Stone live in Liverpool, April 2023 (Gary Mather for Live4ever)
WHO?
STONE are Finley Power (frontman/rhythm guitar), Elliot Gill (lead guitar), Sarah Surrage (bass) and Alex Smith (drums).
WHERE?
STONE are from Liverpool, except Sarah who is from outside Oxford. We all reside in south Liverpool.
WHEN?
We have all been playing our instruments since we were kids. I (Elliot) was 9 when I started guitar and didn’t join a band until me and Fin both started creating music together in 2016.
WHY?
We have a mix of influences but take a lot of cues from a mix of alt-rock, post-punk and hip-hop artists. I got into a lot of shoegaze/hardcore/psychedelic bands as a teenager like Wavves, Pixies, Title Fight. Fin was enamored by The Beatles and Bowie growing up. There are some contemporary bands around us that keep us inspired too, as well as the creative scene in Liverpool. But outside of music we like to take inspiration from our experiences of navigating early adulthood in the 2020s, and all of its ramifications. Mental health, social media culture, all of the trappings of modernity. We also love a bit of electronic and grime music too.
HOW?
Finley and me met at age 17 at a party, and quickly became friends and formed an early kid version of the band. Alex joined in 2018 but by late 2019 we’d made the decision to reform the band as STONE. Sarah then joined at the start of 2020 and the band was formed just in time for the pandemic to drop on us.
PAST?
I spent 4 years working in a high school office doing admin / reception up until last April. Alex got a masters in Music at LIPA and worked there as a TA for the Sixth Form, so two members have a background in education. Sarah graduated with a music degree from LIPA – this is where she met Alex and joined the band. Fin had worked in social care before we all made the band our full-time goal.
PRESENT?
Our sound is an evolving palette of alt-rock, a mix of our influences and tends to cover different styles while trying to maintain the core tenets of the STONE sound. We have been trying to not box ourselves in. Listening through our catalogue you’ll hear some poppier cuts, punk, drum’n’bass, post-punk and more, but there’s a unifying features for all these. Scouse commentary, modulated guitars, big drums.
FUTURE?
Our main ambition right now is to craft and release a debut album that perfectly represents us and hopefully stands the test of time. I think it would be nice to be able to become a part of Liverpool music history and leave a legacy in that way. Become a genuine successful rock band.
DID YOU KNOW?
We have a lot of personal highlights from the last year of touring but one of my favourites was catching a 24 hour flu driving through the Alps on the way to supporting The Kooks in Milan back in February. I was throwing up violently in a plastic bag (which leaked) in the van and by the time we got to the hotel I was near passing out. Looking at the frosted mountaintops I thought it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever puked. Thankfully Luke from The Kooks was lovely enough to let me crash in their bus for an hour before the show. I spent that show sat playing offstage with a bucket next to me but managed to jump onstage for the last song. It was a better option than throwing up (or worse) in front of 2000 people.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Hopefully our debut album will be released to some kind of acclaim and we can continue our trajectory one show at a time. There are so many parts of the world we want to see, and for music to be a conduit of that is something else. Personally I just love this opportunity to see how far we can take this. Tours! More writing! More memories. More.
CONNECT:
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