Shock Stars
Posted April 17, 2007 — in Higher Learning, Music News
Six Chicago musicians with very different backgrounds got together to experiment with electronic rock. When the music started to gain momentum and it’s own identity, they decided to make it their full time project called
Shock Stars. The name is as fun as their well crafted pop songs. Who do they sound like? Our best guess is The Killers meets Panic at the Disco meets Maroon 5. They recently just played their first show, where they headlined and sold out the Double Door a 600 capacity club in Chicago. Shock Stars recently had their song “Strawberry Lake” chosen by 103.7 KISS FM in Milwaukee, WI, as one of 10 songs to compete in their KISS SUPERSTAR competition. For more information email HERE.
Next Shows:
April 28th - Sokol Underground - Omaha, Nebraska
June 2nd - Lady Bug Club - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jun 21st - Metro - Chicago, Illinois
Check out the tracks…
That band is a novelty act at best. I could see it being a local hit at some bars but I would stay far away from that as a label. It lacks any sort of integrity… sort of like Nickelback with synths.
Comment by Brock — April 18, 2007 @ 10:17 am
we all better get used to this..with NB and Daughtry doing so well bands are gonna do what at the moment works.of course bands will add thier own tweek. the Double Door is a tuff place to sell out.the crowd that goes there have heard it all before.so these guys did good.if Shock Stars sell out the Metro (1800)then they are on thier way.i would guess that they are getting ready for Mobfest 07.the Metro is one of the major players,and all A&R people hang there.a good indie label or a sub label from a major will do well by Shock Stars.i wish you the best Shock Stars…being from Chicago (me included)you know what i mean.
Comment by larry anderson — April 18, 2007 @ 11:26 am
Since you made the comparison to P!@tD I can’t get over that Shock Value doesn’t compare to them. Aaaahhh they are using a vocoder on “Strawberry Lake” ala Panic on “Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks.” Panic isn’t the first band to do a lot of things and do them perfectly but I like em’ and SV even employs some of their stage looks.
I want to get into this band, with a good producer the music will be pretty decent. The vox lacks some oomph. Good luch to them though.
Comment by A2daC — April 18, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
One of the challenges of working with young bands is even if they have the songs NOW, there is no telling whether or not the next album will have them. Another challenge is knowing whether or not the band can handle any level of success or the stresses of being on the road. The band may do well at smaller venues full of their friends, but how will they do on a big stage in front of strangers?
Shock Stars have good pop songs. Revolutionary? Absolutely not. But with a band like this, you know what you’re getting. They can deliver with consistency, they can handle the road, and no stage will be too big for them. “Shock Stars” are a new band, but they are all experienced musicians who have been through the label ringer and established careers for themselves throughout the region anyway.
Maybe its not your cup of tea, but its far from horrible and they are far from a bad investment.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — April 19, 2007 @ 9:19 am
LBC was great, and in time, Shockstars will surpass that legacy. “Novelty act?” Hardly. If you want to see a novelty act, go and watch a Grateful Dead show, nitwit.
Comment by Michael Stanek — April 19, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
Metro holds 1100, not 1800. And if you want my guess, they will sell out Metro. Selling out Metro doesn’t prove anything. All it proves is they have either lots of friends or (hopefully) fans. Keep in mind, some of these Chicago musicans were signed to a major label with a previous band and have a substantial following. Lucky Boys Confusion could sell out Metro and HOB with their eyes closed. And since Stubhy led that band, a lot of their fans have followed them.
From someone who was actually AT the Double Door show they sold out, I would say these guys are the real deal. I am not a fan of the electronic aspect of the music but they can write music, and write it well. The songs are well crafted and Stubhy has proven to be an above average singer in his last band. In this new offering, at least from the live experience, he has really stepped it up. The show was excellent. And there really wasn’t a single flaw in the live act. People will eat it up. They already are.
My guess is record deal by year end. And I also predict Metro will sell out cause they are shrewd businessmen in addition to musicians, and they would only bite off as much as they can handle. I think the sky is the limit.
However to the person who posted the comment about exceeding LBC’s legacy, that will be hard. Maybe, they will have more commercial success. But LBC was a band for 10 years, who grassroots built a really nice fanbase, and nutured a Chicago music community by aiding bands like my older band by giving us the experience of playing the bigger clubs before we could on our own. A whole scene from 1998-2002 was cultivated by them. And even though some of those bands have gone on to bigger things (Plain White T’s springs to mind first) no matter what shockstars does, it will not surpass their legacy. Maybe their sales. But not the legacy!
Cheers!
scott
Comment by Scott Sweeney — April 19, 2007 @ 5:09 pm
come on Scott..did we forget the SmartBar ?and if they open the side balconys then about maybe 1600.did we forget Roger and crew make the rules and if you do well at the Metro you do good.i’m for any Chicago band that does well and if these guys have been signed before more power to them.they “been there,done that.just as long as they Don’t do the cover of the I.E.
Comment by larry anderson — April 19, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
Haha. Well, ever since E2 metros capacity has been capped unequivcally at 1100.
Comment by Scott Sweeney — April 19, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
checked out your web site myspace.com/scottsweeneyandthejetpilots you got some great stuff!KOAR you will like this guy.good tunes.
Comment by larry anderson — April 19, 2007 @ 7:10 pm
Maybe it’s me, but I don’t hear what you’re hearing. 20 seconds into “Baby, Baby” I wanted to turn it off. And “Butterfly” sounds like a joke.
Comment by ChrisC — April 19, 2007 @ 9:22 pm
Haha, I haven’t been called a nitwit before. I’ll have to throw that in my diary. Also, I’m 18 years old so you’d have to knock me out and drag me to a Grateful Dead show before I watched that.
Anyways, let me know when this band has any sort of legacy and we’ll talk. What I hear is 6(?) guys who have decent small music business skills pulling strings to promote their new project that is “trendy”. Ultimately, it’ll fade out after they realize that they can only force it so much.
Comment by Brock — April 20, 2007 @ 8:38 am
What’s so horrible about giving people what they want? I mean, a band tries to do it the right way. They try to write songs that mean something and make a difference in music or whatever, and they go nowhere. How long should they keep spinning their wheels before they just stop?
And can you really blame an artist for taking a break to produce other bands and help other musicians before deciding to give it another go, but this time swinging for the fences? When you’ve been getting jerked around by people for 10 years trying to do it ‘your way’ I can understand just not caring anymore and wanting to perform on bigger stages and make some money.
Don’t give these guys so much shit. When its some delusional teenager who thinks he’s going to be famous but doesn’t realize his band completely sucks, that’s one thing, but an act who is intentionally pandering to the mainstream after years of experience being ‘legitimate’, that’s something else entirely.
Comment by AJ-KOAR — April 20, 2007 @ 9:27 am
The only reason why they sound “mainstream” to who ever thinks that is because of their backgrounds. Stubhy was in LBC who had the recent pasts sound before it even happend and JJ Flores and Steve Smooth are successful electronic DJ’s. It just so happens that they came together when the new wave scene is happening. The songs that THEY write are heart felt and mean something to them. I am sure that you listen to tuns of music that wasn’t ever written buy the people that are playing them and you don’t even know it. The tracks on the album don’t ever remoetly give their sound justice because they don’t have a producer with a million dollor studio to record professionaly. They really blew me away at the Double Door. Until you hear them live and get some talant yourself you have no room to say that they are a novelty act or whatever it is that you have to say that is bad.
Comment by k — April 21, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
Brock
I can understand how you might think its trendy because it’s kinda of dancy and everyone seems to be doing it. But I am going to side with AJ on the fact that the guys in this band are very skilled at writing songs people like. And very good at putting on shows people like. When you have those two things working for you, and a little luck, and a lot of business sense (trust me, these dudes have been through the wars) then you think, maybe just maybe, their 10 years of hard work will pay off in the form of a career resurgence, and maybe a nice paycheck since so many bands work so hard to get nothing. Once again, it always comes back to the quality of the songs. And like it or hate it, the music is good. And that is always the bottom line.
cheers
scott
Comment by scott sweeney — April 21, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
Hi Scott,
Ya I don’t mean to imply that they won’t have a good run in music based on Shock Stars (which is a terrible name, by the way…) and make some money, but I think this is more of a state-wide large bar sort of career. Where the people that see them like them and have a good time but promoting these guys nationwide would be a mistake. They are good musicians and know how to work the business to get shows but, ultimately, that’s not marketable in today’s music industry.
Comment by Brock — April 22, 2007 @ 8:40 am
I don’t see how these guys could be big. I don’t think their songs could sell. The songs are mediocre at best.
Comment by ChrisC — April 22, 2007 @ 9:19 am
well this stuff is listenable, but not life-changing. btw, lcb was great, that song fred astaire should’ve been a bigger hit!
Comment by jake — April 23, 2007 @ 6:45 pm
Most ‘life changing’ music sells like crap anyway. People want hits. I think Shock Stars (which isn’t that bad of a name. I mean, what the hell is Panic at the Disco anyway) can write those songs.
Comment by Scott Sweeney — April 23, 2007 @ 11:31 pm
I agree with the above, that they stand a reasonable shot to get a record label by the end of the year.
However, having attended the Metro show, it was disappointing. All ages, and it was hardly crowded. It may reflect on their opening bands somewhat, because people didn’t start coming until the end of the second band. It might help they’re playing with AFI & stand a shot at getting into Lollapalooza. Good publicity and they’ve got it.
They are good with image, and are a great pop-dance band — they’re going somewhere. A catchy name & lyrics that are easy to remember, with a well known lead singer … you can say that it isn’t revolutionary, but it’s a LOT of potential.
Comment by Sarah — June 22, 2007 @ 8:33 pm
I love this band! I think they are awesome and I see them going big time! I’m behind them all the way!
Comment by Jennifer — July 2, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
I just saw them yesterday at Summerfest in Milwaukee. They were amazing to say the least! I had never heard of them and we were waiting for the Finger 11 show. They canceled so we were fortunate enough to catch these guys. Amazing! Best new band of the entire festival! 3 or 4 thousand people agreed with me! And this was only there 3rd show they said! Can’t wait for there fourth.
Comment by MATTY — July 5, 2007 @ 7:20 pm
I was disappointed to say the least when I heard these new songs. They’re far from catchy and there are only 5 words in each of them. They lack the depth I’d grown accustomed to in nearly all of LBCs songs. Whether or not this band will go far, it’s hard to say, but I think it’s a major step down from Stubhy’s last project. LBC’s songs, as cheesy as it may sound, have been the soundtrack to my life since I first heard them 5 years ago, and they’ll have to continue to be because ‘Shock Stars’ (I have to agree with Brock on this one, that’s a horrible name)won’t be replacing LBC with anything I’ve heard so far.
Comment by Alicia — July 14, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
“Shock Stars” is a very talented group with excellent musicians. My wife and I saw them perform at the “Metro” and were impressed with their professional performance and “catchy” tunes. If they receive the proper support and backing, I believe that the group will succeed and become very well known and acknowledged by all ages.
Comment by David Maske — July 25, 2007 @ 1:25 pm