Fresh-faced surf-punk-fuzz rockers Stereo Confession ride Winona

These tender, doe-eyed youngsters aren’t the punk skaters down your street.  Well, maybe they are, but Stereo Confession is also a pretty cool fuzzed out surf-punk band making some waves (no pun intended) in the Minneapolis music scene.  I actually got a chance to see these guys a couple years back at Mid West Music Fest when they were still a fairly new act with a somewhat different sound and line-up.  But in just a year, they’ve come pretty far and are playing out and getting some regular play on The Current. They’re here to chat about their new album and being young and you can also see them live at Ed’s (no name) Bar tonight with some local favorites The Weathered Heads and Kelly Blau of Jaybone Bell & Restless Light.

The Interview Part:

I think we get a little bit of attention for being 17, but mainly people just kind of think of us as another band now in the local scene

So, I actually met you (Max) back in 2013 at Mid West Music Fest. I went to see your set because you guys were on The Noisy Neighbor artist sampler with your song “Her Name”. You also happened to be Courtney’s cousin (for The Noisy Neighbor reader…that’s the bass player in my band The Ultrasounds). As I remember, it was quite the family affair at the now defunct DIBS Cafe that night. You had all kinds of people down for Mid West Music Fest 2013. Does your whole family always come to your shows?

Haha, that was definitely an interesting show. We almost never have that many family members coming out to shows like that. The reason we had so many people out that night from our family was because both the Ultrasounds and SC were playing the same night, so they were able to see both bands. It just worked out so conveniently. Not to trash the family or anything, but it’s definitely a little weird when most of your audience is only your relatives, if you know what I mean.

How much has changed from then to now in terms of the Stereo Confession people are hearing?

Even since just about a year ago, we have changed into a completely different band. The band you may have seen at Dib’s is not the same Stereo Confession you will be seeing at Ed’s on Friday. We switched around some members in the lineup, and are now a 5 piece! Also, our sound changed up a bunch. We kinda ditched the whole pop punk thing we had going, and got heavily influenced to do like a trashy Beach Boys shindig. It’s definitely way more fun to be playing these songs nowadays just because it’s more of what we’ve always wanted to play in the long run.

I’ve heard “Video Games” and “Hang Ten” and I’m really liking the hooks and the slick production. Where and how did you guys record it?

Thank you! We record with our main dude Ed Ackerson at Flowers Studios in Uptown, Minneapolis. He’s a very chill dude and he also just signed us onto his label Susstones to release our first record. Ed’s always been good to us and he’s worked with some big names (The Replacements, The Jayhawks, Polara) so it’s really cool that he’s also choosing to work with us. We recorded the record over about a 5 day period in his studio. We kind of just got all our shit done in like one or two takes and gave the rest of the time to him to work on stuff. We’re all very productive when in the studio together, that’s for sure.

When does the full album come out, what’s it called, and what can we expect?

Our debut comes out on October 14th on Susstones like I said earlier! It’s called No Coast, and it’s pretty much an album about dealing with girls and hanging with our crew…nothing more, nothing less. We’ll be celebrating next Sunday the 12th in the 7th Street Entry with France Camp, Some Pulp and The Bombshells though and it’s sure to be a good time!

You guys are still really young. Is that a good thing or a bad thing or both?

Ahhh, being young is terrible. I’d love to be even like 19 or something. Being 17 sucks though for so many reasons. The problem with being young is that we are not allowed to play a majority of 21 plus shows, which is very stressful because many bands come through Minneapolis and only play 21 plus shows. We’ve definitely not been allowed to play with a few of our favorite artists for that very reason. I think we get a little bit of attention for being 17, but mainly people just kind of think of us as another band now in the local scene.

Who in the band has the best fake ID?

Hahaha, fake ID’s…surprisingly no one has a fake ID in SC. I’ve always thought about getting one just so that I could go to shows on my own, but I’m so close to 18 at this point that I might as well wait. I can’t vouch for the other guys though. We aren’t badass, that’s for sure. We are not proactive about anything except like getting shows and ripping through tunes we like to play.

I heard you’ve got Theo, the bassist from the late La Crosse, WI favorite Neon playing with you. How long has he been involved and how did that come about?

Dude! We actually connected with Theo for the first time in Winona! When we played that set at Dib’s at MWMF, Neon were playing later in the night. And they got tons of buzz and we ended up friending each other on Facebook. All of a sudden, he was talking about moving to Minneapolis and I was like, DUDE, we need a bass player! He’s such a good bass player and we are so lucky to have snatched him before any other bands did. Theo only just joined in March so he’s still relatively new.

Upcoming local gigs:

Who: The Weathered Heads with Stereo Confession & Kelly Blau
When: Friday, October 3rd at 9:30pm
Where: Ed’s (no name) Bar