Charlotte
based rock band s.o.stereo. (save.our.stereo.) formed in late 2006 and
started as a trio featuring bradleyCdavis (lead vocals, guitar),
jimmy.james.meyers (vocals, drums) and b.s.FURR (bass). Shortly
thereafter, john.C.phillips.jr (vocals, lead guitar) joined the group
and the band has remained unchanged.
It was not until college that bradleyCdavis was
introduced to jimmy.james which sparked the development of s.o.stereo.
The four members have deeply rooted friendships. jimmy.james and
b.s.FURR grew up together, graduated from high school together and they
played music together in and out of several garage bands. The same is
true for john.C.phillips.jr and bradleyCdavis, neighbors, classmates and
friends long before music brought them closer. Singer bradleyCdavis has
claimed ‘Being in a band is a roller coaster. It has its ups, it has
its downs but it’s how well you handle the times when things are down
that determine how well you capitalize when things are looking up. There
is no one else I’d rather be on this ride with and that includes
Bruce.’ Bruce meaning Bruce Irvine, the band’s manager. He laughs and
says ‘Bruce is our train conductor, he makes sure our hands and feet
remain inside the car at all times.’
These are pretty wise words
coming from a group that has seemingly only dealt with ‘ups.’ In early
2009, s.o.stereo. was contacted by ESPN to feature the band’s song ‘Mark
My Words’ during the 2009 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, ‘March
Madness.’ The band had an upcoming show at one of the premier music
venues in the Charlotte area, Amos’ SouthEnd, and ESPN asked to film.
After filming the show, the footage was edited and juxtaposed to
highlights from the 2009 basketball season. The video was broadcast
during halftime throughout the tournament. This was the first time
s.o.stereo. would be on television, but, it would not be the last.
Following
the success of the ESPN feature, s.o.stereo. was then contacted by a
well respected music supervisor on behalf of ABC Family in regards to
their song ‘When A Heart Breaks.’ The song landed on ‘10 Things I Hate
About You.’ After the show aired the band enjoyed such a positive
response it was only a matter of weeks before ‘When A Heart Breaks’ was
on television again. This time it was ‘Vampire Diaries.’ ‘Pretty Little
Liars’ followed and their song ‘What You Wanted Me To Do’ sold in all
fifty states and sixteen foreign countries in its first two weeks on
iTunes! The band performed three songs “on-camera” on ‘Vampire
Diaries’, playing themselves, that will air on February 24, 2011.
All
of this media attention has bled over into the band’s performances as
well as their fan base. They have now become a headlining staple at
Amos’, a venue once reluctant to let local acts take the stage as they
have little to no problem accommodating and booking national acts with
their ability to host more than 1500 fans. That same attention has also
earned them the right to share the stage with such acts as Blind Melon
and The Presidents of the United States of America. They were invited to
play the local festival ‘Charlotte Speed Street’ during the summer of
2009 opening for Gavin DeGraw and Lifehouse.
Creative Loafing, a
Charlotte area entertainment magazine, has shown support for the band
by featuring and reviewing s.o.stereo. shows and labeling them ‘the band
to watch.’ Creative Loafing also included s.o.stereo.’s song ‘Just Like
A Stone’ on their 2008 compilation disc featuring the best in local and
regional music aptly named ‘What’s Going On?’
Divakar, on-air
personality at Clear Channel’s Charlotte rock radio station, 106.5 the
End, got on board early and invited the band on air for interviews and
live in-studio performances. 106.5 continues heavy rotation of ‘When A
Heart Breaks’, ‘Toe To Toe’, and ‘What You Wanted Me To Do’.
s.o.stereo.’s future is bright indeed.