BIO:
Rejoice, all ye who ache for hard-hitting classic indie rock, and let STUYVESANT (pronounced
Sty-vas-ent) take you on a high-speed spin through the bars and backyards of the Garden State.
The band’s 2011 release, FRET SOUNDS (Dromedary), is filled with signature catchy melodies
and killer riffs, all backed by an insanely taught beat. The title, a wink to the Beach Boys’ famed
concept album, features unexpectedly tight harmonies, but fear not, this ain’t no twee pop, it’s
more a rollicking road trip to SoCal via DC and the Twin Cities. Guitarists Ralph Malanga and
Sean Adams race each other through blistering licks backed by drummer Pete Martinez’ driving
beat and Brian Musikoff’s nimble bass lines. The surprise here is not how hard they rock, but
rather how layered and distinct the songs are - this is not a one-note punk band.
Neal Agneta wrote in The Big T akeover of the band’s 2008 self-release Linden Ca!ing,
“...pummelling, heavy- duty power-pop prodigiously informed by The Descendents/ALL, and
more acutely, the phenomenal ‘90s era bands that ‘descended’ from them, like Armchair
Martian, Pollen, and Game Face. A zillion times over more smarter and more sincere than the
latest batch of ersatz flakes hogging the limelight.” Clever lyrics peppered with references to
hometown haunts, and a healthy dose of self deprecation are “the type of blue- collar pop and
punk-influenced rock-and-roll that drives parties all over the country (well, the good parties at
least),” noted Stephen Carradini for independentclauses.com. New songs like “St. Cloud,” with
its irresistible sonic surge, keep the party going with more than just a geographical nod to The
Replacements and Husker Du. “Bish Dub” riffs on the band’s 2005 release “Ode To Bush,” deftly
channeling Bad Brains and Clash-era dub.
Stuyvesant’s creds read like a who’s-who of college rock. Ralph, formerly of Footstone, went to
high school with J. Colangelo (American Standard, Underdog, Murphy’s Law), Matt Sweeney
(Chavez), and Ted Leo. Sean was a founding member and singer of Friends, Romans,
Countryment who taught himself guitar when their original guitarist quit. FRC notably played
with Pavement, Sunny Day Real Estate, Doughboys, and Dead Milkmen. Brian Musikoff played
in FRC with Sean back in the day, and is a noted cartoonist, having designed animation for
greats such as Scharpling & Wurster, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, and Andy Shernoff. Pete
Martinez, sole proprietor of Hoboken’s first and only drum shop, The Drum Den, toured
extensively with NYC’s Coffin Daggers.
Stuyvesant lifted its name from the liquor store where Sean worked growing up in the Journal
Square section of Jersey City. Ironically, only later did they discover that on February 5, 1663,
Nicholas Varlett obtained from Peter Stuyvesant a patent for the first brewery in America,
located on castle point in Hoboken, NJ. Today, Hoboken is home to the most bars per square
mile in the US. High-energy rock, beer, bars - Stuyvesant is everything you need!
