Stereo Skyline was an American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band from

East Meadow, New York East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population was 38,132 at the 2010 census. Many residents commute to Manhattan, which is away. History In 1 ...

, which was formed in 2006, known for the song "Uptown, Get Around" first heard in ''

The Suite Life Movie ''The Suite Life Movie'' is a 2011 American science fiction comedy-drama television film directed by Sean McNamara, written by Michael Saltzman, and starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song, Debby Ryan, Matthew Timmons, John Ducey, Matt ...

''. The group has played at The Bamboozle 2007, The Bamboozle Left 2009, The Bamboozle 2009, The 2010 Take Action Tour, The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010, released two EPs and an album, '' Stuck On Repeat'' on July 20, 2010, on Columbia Records.

History

2006-07: Formation and ''The Worst Case Scenario'' EP

In 2006, Matt Villani left the Pop Punk group, Valet Parking to form a new band, called Stereo Skyline. Villani initially played piano and synth and sang lead vocals for the band. He recruited Jay Marotta and Anthony Purpura of his former band, Aerosol, to play guitar and bass guitar, respectively, Dane Drozdzewicz to play drums and Eddie Dizura of Suddenly October to play guitar. Soon after the formation of the first line-up, Drozdzewicz left the band and was temporarily replaced by Chris Capuano of Valet Parking/Set In Color until Purpura was moved to drums. Tom Angenbroich of Don't Fall Darling was recruited to play bass guitar and scream. Dizura also left and was replaced by his Suddenly October bandmate, Kevin Bard, who was recruited to play guitar and sing backup vocals. This remained the line-up for their first EP, ''

The Worst Case Scenario Stereo Skyline was an American pop rock band from East Meadow, New York, which was formed in 2006, known for the song "Uptown, Get Around" first heard in ''The Suite Life Movie''. The group has played at The Bamboozle 2007, The Bamboozle Left 2 ...

''. ''The Worst Case Scenario'' was recorded by the producer Nick Zinnanti in his Bethpage, New York, studio and was released in 2006. The band toured around Long Island to promote its release. In 2007, the band underwent a major line-up change. Bard became the lead vocalist. Villani became the backing vocalist, continued on piano, and picked up guitar. Purpura switched to playing synthesizer, and Rob Michelsen joined the band to play drums. The band played at

The Bamboozle The Bamboozle is an annual three-day music festival which was held in New Jersey from 2003 to 2012, and is scheduled for a 2023 revival by its founder. Every year, new bands competed for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the ...

for the first time that year.

2007-08: Major changes and ''Stereo Skyline'' EP

Shortly after their performance at Bamboozle, the band took on the manager Jason Aron of Ozone Management (

Boys Like Girls Boys Like Girls is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2005, the group gained mainstream recognition when it released its self-titled debut album which went on to sell over 700,000 albums in the United States earning a ...

Hey Monday Hey Monday was an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album '' Hold On Tight'' in 2008, which produced the singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with th ...

We the Kings We the Kings is an American rock band from Bradenton, Florida. The band's eponymous full-length debut album, released in 2007, included the platinum single "Check Yes Juliet", and went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the US. The group's seco ...

). Aron wanted to take the band in another direction which resulted in the departure of Angenbroich and Purpura in summer 2007. As a result, Marotta switched to bass guitar and Bard maintained his role as lead singer, but also picked up guitar. The new line-up recorded and released a demo that summer. In winter and spring 2008, the band recorded an EP called '' Stereo Skyline'' at Stadiumred in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York. It was released in July 2008. The artwork for the EP was created by Alexander Sheldon of Match & Kerosene and was edited into its final state by Russell Heiman of Nice Guys Finish First.

2008-09: Departure of Villani and signing to Columbia Records

In September 2008, after numerous conflicts with the band, Villani was fired. He formed Set In Colour immediately after his departure with Angenbroich and Purpura, former Stereo Skyline members, along with Kenny Gallart on drums. The band continued with Bard as its new leader and recruited Brian Maddox of Scenes and Sirens to replace Villani on guitar. In November 2008, Marotta left the band for undisclosed reasons, and Maddox switched to bass guitar. In January 2009, the band signed a publishing deal with

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

. In February 2009, the band was taken on by the Paradigm Booking Agency. In June 2009, the band had signed a record deal with Columbia Records. In September 2009, the band played a string of shows with

Mitchel Musso Mitchel Tate Musso (born July 9, 1991) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his three Disney Channel roles as Oliver Oken in '' Hannah Montana''; Jeremy Johnson in the animated series ''Phineas and Ferb''; and his Disney XD r ...

and are referred to many times in the video for " Shout It" which was shot primarily at the September 9, 2009, show they played with Musso, KSM and Jimmy Robbins at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

in Boston, Massachusetts. In the video, Musso wears a Stereo Skyline bracelet.

2010: Gaining exposure and ''Stuck on Repeat''

The band was featured in ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' magazine as one of its "100 Bands You Need to Know" for 2010. On April 26, 2010, after being the touring guitarist since January 2010, Clayton Johnson, formerly of A Bird A Sparrow and IT BOYS!, officially joined Stereo Skyline as its permanent guitarist and backing vocalist. The band appeared on the MTV show '' Silent Library'' with Hey Monday. The band's album, '' Stuck On Repeat'', was released on July 20, 2010. It was produced by Blake Healy (formerly of

Metro Station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...

) and includes production and songwriting work by

S*A*M and Sluggo S*A*M and Sluggo was the American record production and songwriting team, composed of Sam Hollander and Dave "Sluggo" Katz. Formed in 2005, the duo first collaborated on the popular theme song " Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" by Cobra Starship ...

and

Adam Schlesinger Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He was a founding member of the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, and was a key songwriting contri ...

. The band went on its first headlining tour to promote the album with The Audition,

Cash Cash Cash Cash is an American electronic music group from Roseland, New Jersey. The group consists of three DJs / musicians: brothers Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf and Samuel Frisch. They produce, record, mix and master all their music together a ...

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and

Cady Groves Cady Danyl Groves (July 30, 1989 – May 2, 2020) was an American pop and country singer from Emporia, Kansas. Some of her notable songs include "One in the Same", "This Little Girl", "Oh Darling", "Forget You", and "Love Actually". She releas ...

for support from July 28 to August 21. On November 1, 2010, the band performed live for Good Day New York.

2011: Departure of Maddox and Johnson and ''The Good Life''

In spring 2011, Stereo Skyline set out on "Tourantula!" supporting

Family Force 5 FF5 (formerly known as Family Force 5, The Phamily, Ground Noise and The Brothers) is an American Christian rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band formed in 2005 by brothers Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, and Jaco ...

. Their song "Uptown, Get Around" was played at the beginning of ''

''. On May 21, 2011, Johnson and Maddox announced that they had left Stereo Skyline to "explore other adventures in music and create a 'secret' project together". The secret turned out to be a group called BLAC. Bard announced that he and Michelsen would continue to tour and would release new Stereo Skyline songs, along with continuing with their planned Brazil tour. On August 11, 2011, the band released the single "Kiss Me in the Morning" from what Stereo Skyline announced on its official ''Facebook'' page would be an album titled ''The Good Life''. Michelsen left the band before the release of ''The Good Life'' and the Brazil tour. Bard brought back Purpura and friends Larzz Principato and Ryan Forsythe to fill out the touring line-up. They appeared in Brazil on

MTV Brasil MTV Brasil was a Brazilian over-the-air television network owned by Grupo Abril focused on the youth. The network was launched on 20 October 1990, as the first specialty television network to broadcast over-the-air, becoming the local version ...

while on tour there.

Members

Former members

*Kevin Bard - lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(2006–December 31, 2011) *Tom Angenbroich - bass,

screaming vocals Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is popular in "aggressive" music genres such as heavy metal, punk rock, and noise music and others. It is common in the more extreme subgenres of heavy metal, such as death and black metal as w ...

(2006–2007) *Eddie Dizura - guitar (2006) *Clayton Johnson - guitar,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

(April 26, 2010-May 21, 2011) *Brian Maddox - bass (2008–May 21, 2011) *Dane Milanovic - drums (2006) *Jay Marotta - guitar, bass (2006-November 2008) *Rob Michelsen - drums (2007–2011) *Anthony Purpura - synthesizer, drums, bass (2006–2007) *Matt Villani -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, synthesizer, guitar (2006-September 2008)

Former touring members

*Ryan Forsythe - bass (2011) *Cal Knapp - guitar (2009) *Clayton Johnson - guitar, backing vocals (January 2010-April 26, 2010) *Brian Maddox - bass (2008–2011) *Larzz Principato - guitar (2011) *Anthony Purpura - drums (2011)

Discography

Albums

*'' Stuck On Repeat'' (July 20, 2010) U.S. No. 133 *'' The Good Life'' (November 1, 2011)

EPs

*''

'' (September 24, 2006) *'' Stereo Skyline - EP'' (July 16, 2008)

Singles

*"Heartbeat" (2010) *"Tongue Tied" (2010) *"Me and You" (2010) *"Kiss Me In the Morning" (2011)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Long Island Columbia Records artists Pop punk groups from New York (state)