Background Info

So, I was curious about different things. Just little things like their birthdays and background. We know about the schools and other things they've done besides music.

But does anyone have interesting facts about the band members they'd like to share?

I'd like to know random things too :D

This might be a dumb question, but how did they choose their name?

I'd like to know random things too :D

This might be a dumb question, but how did they choose their name?

I read something in a search that said Stella Starr was a classmate of Shawn's.

There's alot of searchable articles and such.

I just noticed this Urban Dictionary article... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stellastarr*

Hahaha!

yeah there are differnt articles and interviews you can find if you google stellastarr*. i've read that it's the name of a girl shawn went to school wth, and that he never knew her. They added an extra R and then the asterisk. So it's like star-star-star.

I'm going to post my findings in here if nobody minds

From http://www.ascap.com/poprock/memberprofiles/stellastarr.html

*Shawn Christensen was 18 when his parents bought him an acoustic guitar.

*Writing lyrics and music came pretty naturally to Christensen, but singing was another story. When he formed stellastarr* with friends bassist Amanda Tannen, drummer Arthur Kremer and guitarist Michael Jurin, Christensen didn’t start out on the mic. “I didn’t know how to sing. So I was auditioning female vocalists and feeding them lyrics,” Christensen says. “But my policy in music is if you don’t make it up yourself, then how can you really be truly 100 percent passionate about what you’re performing?” “So I kind of felt bad because why should they feel passionate about the lyrics they’re singing [if they didn’t write them?] So I just figured I’d sing temporarily until we found somebody,” Christensen says. “We just never really found anyone.”

*“Moongirl”
This song for a long time was just an instrumental song that I had written four years ago by myself. At the time I had nothing to say, but I felt like it was just a great riff on its own. I felt the music could breathe on its own without being [messed] up with vocals. And then later in stellastarr*, everyone liked the song.

At the time, I was really introverted and kind of a recluse. I couldn't really relate to a lot of the girls I was meeting. So I wrote lyrics to this song about a girl that doesn't exist -- from another planet. I felt that I could tag on those lyrics towards the end of the song so I wouldn't mess up the instrumental part. It sort of matched the mood for me because the song had kind of a space-like quality.

“Untitled”
This song is called “Untitled” because there was a time when I wasn’t interested in the titles of songs so our drummer Arthur was naming the songs for a while. I'd write the lyrics and then let him name them.

So he named that one “Untitled” for two reasons: no one could really agree on a title and because the song is about starting over and reintroducing yourself to the world – like someone without a name. Arthur thought “Untitled” was a metaphor for not having a name.

“My Coco”
“My Coco” is about those first few months when you meet somebody and everything's just new, great and spontaneous. You know when you start dating someone, and everything's great? It's giddy and amazing and explorative, and you can't wait till she calls you? Coco is actually an ex-girlfriend though that's not her real name… Eventually, the relationship started going in a downward spiral, and I lost all that initial giddiness…

“Jenny”
Jenny (that’s her real name) is a girl that, in my opinion, messed up one of my best friend's lives -- just by being a bad influence. So I just wrote a song about it.

I actually don't know either of them anymore. Up until the last year or so, I've never been able to write about a current event. So, when I wrote “Jenny” it was about something that had happened three years earlier. It was easy for me to reminisce and look back at it with a fresh view.

In a way, writing about past events is kind of like hiding because find yourself unable to write about what’s currently going on in your life. I needed to start doing that, and come out of hiding.

I knew arthur and shawn did some acting, like theatre and extras work. I found this interview with arthur, saying some specifics.

"D: So, I read that you and Shawn both did some acting. He mentioned theatre, and I read that you have had some film roles.

A: Yeah.

D: Is there anything that our readers or I might have seen you in?

A: I think Shawn did a Priceline commercial. He did a bunch of plays and actors' showcases. I did a whole bunch of plays myself, and a movie for A&E. It's called The Lost Battalion. "

http://tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=1558

From http://www.ugo.com/channels/music/features/stellastarr/amandatannen.asp

UGO: I guess the first question I have to ask is, what's up with the asterisk?

Amanda Tannen: (Laughs) Basically, it's kind of a way of making our name more like a band name or an object, instead of a person's name. Put the two - stella and star - together, add an r, and then kind of branded it with an asterisk, which is also kind of like a star. So it's like, star-star-star.

UGO: How technologically active is your band? Are you out there on the Internet a lot?

Amanda: Yeah. We're all...well, two of us are graphic designers, so we do all our own artwork, and helped design our web site. So, yeah, we're pretty technologically savvy. We keep track of all that stuff.

UGO: Whose idea was the whole karaoke element for the "My Coco" video?

Amanda: It was actually the director's idea. We basically wanted a video that was dance-y...light-hearted, but not too light-hearted, you know?

UGO: Are you guys big karaoke fans yourselves?

Amanda: We actually weren't until after. You know, we, like, did the video, and then had some promotional karaoke parties, and had a great time with them. Now, we're all big karaoke-ers.

UGO: What would be your favorite song to do?

Amanda: (Laughs) Well, I'm a Wham! fan. So I love doing "Careless Whisper."

From http://contactmusic.com/new/artist.nsf/0/B80E3BC6D452BE2C80256EAE003C59D9!opendocument&bio=full

Arthur also acted, landing a few film roles, but his main passion was graphic design; he's responsible for the band's album artwork concepts and logos. In fact, only during the recording sessions for stellastarr*s debut did Arthur feel comfortable adding "drummer" to his mental business card. Mandy also came into the band from a non-traditional angle, drawing on her years as a classically trained cellist while she explored the bass guitar.

So when the three friends formed their first band, Ghistor, they began with limited experience as rock musicians: Shawn had only spent about six months with the acoustic and the book of Dylan songs; Arthur was six weeks into his drumming career; and Mandy, despite her cello training, had never set fingers to strings on an electric bass. As artists, the trio had simply embarked on a new creative endeavor, albeit a short-lived one; Ghistor was the trial run.

In the spring of 2000, Shawn, Arthur, and Mandy reconvened in NYC after graduation and started to rekindle the musical flames, but they were acutely aware that the band's sound needed some fleshing out. As rock music coincidences go, the manner by which guitarist Michael Jurin joined the lineup is rather classic: Michael had recently moved to NY, leaving Charlotte’s Funeral, the band he fronted back home in Philadelphia. As fate would have it, the talented guitarist rented a room whose previous occupant had been none other than Arthur. Stopping by his previous abode to check for any lagging mail, Arthur discovered that a guitarist had taken over his old place. The two future bandmates got to talking and Arthur invited Michael to meet Shawn and Mandy. One jam session later, stellastarr* was born.

From: http://www.earlash.com/ft.php?featid=40
EL: Do you have any crazy show stories?

SC: Yeah, there are quite a few of them. One is that we went down to Philly to play this club that was listed in the newspaper as a club, and it turned out to be this frat house basement and there was actually a bill. There were three other bands and one of the bands was sort of touring around the US. And we went down to this basement, and there was this washing machine and dryer, and this one little light bulb that was about to die in the corner. That was the entire lighting, this one 60 watt light bulb. We set up our amps on top of the washers and dryers, and used a friend's drum kit, and just hit it. But there was turnout -- there were about 30 people there.

they should totally cover Careless Whisper for a single or something! I have an amazing Ben Folds version. that'd be amazing

they should totally cover Careless Whisper for a single or something! I have an amazing Ben Folds version. that'd be amazing

OMG! Where did you get that!? He did it when he was opening for Tori, and I've wanted it ever since!

*makes grabby hands* Pleeeeezzzzz. *puppy dog eyes*

Umm...Anyway....Back on topic:

Despite the repeated misspelling of Shawn's last name (which I doubt Amber cared about, being busy properly spelling Michael's name and drawing hearts around it, adding her own name, and such...LOL j/k)...I rather like the Teen People article and video interview found here:

http://www.teenpeople.com/teenpeople/article/0,22196,1129796,00.shtml

I like the recounting of the first practice, especially:

"JURIN (laughing): The first day of rehearsal, I stroll in with a nice big amplifier, a bunch of guitar pedals, a nice old vintage guitar, and stuff like that. We are in this tiny little corner of a bedroom and he (Arthur) looks like he is literally playing these cardboard boxes for drums and there were these amplifiers that are this (holds his hands about one foot apart) big they were singing out of and I was like 'Oh Boy, here we go. Not only do I not know anybody but I am going to blow them away!'"

(Update: I was nice enough to tell Amber I was making fun of her...lol...She corrected the spelling of Shawn's name. :D )

This might be a bit irrelvant but I didn't want to start a whole other topic for it. Does anyone know if they check their MySpace account? I see blogs shawn supposedly wrote, but do they have others check it? Because it's logged into everyday.

cool, i like how this thread is like a collection of interesting interview material...

i may have an opportunity to interview stellastarr* soon, so if any of you have any interesting interview questions or topics for the band, please post me some suggestions. (above question is noted.) thanks in advance.

cool, i like how this thread is like a collection of interesting interview material...

i may have an opportunity to interview stellastarr* soon, so if any of you have any interesting interview questions or topics for the band, please post me some suggestions. (above question is noted.) thanks in advance.


oOoOo... And how may you have this oppurtunity? That's so neat.

Oh yeah, favorite food! We all know the other details. Let's see things like fav foods... maybe even fav tv shows, places to shop, and favorite colors! Haha. Oh me.

ok, any other suggestions?

slighty offtopic from the last couple of posts, but a brief chronology of stellastarr* in the UK (this is off the top of my head, so feel free to correct any mistakes):

April 2003 - play first UK show at Camden Barfly. Supported by Ty Cobb, who later changed their name to Mad Action.
May 2003 - tour UK supporting The Raveonettes. play songs from s/t as well as 'Angela' and 'Stay Entertained'.
release 'Somewhere Across Forever', NME awards it Single Of The Week.
July 2003 - tour UK supporting Ash.
August 2003 - play a couple of small UK shows (notably London Garage supported by The Sun).
play 2nd on the Radio 1 Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals. Reading setlist: In The Walls | No Weather | Stay Entertained | A Million Reasons | Somewhere Across Forever | My Coco | Moongirl | Jenny
September 2003 - release 'Jenny', NME awards it Single Of The Week.
October 2003 - release 'Stellastarr*' in the UK. NME gives is 8/10.
tour UK supporting Jane's Addiction (notably a Halloween show at Brixton Academy)
November 2003 - first UK headlinging tour. support from The Ordinary Boys and The Twenty Twos. play songs from s/t as well as 'Arlington Queen'.
February 2004 - release 'My Coco'. NME awards it runner up for Single Of The Week.
second headlinging tour of the UK, including their biggest UK headlining show to date (at 1200-capacity Camden Electric Ballroom). support from The Killers. play songs from s/t as well as 'Underdressed'.
June 2004 - brief tour of the UK, including 2 nights at London Garage with support from The Subways.
play the New Band Tent at Glastonbury festival, just below headliners Television.
November/December 2005 - brief tour of the UK, including shows at London Metro and Club NME at Camden Koko. Support from The Sounds. play songs from s/t and HFTH.
February 2006 - Play NME Awards show at London Astoria, supporting The Bravery.
March 2006 - release 'Sweet Troubled Soul'. NME awards it runner up for Single Of The Week.
3-week headlining tour of the UK with support from The Twenty Twos, The Hourly Radio and Morning After Girls. play songs from s/t and HFTH as well as 'She's Gone'.
release 'Harmonies For The Haunted' in the UK. in an "infamous" review NME gives it 4/10.

October 2003 - release 'Stellastarr*' in the UK. NME gives is 8/10.
tour UK supporting Jane's Addiction (notably a Halloween show at Brixton Academy)

Janes tour was November. Halloween show kicked the tour off.

Still, fucking immense 3 weeks :) Stellastarr*'s best set was probably Doncaster or Nottingham

cool, i like how this thread is like a collection of interesting interview material...

i may have an opportunity to interview stellastarr* soon, so if any of you have any interesting interview questions or topics for the band, please post me some suggestions. (above question is noted.) thanks in advance.

If you were going to a desert island and could only take five albums, which would they be? (CD player and generator would also be provided). :)

cool, i like how this thread is like a collection of interesting interview material...

i may have an opportunity to interview stellastarr* soon, so if any of you have any interesting interview questions or topics for the band, please post me some suggestions. (above question is noted.) thanks in advance.

Joke question - Creed, Alter Bridge or Scott Stapp solo :D

Real Question - At the Drive In, The Mars Volta or Sparta

i think the story behing the name stellatarr* is...

Shawn didnt know her, he knew of her. She was a 15 year old girl who was seeing an older guy. She told him that he had got her pregnent, and was going to tell her mum and the police. He ended up commiting suicide because of this... but she wasnt actually pregnent.

Joke question - Creed, Alter Bridge or Scott Stapp solo :Dahaha!

Real Question - At the Drive In, The Mars Volta or Spartathat's a good one. i usually ask "sparta or the mars volta?" and then i zap them if they say TMV...j/k. :D

...and i might ask about top 5 albums or something related.
thanks, guys.

i think the story behing the name stellatarr* is...

Shawn didnt know her, he knew of her. She was a 15 year old girl who was seeing an older guy. She told him that he had got her pregnent, and was going to tell her mum and the police. He ended up commiting suicide because of this... but she wasnt actually pregnent.

bam, i found the thread http://www.stellastarr.com/ssmb/showthread.php?t=1418

the post by rennick is correct (as shawn confirms later)

I would ask each of them what the other's most annoying habits are

I would ask each of them what the other's most annoying habits are

Haha, yeah I like that one.

This stellastarr* Press Kit (http://www.plusonemusic.net/roster/stellastar/epk.pdf) should be of some help.

oOoOo... And how may you have this oppurtunity? That's so neat.i got to pre-record an interview with michael for my indie rock radio show and he was great. it needs to be slightly edited for fcc reasons, and then i will air the interview. i can let you know when, if you're interested.

I would ask each of them what the other's most annoying habits areI was gonna ask something opposite of that, but I didn't get a chance, as time was limited...maybe next time.

thanks again for the suggestions.

Yes I'm interested. Let us all know when and how we can hear it!

:)

Yes I'm interested. Let us all know when and how we can hear it!

:)


i second that

i second thatsure thing, thanks. :) i'm aiming for the first tuesday in may to celebrate my show's b-day.

ahaha!

that's a good one. i usually ask "sparta or the mars volta?" and then i zap them if they say TMV...j/k. :D

...and i might ask about top 5 albums or something related.
thanks, guys.

Yeah, its a non-question really. The answer is quite obviously The Mars Volta.

Yeah, its a non-question really. The answer is quite obviously The Mars Volta.we're gonna fight already. j/k. i respect the mars volta, but i just can't get into them. and i love sparta. their first album and live shows are intense! plus, jim and tony are some of the nicest guys i have EVER met. :)

and i didn't want to ruin it, but i did ask michael your question.

we're gonna fight already. j/k. i respect the mars volta, but i just can't get into them. and i love sparta. their first album and live shows are intense! plus, jim and tony are some of the nicest guys i have EVER met. :)

and i didn't want to ruin it, but i did ask michael your question.

That would be cool if you told him they were a couple questions from message board members! I want shawn to come back on already, snoop around and post something. :sigh: Hehe.

we're gonna fight already. j/k. i respect the mars volta, but i just can't get into them. and i love sparta. their first album and live shows are intense! plus, jim and tony are some of the nicest guys i have EVER met. :)

and i didn't want to ruin it, but i did ask michael your question.

Excellent!! Michael once jumped on and hugged me in 5th Avenue in Manchester after the 03-04-06 gig after chatting with him afterwards. Half a claim to fame :p What did he say?

I respect how nice Sparta are as people and the music is great (and good live too), and i'd kill for an ATDI reunion gig as they were just so incredibly beyond themselves.

But for me, The Mars Volta are the most forward thinking and progressive band since Pink Floyd.

but you can be forward thinking without being "prog" (i'm thinking Bloc Party, ¡Forward, Russia!, Alexisonfire...)

the first Mars Volta album was great, the second one was pretentious and damn near unlistenable. it's was the work of people who take too much heroin and have no-one telling them when they go overboard with their music.

what amazes me the most are the similarities between the ATD-I/Sparta/Mars Volta situation and the Libertines/Dirty Pretty Things/Babyshambles situation.

but you can be forward thinking without being "prog" (i'm thinking Bloc Party, ¡Forward, Russia!, Alexisonfire...)

the first Mars Volta album was great, the second one was pretentious and damn near unlistenable. it's was the work of people who take too much heroin and have no-one telling them when they go overboard with their music.

what amazes me the most are the similarities between the ATD-I/Sparta/Mars Volta situation and the Libertines/Dirty Pretty Things/Babyshambles situation.

Yes you can be forward without being prog, but TMV manage both which for me is a huge bonus.

Frances The Mute is infinitely worse than DeLoused (which about 6 albums have topped, ever) but is still a great listen, provided you have a spare 90 mins and a lot of LSD.

I see no similarity between the situtation in the eternally shite Libs/Things/Shambles joke and the atdi/sparta/tmv situation.

I've a feeling this may run for a bit.

well firstly let me just say that i don't think (and never have thought) that the libertines are as good as atd-i. i just think the circumstances in which both bands split up, and the consequent fallout were very similar.

both bands broke up at their peaks because the creative forces pulled in opposite directions.
the more public of the two dwelved deeper into their heroin and crack addictions (with Pete this is pretty obvious, Cedric has also freely admitted it), surrounded themselves by fellow junkies and yes-men, frequently changed their lineup, and wrote an album that hinted at their considerable talents but was often incoherent and self-indulgent (with TMV this is probably truer regarding the 2nd album).
the less public of the two went for a more low-key approach and attempt to get back to basics. they released a solid if uninspiring debut.

one side got most of the limelight follwoing the breakup, but lost focus of what made the original group so interesting. the other side maintained the pop sensibilities but lost the sense of danger that made the orginial group so exciting.

the sum of both post-breakup bands is less than the whole of the original group.


so that's how i see the similarities between the two situations.
(rant over)

well firstly let me just say that i don't think (and never have thought) that the libertines are as good as atd-i. i just think the circumstances in which both bands split up, and the consequent fallout were very similar.

both bands broke up at their peaks because the creative forces pulled in opposite directions.
the more public of the two dwelved deeper into their heroin and crack addictions (with Pete this is pretty obvious, Cedric has also freely admitted it), surrounded themselves by fellow junkies and yes-men, frequently changed their lineup, and wrote an album that hinted at their considerable talents but was often incoherent and self-indulgent (with TMV this is probably truer regarding the 2nd album).
the less public of the two went for a more low-key approach and attempt to get back to basicsthey released a solid if uninspiring debut..

one side got most of the limelight follwoing the breakup, but lost focus of what made the original group so interesting. the other side maintained the pop sensibilities but lost the sense of danger that made the orginial group so exciting.

the sum of both post-breakup bands is less than the whole of the original group.


so that's how i see the similarities between the two situations.
(rant over)

Everything in bold i agree with.

Regards to Frances the Mute - I can totally listen to it and adore every single note of it. It hits me as an album that has taken on the experimentality of a TMV gig and applied it to record. It's the underrated follow up record. A step on from the debut but not in the same vein.

I also don't see TMV as being surrounded by yes-men or losing sight of the original interest. If anything, interest in the band peaked in 2004 in between albums and the band are as much in charge over the direction as ever...the speculation regarding what the new record may contain was intense.

I'm also going to get laughed at for saying that Omar is the best guitarist i've known of since Hendrix. Fucker is dynamite live.

totally agree on the Omar point. that guy made me want to pick up a guitar and make fucked up noise. and he's the best thing about their live show (and was the best thing about atd-i live)

totally agree on the Omar point. that guy made me want to pick up a guitar and make fucked up noise. and he's the best thing about their live show (and was the best thing about atd-i live)
Sadly i never saw ATDI live, but ive heard their Live on Jules Holland performance is one of the best ever put to camera. I try find as much live footage of them as i can from LimeWire.

The man is a god. If he were fairly mainstream, the press would be doing handstands naked.

I used to have a video of the Jools Holland performance, I was obsessed with it after seeing it one a Jools Holland highlights edition. It's the most amazing clip you'll ever see. A band truly on the verge of a breakup. Omar and Cedric give up completely about halfway through 'One Armed Scissor' and just jump around and smash equipment, while the other 3 are trying desperately to hold it together. Jim Ward tries to do both vocals while Cedric is just screaming crap into the mic. Amazing...
Will try to find the video and post it here.

I used to have a video of the Jools Holland performance, I was obsessed with it after seeing it one a Jools Holland highlights edition. It's the most amazing clip you'll ever see. A band truly on the verge of a breakup. Omar and Cedric give up completely about halfway through 'One Armed Scissor' and just jump around and smash equipment, while the other 3 are trying desperately to hold it together. Jim Ward tries to do both vocals while Cedric is just screaming crap into the mic. Amazing...
Will try to find the video and post it here.

I've got some live stuff (astoria, sydney etc) thats good but not as good as im hoping that is.

Cosmonaut at the Astoria is absolutely incredible. You've got me there mate, they have twice the intensity that The Mars Volta do. In comparison, TMV seem very calculated and under control onstage. ATDI aree all leaping about like diseased apes.


You'd be amazed at how much porn comes up when you type 'At The Drive In' into LimeWire

found it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE9paClfRkk


Edit:
even better - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFME1Huz108

found it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE9paClfRkk


Edit:
even better - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFME1Huz108*jawdrop*
amazing, thank you for sharing...tho, a little off the thread topic. ;)

so i've decided to air my interview with michael on may 2nd. more details soon...

found it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE9paClfRkk


Edit:
even better - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFME1Huz108

You're a fucking genius mate.

I've got a full concert from the Relationship of Command era, they open with Arcarsenal. MSN me and i'll try send it over that. Its fucking stunning.

They all have afro's....

I used to have a their full Brixton Academy gig from the Relationship... era, it's actually a little disappointing. Best bit is when the spend the first 5 minutes of the gig talking about how they're an "equal opportunities" band. how the crowd should only do "up and down" and if they see them doing "side to side" they'll stop the show. how can you write a song like Mannequin Republic and then expect people not to mosh?

I used to have a their full Brixton Academy gig from the Relationship... era, it's actually a little disappointing. Best bit is when the spend the first 5 minutes of the gig talking about how they're an "equal opportunities" band. how the crowd should only do "up and down" and if they see them doing "side to side" they'll stop the show. how can you write a song like Mannequin Republic and then expect people not to mosh?

Mannequin Republic, The best ATDI song. You kow, i think i've found a soul mate :D

I think thats the gig i downloaded last night actually...I thought the start and finish were great but the middle kind of lost something. The stage looked a but small for Brixton though.

Mannequin Republic, The best ATDI song. You kow, i think i've found a soul mate :D

I think thats the gig i downloaded last night actually...I thought the start and finish were great but the middle kind of lost something. The stage looked a but small for Brixton though.you two should get a room...or at least start a thread for ATDI/TMV/Sparta in any other section than for stellastarr*...i'd visit. :D

and sorta back on track, i posted about how to listen to my interview with michael in another thread.