THE STRANDED LADS

ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY ANDREW JOHN. That statement alone sums up what the core foundation of The Stranded Lads was all about, the songwriting of Andrew John. With one of the most prolific and hefty outputs of any artist anywhere, let alone the late eighties/early nineties St. Louis music scene, he continues to this day to write, record, and perform music for the "mind and soul" without ever losing the infectious hook sensibility that makes it so listenable. His teaming up in 1987 with versatile guitarist and producer Bill Christy (who has since dropped the "Bill" and goes by Lliam) helped set the course for the Lads future as being recognized and lauded for the quality of musicianship as much as they were for the quality of songwriting. That same year, the Lads (which at the time consisted of Drew, Bill, Rich Rohrbach on drums, and Bill Solomon on bass) released their Bill Christy produced, self titled, debut offering, THE STRANDED LADS (a.k.a. "the blue tape"), to an impressionable and ready audience. Filled with Beatle-like pop hooks and short, fun, to-the-point song structures, this recording would prove to be influential to many of the bands that would later help form the thriving St. Louis music scene of the early nineties. By 1988, the lineup would change to include Drew, Bill, the unique bass/Chapman Stick playing of ex-Eyes bassist Steve Hanock, and the revered and talented drumming of Tony Saputo. Although songwriting was strong and steady at this time, and gigs were plentiful, no release would feature this much appreciated lineup (only demos). Bill and Tony would contribute, however, to the first Andrew John solo recording, ANOTHER WORLD (released in 1991). Tragically, just prior to it's release, Tony (touring with Reba McEntyre at the time) was taken from us in the ill-fated plane crash that would claim the lives of most of her band (including three of St. Louis' most loved musicians). It was a dark time, but the release of ANOTHER WORLD offered hope. Although considered a solo recording, many of those songs would become future staples of the Lads live sets (a pattern being born for future solo projects). It was in September of 1991, when a few chance meetings led to the addition of up and coming drummer Jerry Saracini (ex-Janus Avenue) to the fold. With this change, the band really began to gel and started covering a wider spectrum of musical territory. Drew's writing was really opening up at this time. Without abandoning the pop hook mentality, the songs moved to sometimes darker, sometimes more epic arrangements and musicianship and arranging were made a more focused ingredient of the whole mix. Consequently, their influence and fanbase continued to spread as was witnessed by the fact that some of St. Louis' most popular bands, such as The Eyes/Pale Divine and The Choice, began to cover their songs. In mid 1992, Steve Hanock departed. Casey Carmody (ex Corporate Humour) stepped in to fill the spot, but stayed just through the remainder of the year. When recording of the next record began in January of 1993, bass great Tom Kennedy (who had played a bit on Another World) was brought in to lay down the low end on the lion's share of tracks. Steve Hanock returned for a couple of songs as well. These sessions resulted into the October, 1993 release of their most well received offering to date, FUNGUS, and they continued with a heavy appearance schedule to promote it, playing all over the midwest region. By June of 1994, the band was exhausted. Drew's output was still going strong, evidenced by the release of yet another solo record (the mostly acoustic flavored MELANCHOLY ROAD), but by this time Bill had been doubling as the sub guitarist in Pale Divine, and Jerry was keeping a grueling gig schedule with multiple bands (including time with 2 other St. Louis favorites, Vitamin A and Stir). Not long after their showcase at the seminal music conference South by Southwest in March of '94, the decision was made that a change was in order. It was decided that they would play their last show on June 10, 1994 at Kennedys in St. Louis. And so they did. This, however, would not prove to be the end of collaboration between the members. While Drew kept a kept a busy schedule of solo shows and formed a new power trio called Moss, Bill and Jerry continued to collaborate (along with ex-Pale Divine members Michael Schaerer and Dan Angenend Jr.) in a band called Rainbox. Steve Hanock was also an early contributor to Rainbox. Drew and Jerry continued to record together as well on projects such as Andrew John's IN OTHER WORDS (which also included Bill) and the more recent offerings, EVERYBODY'S CRAZY and Sour Grape's PSYCHIC SURGERY. To date there has been only one reunion show. It was on December 13, 1996 at Kennedy's and featured Drew, Bill, and Jerry. Rumours abound that there may be another reunion show in the future, but we'll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, to keep fans happy, a two disc career retrospective of The Stranded Lads recorded works titled RESERVOIR I & II was released in 2006. TO FIND OUT WHAT ANDREW JOHN IS UP TO THESE DAYS (AND TO PURCHASE STRANDED LADS AND ANDREW JOHN MUSIC), PLEASE VISIT http://www.strandedlad.comTO FIND OUT WHAT LLIAM CHRISTY IS UP TO THESE DAYS, PLEASE VISIT http://www.myspace.com/lliamchristyTO FIND OUT WHAT JERRY SARACINI IS UP TO THESE DAYS, PLEASE VISIT http://www.myspace.com/jerrysaracini
Myspace Editor
Pimp MySpace
THE STRANDED LADS - Scammin'

Add to My Profile | More Videos ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- THE STRANDED LADS - Trouble In Paradise

Add to My Profile | More Videos ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------- THE STRANDED LADS - Someday

Add to My Profile | More Videos