Philly rockers stellastarr* are back in town tonight for an appearance at North Star Bar. Street writer Alex Kwan sat down for a phone interview with lead singer and guitarist Michael Jurin and talked about New York's "Sixth Burough", stellastarr*'s new album and the state of the biz.
Street: Hey Michael, good to grab you in between sets. You guys are out in California, right?
Michael Jurin: Yeah, we finished San Diego yesterday and it was a long day man. I woke up at four o'clock in the morning, flew to San Diego, played the show, drove up to LA; 24 hour day of running around.
Street: Crazy. I heard you guys are going up to San Francisco. I saw you guys play there about two years ago at Popscene.
MJ: Oh Really? Right on. I remember that show. Small and sweaty. I liked it.
Street: A good night. I had "Sweet Troubled Soul" stuck in my head for about a week after. More importantly, you guys are going to be in Philly on February 15th, at the North Star Bar. Have you guys played there before?
MJ: Yeah, good old North Star Bar. We played there way back. I really like the place.
Street: Your from Philly right? I would assume Northern Liberties.
MJ: (laughter) No. I grew up right outside of the city and lived here for about 8 years at around 2nd and Bainbridge. Northern Liberties was a little pre-deco. (more laughter) This was back in like '92 to '99 and Northern Liberties was trying to give away apartments practically. You would look in the paper and it would be like "CHEAP RENT HERE", but you were like 'Shoot its in Northern Liberties.' But now you go there and there is this lively, active community.
Street: Yeah, that all changed with that 6th borough New Yorker article.
MJ: That's right. Philadelphia is the 6th borough. Yeah, we definitely feel the area. All the demos that we've done recently were recorded all down in Philadelphia.
Street: Really, so when can we expect a new album?
MJ: (Laughter) That's a good question. We have to A) finish recording and B) find a way to release it because we have just stepped away from our previous Record Label, RCA.
Street: So are you looking for a new label?
MJ: Well, I guess we are looking for a new way of doing things. RCA is good people, but we had to leave. So now we're looking for something else. Maybe a small indie label that will give us the money to tour and do all the things we want to do without all the hubub. Big record labels have way to much hubub.(laughs)
Street: So you left Philly and went up to Brooklyn and started stellastarr*?
MJ: Yeah, Brooklyn is basically where I learned how to advertise for a band. Back then, the internet wasn't what it used to be, so with stellastar* we had a guerilla tactic with advertising. We basically stickered the whole entire city and advertised everywhere to the create the effect of intrigue.
Street: Especially with the little asterisk at the end of the name.
MJ: Yeah, people saw our name enough so that they were like, 'I've heard of that band. Maybe I should check them out.'
Street: Well I assume Brooklyn's a hard music scene to break into.
MJ: Yeah there are definitely circle, factions, and niches, but we kept to it and eventually it grew organically. But Brooklyn still has a pretty eclectic music scene. The other night I saw this folksy band with roots in Punk rock. Imagine, aggression in banjo playing and tambourines. Brooklyn definitely still has an avant-garde vibe.
Street: Ironically, that music still is available to a lot of people outside of the scene with the use of the internet and all.
MJ: Yeah, the internet is wonderful in the way that your record doesn't even need to be released somewhere and yet some people actually know your music, and be able to get a copy of it.
Street: But isn't the flipside that you're losing record sales due to illegal downloading?
MJ: That's true, and it can be very annoying. But so many bands out there are at the level where any exposure whatsoever is good. After hearing you online, people may buy tickets for your show or a t-shirt or future record. It's a good way to get fans, and frankly everyone illegally downloads music these days. Its impossible to stop because there is no bases to tell people to stop when they don't even own CD players anymore but just mp3 players. Bands, like us, just had to learn to adapt and that's why we released our song, "Warchild," online only in streaming form.
Street: What about forums like iTunes?
MJ: Well, online store like iTunes are easy to work out contracts with and I guess they're good because people are actually paying for your music. So you see a little money coming that way, and you get a little more exposure. But when you buy music online, you really miss out on all the things that come with buying the CD; the packaging, the front booklet, the artwork, even the materialistic pleasure of buying a complete work. I don't want to hear a band's song randomly on a mix. I want to hear the song in the right context and atmosphere, where somebody said 'This is what it should sound like.' It gives you a lot better idea of who the band is, so sometimes downloading devalues music. People work hard, really hard, to master, record and produce their music. It's a little cheapening when someone can download all of that for 99 cents online in the lowest audio quality. Why record so well if everyone is going to listen to music on the lowest-fi possible in mp3s. You know?
Street: So what keeps artists to sticking with playing in a band? Is it the touring?
MJ: Yeah, in essence touring provides both the visceral and direct connection of playing music and it might just also allow the artist to pay their rent because you see pennies with record labels.
Street: So do venues really have an effect on your connection with the audience.
MJ: Well, I like those really intimate packed shows where crowds are crammed in and there are kids who fought their way up hanging over the stage. You get worse sound, but you feel more connected with the audience. It's also really fun to play in big venues with other bands. There was this huge concert in Hyde park where we played with James Brown and its fun to get to know some other bands like The Editors and Ravenettes. Music shouldn't be a competition.
Street: Definitely, it loses its magic. Are you guys going for a new sound with your upcoming music?
MJ: Well, Harmonies For the Haunted, was really about space and atmosphere, and with our new songs I guess we are conveying an aggressive feeling that there is
a media secret. I don't know if that makes sense. (chuckling laughter)
