Stellastarr* Tickets

Combining '80s-style new wave and pop with punk-rock spirit, stellastarr* have earned a devoted following in both the U.K. and the U.S. since emerging from the ever-bustling indie music scene of New York City. With the 2003 release of their self-titled debut album, stellastarr* impressed fans and critics alike with their polished sound and undeniable energy. The band's engaging live shows have only earned them more admiration and word-of-mouth support from audiences.

stellastarr* guitarist Michael Jurin took the time to speak with Ticketmaster while preparing for an upcoming U.S. tour in support of the band's second full-length album, Harmonies for the Haunted.

Ticketmaster: How do you approach playing live? Does your live sound differ greatly from your studio recordings?
Michael Jurin: Looking at it broadly, I think a band should be able to play live. Other bands write in different ways, but a band should be able to do what they do best on stage. That's part of the mentality that we go into this with. It's a unique opportunity. In other arts, you make a painting or a film or something like that, and people just look at it and that's it. Whereas in music, you actually get to perform this four-minute thing, and you can change it subtly. You can warp it into a different mentality. You can give it more energy, or you can slow it down. You can do whatever you want. It's so versatile. So we figured we should be able to do this really well. The album is one thing, but you should be hearing a whole new level of something live.  

TM: You and the rest of the band have said that you learned about stage presence by watching videotapes of your live shows. What's the story behind that?
MJ: A friend of ours used to videotape our shows. Just as a friend, being a nice guy, he would videotape the shows and give us a copy. Sometimes before rehearsals we'd watch it. You'd be sitting there saying, "My, God. We don't move!" Mandy's great now, but at the time, she didn't move an inch. Little things like that, little eye-openers...It's very informative to see what it looks like on the other end.

TM: You've played with some great bands on past tours—the Raveonettes, Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Have you picked up anything from them?
MJ: You pick up a lot, but I'm not sure if I could actually say what random things we picked up. You always do, being around other bands, especially if they do a live performance really well. It inspires you. Every time you see that, you want to play harder, you want to do something better. I'm not sure that it would be easy to say exactly what they do for you, but there are little things every once in a while. You learn little tricks of the trade, little secrets on how to do something better. You know, "Look how cool and relaxed they look. I can do that as well."

TM: What bands do you like to see live?
MJ: There are tons. I've been to so many shows. The Secret Machines are incredible live. They're a really cool band. It's kind of like watching an indie version of Pink Floyd. Their songs do seem that big and large, and there are only three of them. It's very impressive. There's Asobi Seksu... They're kind of on the My Bloody Valentine idea, with swirling, huge-sounding guitars. The girl who sings is Japanese. Sometimes she sings in English, sometimes she sings in Japanese. They're a really cool band...They're going to start a whole new little genre I'm looking forward to hearing. 

TM: When did you first become interested in music and joining a band?
MJ: At an early age, I got very into music. When I was a kid, my brother and I put our money together to buy the cassette tape of Michael Jackson's Thriller. With the help of my brother, that was the first real album I bought. We used to listen to it over and over again. Then I got this little boom box, because I didn't even own one at that point. I'd tape songs on the radio and listen to those over and over again....When I was around twelve, I got my first guitar and just kept playing and playing. So I always kind of felt that I should be in a band.

TM: How about the other members of stellastarr*? null
MJ: Mandy played a bit of cello before, but Shawn and Arthur didn't really start to play until they were in college, which made it very interesting when we first started writing...When I first started rehearsing with them, Arthur would count off any number of clicks. He'd be like, "1, 2, 3," and then he'd start something in 4/4, which just doesn't work. They figured that out and it all fell into place, but in the beginning it was like a clean slate. You could do whatever you wanted with these guys. They didn't have any preconceived rules...You could do almost anything you wanted, and that's what was really fun about playing with these guys. You got to be fairly experimental with what you felt like doing and felt like playing...Definitely a lot of creativity going on.

TM: How does the new album, Harmonies for the Haunted, differ from the band's previous work?
MJ: Our first album stellastarr* was our greatest hits to that point. Whenever you're in a band, you have your first album. It's whatever great songs you have to that point. This time we actually got to sit down and write a more cohesive, moment-in-time album. In this period of months, we felt a certain way. We planned it out a little bit in the early stages of writing. We wanted it to be a little more spacious, a little larger sounding...We definitely tried to go for more melody-driven songs. I feel like we were very melody-driven before, but now I think we've taken it to the next level. Mandy's backing vocals are very oohing and aahing the entire time, in a spooky way. It's definitely gotten a little moodier too. We still love the fast, more punky songs. We still play them as much as humanly possible. We just need a little bit more depth now, something with a more tactile feel, more melody and rhythm. And we just trekked toward it. Hopefully, we've achieved it. I feel like we did.