Episode 018 : The Stairs
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Few bands can claim to be born because of a lawsuit settlement with a local cable operator, but that's indeed the case for The Stairs. The lucky recipients of a grant from this settlement helped a group of aspiring musicians begin to give their music some shape, and the recordings developed into their debut, Miraculous Happens, released in 2001. An EP, Chime Away followed in 2003 and The Stairs released their third CD, On Sleep Lab, on June 21.
The week before I interviewed The Stairs, however, I went on their web site to discover that they just announced their imminent break up--and right before this third release hits the racks.
Sad, yes, but even sadder given that their new CD is their best yet: an epic undertaking that blows away many productions with much bigger budgets.
Although I generally hate comparing bands to others, here I can't resist: think Brian Wilson producing a reunited Pavement, with a little assistance from Jeff Tweedy (on one of his more experimental days) being alternately backed up by The Fall, The Velvet Underground, and Camper Van Beethoven. All that and a shoestring budget and a request "to make it all sound huge."
The band, Eric Meyer (drums), Leeore Schnairsohn (bass + vocals), Evan Sicuranza (vocals + guitar), Sean Spada (keyboards), and Ryan Walsh (vocals + guitar), have decided to close this chapter on The Stairs as both Sicuranza and Schnairsohn are heading to California and New Jersey for grad degrees and Spada is relocating to New York as a session musician.
I recently met with Schnairsohn, Sicuranza, and Walsh at the home of Ed Morneau, once a high school teacher to several band members and always a supporter of the band, to discuss:
* what brought about the band's abrupt end and how the band will be signing off during "the final summer of The Stairs"
* how the band uses its low-tech, low-budget approach to record their ambitious CDs
* what the songs on On Sleep Lab are really about--and remember, you heard it here first...
Plus a Well-Rounded Rave from Andrea Kremer on Mike Viola and his work with Candy Butchers. Andrea created and runs The Boston Pop Undergound, a live music series featuring the best local and national indie/alt-pop artists.
Photo Credit: Kendall Smith
Samples from The Stairs' CDs featured in the Well-Rounded Radio Interview include:
1) (in preview) These Damn Hands (On Sleep Lab)
2) Oh! Sunday Morning (On Sleep Lab)
3) This Town Let Me Down (On Sleep Lab)
4) Escape Clause (On Sleep Lab)
5) She's a Butterfly (Miraculous Happens)
6) Forty-Two (Miraculous Happens)
7) Queen of Mixed Signals (Miraculous Happens)
8) Most Valuable Pop (Miraculous Happens)
9) Stop Me, Stop Me, Stop Me Before I Get Creative (Chime Away)
10) Smoking Armada (On Sleep Lab)
11) Don't Abandon Your Band (On Sleep Lab)
12) Bug Hospital (On Sleep Lab)
13) Welcome to Confusion (On Sleep Lab)
14) I Make Maps (Chime Away)
If you like The Stairs, give a listen to the Well-Rounded Radio Interviews with The Baskervilles and Mark Dwinell.
The Stairs CDs are available direct from the band.
Leeore recommends: Okkervil River .
Ryan and Evan recommend: Ho-Ag, Choo Choo La Rouge, and Machine Go Boom.
Andrea of the Mike Viola and Candy Butchers.
