us. It only makes us stronger." Enough said.


Band Biography 2: no title //

Release: (Quadruple) 4 Song EP.
Label: (Baby Pea Records) 2002
Style: Rock/Alt Pop

  This is the real deal. How cliché is that phrase starting to sound? It seems as though every new band that comes along is revered and hailed as the next real deal since the last real deal. Frankly, it’s getting old, and I think that we can all send a message to the Major PR and Publicity companies to ease up a little. We get it.
  Stereo 360 is a Los Angeles band that hasn’t even recorded a full-length album yet, and has still managed to sell thousands of CD’s and attracts a worldwide fan following based solely on the songs that they recorded for demos. Recorded and mixed by Producer Ryan Greene (NoFx) in San Francisco while Stereo 360 took turns sleeping on the studio floor and fighting over the couch, the band was able to squeeze out what arguably could be among the best Rock n Roll demos ever recorded. No bells and whistles. Just songs. Now if that isn’t real?
  The sound of Stereo 360 is the result of being pounded over and over again by the disappointments in life and getting right back up again. We’re not losers, our fans are not losers, and we don’t play for losers. Stereo 360 are here to inflict painful enjoyment onto their fans, and ignore the doubters.
  Lead singer/songwriter Shad Hills has been known to write up to as many as 15 choruses for a single song. It is that kind of prolific songwriting penmanship that is bringing comparisons to Ryan Adams (former Whiskeytown front man), has landed them a title track in a feature film, and has Publishing companies nipping at their heels. The band has compiled a catalog of songs that will keep them recording until the year 3000. Hills’ vocal and songwriting skills aside, Stereo 360 is very much a group. Hills injects plenty of passion as his band surrounds him with guitar driven tuneful Alt-pop. Now if that isn’t enough on its own, the band consists of guitarist Luis Galdames, who is a powerful songwriter in his own right and the pair, make for a formidable duo. Rounding out the line-up is Moon on drums, which has to be seen to believe. Moon’s style has brought comparisons to the legendary drummer in which he shares the same name – Keith Moon. Tall order? Ask David Lovering, drummer for the influential Pixies, who has been seen at countless Stereo 360 shows a gaze at Moon’s performance. Check it out for yourself. And finally, Trevor (Z) Zimmerman on bass. The Z man is as cool and laid back as Adam Clayton from U2. Relaxed? Yes. A sleeper? Hardly!
  They have been thrust as of late on to the Los Angeles music scene where they have been performing at the Knitting factory, El Rey Theater and the Opium Den.
  Stereo 360 are four close friends who began assembling together at the Downtown rehearsal building in downtown Los Angeles sometime in 1999 to start a rock 'n' roll band. They paid for demos and rehearsal time by taking part-time jobs, selling off vintage music equipment and even donating blood platelets twice a month for the donor fee. Together on stage at a Stereo 360 show you will see and hear: vocalist/songwriter Shad Hills sashaying rather loosely across the stage, drummer Moon trying to beat his drums into the stage floor furiously, guitarist Luis Galdames bouncing feverishly on his feet while delivering atmospheric guitar lines and bassist Trevor (Z) Zimmerman lurking on the stage with a powerful and captivating calmness while reeling background vocals at the fans.
  Songs “Vasoline Mouth” and “Sick of You” have gained extreme attention from fans all over the world, most notably in the UK. These songs have been downloaded thousands of times from both the bands Official Site and Street Team site. Clearly enough downloads to chart favorably on the most recognizable Mp3 websites. These songs also mark the return of the guitar as the instrument of the moment.
  The band is reaping comparisons and is being hailed as the next Cheap Trick of our generation. Could it possibly be that we have truly found the next best American Rock & Roll band. We’re not going to hire a Publicity company to shove that down your throat. Listen for yourself.
  “We are going to put out quality records for our fans - not records with one good song,” which seems to be the excepted norm these days as it is now considered an asset in pop to not have any performing talent.
  Since the inception of the band, Stereo 360 have been engrossed in a torrid love affair with their fans - the likes of which even the most successful national acts never get to experience.
  Hills and his band are now poised to deliver their own brand of vibrant and visceral Rock & Roll that will lead us through the next decade.
  "Fans come up to us after each show and tell us how much they’ve enjoyed themselves and how much our songs mean to them, it's like winning the lottery night after night."
  Stereo 360 are signed to their own label imprint Baby Pea Records. Their main creative object is to tour until they drop and produce albums that slap you in the face and leave a red mark.
  In the parlance of our times, they, both the band and their music rock.
  A band like stereo 360 only comes along once in a lifetime. You should be grateful that they’ve come along in yours.


Band Biography 1: Meet STEREO 360. //

  L.A.'s hot new quartet led by notable singer-songwriter Shad Hills. Their main creative object is to tour until they drop and produce albums that slap you in the face and leave a red mark. The band cites The Cars, Blondie, Tom Petty, Rocky Burnette and the Replacements as major inspirations.
 Add equal parts 1970's pop sensibility and 1990's guitar driven alt/pop and you have a live show that explodes. "Our sound is today, but our vibe is yester-year," confesses Hills.
 In the U.S., members of STEREO 360 have opened up for such formidable international acts as Matchbox 20, Foofighters, Wallflowers, Creed and Cheap Trick. Their debut EP curiously titled Vegas Mechanics (Baby Pea), was co-produced by Hills and has been met with a warm embrace by fans both in the U.S. and outside of North America. In the parlance of our times, they, both the band and the album, rock.