Ottawa native Kirk Stanton , formerly of local seminal rock bandParanoid Delusions and present-day electro-gurus lovenbodyparts , came to Montreal in 2001 seeking high-adventure. He finally found it this year when he was introduced to drummer Michael Rien through his friends in Montreal’s foremost icono-pump math-rock group All Kinds , whom Michael continues to work with.
After having taken his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music at Concordia University, Michael immersed himself in music entirely. Working with the likes of Jeff Nystrom (Producer: April Wine), reggae-soul diva Tamashi , and Orthodox Jewish Elvis Tributist Schmelvis , he finely tuned his skills from as many angles as possible in preparation for his monumental meeting with destiny.
And yet, Kirk and Michael’s first session together taught them that, though they “had ‘it’†when it came to talent, creativity, “the look†and such – they really had no idea whatsoever when it came to handling technology. Enter Raff…
He may be most visible as the Tony Ezzy guitar ninja, but Raphael Rosenwald is accustomed to wearing many hats around town. In the mid-1990s, he ran the recording studio of the legendary CRSG Radio station, alongside Jennifer Hollet of MuchMusic fame. Notable clients included Arcade Fire star Regine Chassagne and The Dears , who released some of these sessions on Nor The Dahlias .
Having completed a university education in music, Raphael has played guitar, bass, drums and keyboards as well as designing visuals and directing videos for many bands and projects over the years. He composed the elaborate score for Heather Cameron 's performance of Boney Bones at the National Theatre School of Canada .
The three began experimenting and tracking sessions for what would become The Stone Rocket ’s October 2006 release – the Launch EP , featuring the intense, original “progressed rock†tracks “ So Far †and “ The Way Back Home â€. These two tracks are the pre-production demos for the upcoming full-length release The Stone Rocket: Faster Than the Speed of Shadows . Kirk, Michael and Raphael are presently booked into The Furnace Studios in downtown Montreal, hard at work on the upcoming release.
With the formation of Vortex Intercosmic Records , as well as an as-yet-unnamed Publishing and Merchandizing company, in the Autumn of 2006, The Stone Rocket are busy preparing for a Canada-wide release of Faster Than the Speed of Shadows for the Spring of 2007. Elaborate tour and promotional plans are also in the works. Watch Out!
