S.O.Stereo

Charlotte based rock band s.o.stereo. (save.our.stereo.) formed in late 2006 and started as a trio featuring bradleyCdavis (lead vocals, guitar), jimmy.james.meyers (vocals, drums) and b.s.FURR (bass). Shortly thereafter, john.C.phillips.jr (vocals, lead guitar) joined the group and the band has remained unchanged. Perhaps the most intriguing story behind the members of s.o.stereo. is their history. It was not until college that bradleyCdavis was introduced to jimmy.james which sparked the development of s.o.stereo. The four members have deeply rooted friendships. jimmy.james and b.s.FURR grew up together, graduated from high school together and they played music together in and out of several garage bands. The same is true for john.C.phillips.jr and bradleyCdavis, neighbors, classmates and friends long before music brought them closer. Singer bradleyCdavis has claimed ‘Being in a band is a roller coaster. It has its ups, it has its downs but it’s how well you handle the times when things are down that determine how well you capitalize when things are looking up. There is no one else I’d rather be on this ride with and that includes Bruce.’ Bruce meaning Bruce Irvine, the band’s manager. He laughs and says ‘Bruce is our train conductor, he makes sure our hands and feet remain inside the car at all times.’ These are pretty wise words coming from a group that has seemingly only dealt with ‘ups.’ In early 2009, s.o.stereo. was contacted by ESPN to feature the band’s song ‘Mark My Words’ during the 2009 NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, ‘March Madness.’ The band had an upcoming show at one of the premier music venues in the Charlotte area, Amos’ SouthEnd, and ESPN asked to film. After filming the show, the footage was edited and juxtaposed to highlights from the 2009 basketball season. The video was broadcast during halftime throughout the tournament. This was the first time s.o.stereo. would be on television, but, it would not be the last. Following the success of the ESPN feature, s.o.stereo. was then contacted by a well respected music supervisor on behalf of ABC Family in regards to their song ‘When A Heart Breaks.’ The song landed on ‘10 Things I Hate About You.’ After the show aired the band enjoyed such a positive response it was only a matter of weeks before ‘When A Heart Breaks’ was on television again. This time it was ‘Vampire Diaries.’ ‘Pretty Little Liars’ followed and their song ‘What You Wanted Me To Do’ sold in all fifty states and sixteen foreign countries in its first two weeks on iTunes! The band performed three songs “on-camera” on ‘Vampire Diaries’, playing themselves, that will air on February 24, 2011. All of this media attention has bled over into the band’s performances as well as their fan base. They have now become a headlining staple at Amos’, a venue once reluctant to let local acts take the stage as they have little to no problem accommodating and booking national acts with their ability to host more than 1500 fans. That same attention has also earned them the right to share the stage with such acts as Blind Melon and The Presidents of the United States of America. They were invited to play the local festival ‘Charlotte Speed Street’ during the summer of 2009 opening for Gavin DeGraw and Lifehouse. Creative Loafing, a Charlotte area entertainment magazine, has shown support for the band by featuring and reviewing s.o.stereo. shows and labeling them ‘the band to watch.’ Creative Loafing also included s.o.stereo.’s song ‘Just Like A Stone’ on their 2008 compilation disc featuring the best in local music aptly named ‘Homebrew’ Divakar, on-air personality at Clear Channel’s Charlotte rock radio station, 106.5 the End, got on board early and invited the band on air for interviews and live in-studio performances. 106.5 continues heavy rotation of ‘When A Heart Breaks’, ‘Toe To Toe’, and ‘What You Wanted Me To Do’. s.o.stereo.’s future is bright indeed. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.