Biography
First In Space was formed in 2006 by Johnny Stanec and Dolus McCormick. The band has gone through various lineup changes, but is now settled as a three piece. Beau Basement of Harrisburg, PA rounds out the group on drums.
In early 2006 the band entered Tune Town Studios and recorded a demo with engineer Mike Talanca (David Bowie, others). The demo was six songs long and included songs that would later be rerecorded for their debut album. The band used the finished demo as a catalyst to book their first shows. The band’s first show was in Kent, OH at Club Khameleon in early April ‘06. Their first hometown show would be later that month at a local bar called Irish Bob’s on the south side of Youngstown. The shows were minor successes, if only because it helped the band shake some jitters.
For the next several months the band continued to book shows in Youngstown and in nearby Akron. The summer of 2006 saw the band gain some footing in the local scene. Their shows at Cedar’s Lounge in downtown Youngstown and at the Lime Spider in Akron, OH saw increasing interest in the band. Due to successful summer shows the band decided to self-produce a full-length record. Local studio owner/engineer Pete Drivere (Infidels, Dead Boys, Deadbeat Poets, others) approached the band and offered to work with them at his studio, Ampreon Recorder. The band entered Ampreon in October of 2006 with twelve of their best songs. During this time the band had branched out and started playing shows in Pittsburgh and continued to return to Akron at the Lime Spider and in their hometown at Cedars. Over the next five months the band would work hard recording their debut album.
2007 began much like 2006 ended, with the band hard at work on their album. By the end of February 2007 the band was mixing their recording and were set to master it at Colossal Mastering with Dan Stout in Chicago, IL. The band decided to name the album ‘This Is Not Here’, inspired by a saying posted on a door to a room that housed John Lennon’s piano at his England home in the 1970s. In early April of 2007, one year after the band debuted live, they released their debut record on their own label, Open Range Records.
With the release of their record the band had a number of shows booked in their region in cities like Pittsburgh, Akron, Kent, Cincinnati, Elwood City, and of course Youngstown. During the summer of 2007 the band played continuously in support of their record. The band sold the album at their shows and would frequently sell two dozen or more records to a crowd of a hundred people. Things were beginning to look even better for them.
Unfortunately for the band, the summer of 2007 saw some changes. Their longtime drummer, Joe Greenfield decided to leave the band and their bassist Will Kesling opted to leave shortly thereafter as well. By the end of a long summer of shows, the band was left to only its founding members, Johnny and Dolus.
After a few months Shaun McCarthy and Noll Hartman joined the group on drums and bass, respectively. This lineup only lasted a few shows, however. McCarthy’s career took him elsewhere and bassist Noll decided to pursue his own musical interests. During this time though the band had played some of it’s best attended shows in their hometown at Cedars Lounge and on the road in Akron at Musica and in Harrisburg, PA at Small’s.
It was now early 2008 and the band was playing as a duo. During this time the duo gigged in their region. Shows in Akron, Youngstown, Kent, and Cleveland proved to be successful but left them lacking. The two used the time wisely and started writing new songs. During the spring of 2008 the band took a small break from playing shows and focused on writing new material for what they would hope would become a follow-up record.
In the summer of 2008 their friend Beau Basement (Strikeouts, Lebowskis) offered to join as their new drummer. Beau proved to be what the band needed and his addition reinvigorated their sound. In August of 2008 the band made their return to the stage in Cleveland at Roc Bar and at their hometown’s biggest music festival, Vex Fest. The latter was attended by some 5,000 concert goers from the area. They were back on track.
As Fall approached the band geared up for another busy stretch of shows. They had Akron and Cleveland booked amongst others. Through the fall the band played and honed their live sound. The band also booked studio time at Ampreon Recorder to begin work on their second record.
December of 2008 would turn out to be a landmark month for the band. They played four shows in four different cities; Harrisburg, Pittsburgh (Hard Rock Cafe), Cleveland and in New York City at Arlene’s Grocery. Also Halogen Records out of Vermont signed them to an internet distribution deal. The label digitally released their first album on April 14, 2009 to iTunes, amazon.com, Rhapsody, Napster, etc.
Also that month they started work on their new album with plans of releasing it in early summer 2009.
2009 has already been a very busy year for the band. They have already been back to New York City in late March at Kenny’s Castaways as well as shows in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Harrisburg.
As 2009 has reached it's mid-point the band has finally finished work on their second album, 'Geronimo' and it's release date is August 22nd. The summer of 2009 will see the band play from the midwest to the east coast. On August 22nd they will play Kenny's Castaways in NYC and it will also serve as the band's first of two CD release shows. The second being in their hometown on Sept. 11th at Cedar's Lounge.
As the Fall of 2009 approached the band toured even more. Shows were played in Akron, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, and Youngstown. The band is handling the distribution of this album themselves and will has it available at iTunes, Amazon.com, Rhapsody, Last.FM, among others. Also, online record stores like Kool Kat Musik and Not Lame Records are selling hardcopies through their online mail-order catalog.
As the band forges on they are making new fans and friends everywhere they go. Their music is creeping in to many different markets thanks to the vast exposure the internet provides these days. One example being a radio show in Madrid, Spain playing various songs such as 'Wasted Time' and 'Now She's Gone'. Pacopepe, the show's DJ, hosts a show called Plastico Elastico twice a week and is a fan of the band. Also, the band has received rave reviews of their new album 'Geronimo' from Absolute Powerpop and Powerpopaholic, two online blogs devoted to reviewing underground pop rock releases. The band has found footing in South America, having Power Pop Station, an online music review site, review their music in Portuguese. Also Under The Tangerine Tree has reviewed their music in Italian. As they keep going, their music is finding fans all across the globe thanks to their hard work.
Winter of 2009 is fast approaching and the band is keeping itself moving forward. Shows are always being booked and plans for their first trip to Europe has begun discussion. The new album 'Geronimo' has been selling well in both mediums, CDs and downloads. The band was given a positive review from The Rock & Roll Report and more is always too come.
The band is also frequently featured on The Homegrown Show on WNCD 93.3, a Youngstown rock radio station. The band was one of the top three most played bands during the shows debut year. The band is hard working and has no intentions of slowing down.
The band has been compared to the Replacements and Tom Petty. Some hear flashes of punk as well as 70s classic rock. Oasis and Brit-pop have been an influence on them as well. Some have compared them to early R.E.M. Others, and their favorite, 'just good rock and roll'. Whatever it is you hear, though, is up to you. The band is unafraid of being melodic. They don't scream or whine. They sing. They love bright harmonies and sing-a-long choruses. The band's new album will feature more of the same. In the band's words the new album will be "even better than the first, the sound has been honed in on. We know what we want to sound like now, even more so than before. We've grown sonically and lyrically."
Some places and cities the band has played:
Arlene's Grocery- NYC
Kenny's Castaways- NYC
Paycheck's Lounge- Detroit, MI
Red Line Tap- Chicago, IL
Cedars Lounge- Youngstown, OH
Musica- Akron, OH
Lime Spider- Akron, OH (closed)
Annabelle's- Akron, OH
Roc Bar- Cleveland, OH
Club Cafe- Pittsburgh, PA
Hard Rock Cafe- Pittsburgh, PA
Dragonfly- Harrisburg, PA
Spy Club- Harrisburg, PA
Small's- Harrisburg, PA
The Melody Inn- Indianapolis, IN
Charlie-O's World Famous- Montpelier, VT
Dirty Jack's- Cincinnati, OH
Club Diablo- Buffalo, NY
Instrumentation
Johnny Stanec- Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Dolus McCormick- Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Beau Basement- Drums
Discography
First IN Space EP- February 2006.
(out of print)
Debut Album 'This Is Not Here' out now. Released April 2007. Available on CD and available as mp3's on myspace.com/firstinspace.
Also available at these locations:
apple.com/itunes
amazon.com
Rhapsody
Napster
Second album, 'Geronimo' released August 22nd, 2009. Soon to be available online everywhere and at Kool Kat Musik and Not Lame Records. Also at all shows.
Links
| http://myspace.com/firstinspace |