Stroke 9
is an alternative rock band that was formed in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989.
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STROKE 9 TICKETS
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History
The band formed due to a "Rock Band" class at
Marin Academy in
San Rafael, just north of
San Francisco. In 1990, as a project, students Luke Esterkyn, Greg Gueldner, Tom Haddad and Kirsten Stromberg went to
Jim Reitzel's Right Sole Studio in
Kentfield, California. They produced a
demo containing five songs, including "Blindness", "Wild", and "Dream Song". After Spring that year, they took their final half-semester off during Senior Project to form the band Stroke 9 for full credit. They set up in Luke's basement and started writing songs for their next demo.
Stroke 9 had their first "official" live performance at Caffe Nuvo in
San Anselmo. They split up for the summer and didn't get back together until the summer of 1991. However, Tom Haddad and Kirsten Stromberg had no desire to revive Stroke 9. Therefore, Luke and Greg recruited old schoolmates John McDermott and Stephen Heath. They moved from the basement to the garage, and played publicly anywhere that they could. The band put out two independent releases in 1993 and 1995. Eric Stock began filling in on drums in April of 1997; Eric was a New York transplant who had previously toured with
Modern English.
After signing to
Universal Records, the band released
Nasty Little Thoughts
in 1999, which charted in the US and yielded two rock radio hits, "Little Black Backpack" and "Letters". The band appeared in the movie
EdTV as part of the promotion of
Nasty Little Thoughts
.
[1] A second album on Universal followed, entitled
Rip It Off
. The album's art cover was made to resemble a bootleg
CD-R, similar to that of
System of a Down's
Steal This Album!
, which was released about a year later. The album was not promoted heavily, and its lead single, "Kick Some Ass", was less successful at radio. "Kick Some Ass" also appeared in Kevin Smith's
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
during a montage of Jay & Silent Bob flying around the states to attack message board users who bashed them. Late in 2003, the band split with Universal and announced plans to release its next album,
All In
, independently.
[2]
The band released
Last of the International Playboys
on June 5, 2007, on Rock Ridge Records.
Stroke 9 also recorded "Tap Tap Domination" for the iPhone OS game
Tap Tap Revenge
.
Members
The Rock Band class seniors were:
- Luke Esterkyn (born April 22, 1972) [3] - guitar and vocals
- Greg Gueldner (Drums)
- Tom Haddad (Bass)
- Kirsten Stromberg (Keyboard and Vocal)
As signed to Universal:
- Luke Esterkyn (Guitar and Vocal)
- John McDermott (Guitar)
- Greg Gueldner (Bass)
- Eric Stock (Drums)
Current lineup:
- Luke Esterkyn (Guitar and Vocal)
- John McDermott (Guitar)
- Jens Funke (Bass)
- Eric Stock (Drums)
Discography
- Music About Friends, Acquaintances, and People We Don't Even Know
(1991)
- Boy Meets Girl
(1993)
- Bumper to Bumper
(1995)
- Nasty Little Thoughts
(Universal Records, 1999) Billboard Top 200 peak #83 [4]
- Rip It Off
(Universal, 2002)
- All In
(Rock Ridge Records, 2004)
- Hidden Treasures
(Rock Ridge Records, 2005)
- Cafe Cuts
(Rock Ridge Records, 2006)
- Last of the International Playboys
(Rock Ridge Records, 2007)
- Upcoming Release
(2009)
Charting Singles
| Year
| Title
| Chart Positions [5]
| Album
|
| US Modern Rock
| US Top 40 Mainstream
|
| 1999
| "Little Black Backpack"
| 6
| 39
| Nasty Little Thoughts
|
| 2000
| "Letters"
| 27
| -
| Nasty Little Thoughts
|
| 2001
| "Kick Some Ass"
| 36
| -
| Rip It Off
|
References
- Biography, Allmusic.com.
- Stroke 9 Goes Unsigned, Alternative Addiction, October 12, 2003. Accessed May 8, 2006.
- Family Tree Legends [1]
- Billboard, Allmusic.com.
- Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com.