Stumpp

Rapper G-RO goes gets funky with the introduction of his band, which
has
created an urban rock success. Fusing rock and hip hop together to
make an
unprecedented album many different genres are sure to enjoy. The album
is
full of fantastic guitar riffs and Josh even adds some melodic vocals
behind
G-Ro's flurry of rhymes. Simple drums and bass allow you to hone in on
the
lyrics and what these guys have to say, but don't get me wrong they are
exceptional and tend to rock out at times. Stand out tracks are "8
O'clock"
which is full of lyrics about alcohol, drugs and sex all spit out on
top of
a wild up tempo beat. Who can argue with any of those? (Public service
announcement -kids, drugs are bad!) The other joint that is captivating
is
"Live B4 U Die" which is like a completed puzzle having all the pieces
(music, words, etc) perfectly pieced together. A slight poke at radio
stations keeps "Breakin The Walls Down" entertaining. This is a hip
hop
with live instrument album of astronomical proportions for real ass
people
by real ass people, making real ass music.
- Jeff Delinger - Entertainment World

Who: StuMpP
When: Sunday, January 14th
Thursday, January 18th
Where: The Social
Back Booth
Info: www.myspace.com/stumppmusic

StuMpP, an Orlando based hip-hop/rock act, is not just your average band. Throughout 2006, the band took Central Florida by storm, collecting more and more “Stumppaholics” along the way. With a new EP slated for release in mid-January, the boys claim that 2007 promises an even bigger year for them. Vocalist G-Ro (Greg Rollet) had a lot to say on the band’s current status:

WHO IS THE BAND STUMPP AND HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
StuMpP is a four-piece band from Orlando that thrives on entertaining the community with an interesting blend of musical genres that completely cross new boundaries. We like to say that we are a collaborative union of rock, hip-hop, jam, pop, and funk. We can be heavy or we can keep it mellow. We can get stuck in your head or jam instrumentally for an hour. No matter what we are doing, however, we always manage to maintain the funk.

HOW LONG HAS STUMPP BEEN TOGETHER?
StuMpP has been around for a little over a year now. We have been very fortunate to have accomplished what we have in such a short period of time.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BAND’S BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT THUS FAR?
We have really had some unexpected yet wonderful opportunities to play some huge events with some great bands. I think as a band, we would all agree that being able to perform in front of an active and interested crowd of fans has to be the absolute best thing in the world. The Bubba Sparxxx event at UCF and the Rehab show at the Social really allowed us to experience that feeling.

YOU HAVE A NEW EP ENTITLED “BE REAL” COMING OUT THIS MONTH, WHAT SHOULD EVERYBODY BE EXPECTING?
In some ways, this CD is a debut for StuMpP. Although we did release an EP a little over a year ago, we hadn’t really defined our overall sound at that point. Now, as shown on this record, it is obvious that we have found our niche and hope that everybody truly enjoys what we are doing. Anybody that knows our material already can imagine what to expect on the record; melodies, rhymes, and grooves.

HOW DO YOU PLAN ON PROMOTING THIS NEW CD? ARE THERE ANY TOURS IN THE WORKS?
The release of “Be Real” will be honored with two separate CD Release Parties. The first one is at the Social on January 14th. That is our rock show and it will be with Atomic Tangerine as the headliner. The other one is at Back Booth on January 18th. This one will be hip-hop based and will feature national artists Smilez and Southstar. After that, we will be touring Florida all the way until the summer, where we will hopefully jump on a national tour for a few months.

WHERE CAN THE READERS LISTEN TO STUMPP’S MUSIC AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BAND?
MySpace! Always refer to our MySpace page for any news or upcoming events. We always answer everyone’s comments and messages no matter what. The URL is simple:
http://www.myspace.com/stumppmusic
Don’t forget that it’s with two p’s, because we’re cool like that.

- Sarah Rogers
- Sarah Rogers - Axis Magazine (Orlando, FL)

1. You guys have a pretty eclectic sound. You must have a wide range of
musical influences. Tell us about that.
Individually, the four members of StuMpP have influences that embrace an extremely extensive and diverse spectrum of musicians. To be honest, all of our influences do not contribute to the band’s overall sound, whatsoever. We may all listen to Frank Zappa, Mars Volta, and Stevie Wonder, but we have been compared to bands like Linkin Park and 311. We were lucky enough to find a unique style to grasp on to and we are thoroughly enjoying it thus far.

2. You’ve got me intrigued. What does the band’s name stand for?
The name doesn’t necessarily “stand for” anything. It isn’t an acronym or anything like that. It just sort of came to us shortly after we established ourselves as a band. We realized that we were doing a “hip-hop/rock” type thing; something that has been done many times (mostly unsuccessfully) in the past. We figured we were basically “grinding a tree stump,” figuratively speaking. The name “StuMpP” quickly caught on, and later we added an extra “P” at the end, simply because “we’re cool like that.”

3. You guys were crowned UCF Band of the Year last year. What did that
mean to you to have the college crowd in Central Florida supporting you?
It meant a lot. It was and still is truly an honor to have accomplished what we have in such a short period of time. All we can do is attribute our success to all of our fans in Central Florida. A lot of our success early on, stemmed from our affiliation with UCF, and it is always great having such an important entity like a University backing your form of artistic expression. That really means a lot.

4. What can someone who hasn’t seen your live show yet expect to see
when they catch you playing out in Central Florida?
We take our live shows rather seriously. We do not want to be another band that purely plays songs, one after another, when we are on stage. We like to transform the “concert” into a “production.” We like to improvise a lot musically, involve the crowd, and leave everything out on the stage. In the end, there may be blood, sweat, and maybe even a few tears, but as long as we pleased the crowd to our utmost potential, then we feel like we have accomplished something very special.

5. Tell us about your new EP Be Real.
Our new EP “Be Real” really means a lot to the band. We recorded everything ourselves and put all of hearts and souls into the making of the record. Originally, we wanted to record a complete album’s worth of material, but we soon realized that it just wasn’t going to happen the way we initially intended. So, we narrowed the songs down to the best 8 and got it done. Now we feel that as an EP, we can sell the CD for cheaper to our fans while being able to shop the record around to record companies. We’re hoping that “Be Real” ignites the start of the “StuMpP Revolution” and we are looking forward to seeing where it will take us.

http://www.stumppmusic.com http://www.myspace.com/stumppmusic
Next Orlando show: February 23rd at AKA Lounge
- City Beat: Orlando, FL