Stashound

Band:Stashound

Members: Eric Allen, lead guitar and vocals; Tristan Barney, bass and vocals; Blane Taylor, drums and vocals; Josh Roth, keyboards, guitar, and vocals Who we talked to:Barney

How did you guys get together? Initially, (myself, Blane and Eric) started out as a three-piece band and we had all played together previously in another band. Eric and I have actually been playing guitar together for about 10 years. My best friend Josh joined us about a year ago. We went from being a three piece to a four piece.

Where did the name come from? When we quit the last band we were in, we kind of couldn't decide on a name and we were asking all kinds of people. The drummer's brother, (who works with Taylor), stuck his head out of the office door and yelled out the name Stashound. I was like, "that works." That's pretty much it, nothing fancy, no deep meaning. We leave it up to interpretation.

Describe your sound and style. We're all '90s guys. We all went to high school in and that's when we started to play guitar. We were really part of that grunge generation. That's the music that inspired us to start playing. The three of us, Eric, Blane and I, have been playing for about six years now. We do all our own bookings. We write our own music. Bread and butter for us is covers. On an average night, we try to play six to eight originals. Most places in this area are going to book you faster with covers.

Where do you guys like to play?We have some bars we play pretty regularly. We play at Union Station (Grill) over in Columbia. We play at The Valley Tavern down in Seven Valleys. We play at the WaterWay (Bar & Grill). Eric and I also do acoustic stuff separately from the band. That's a whole other avenue we have as well.

Who were your influences? My favorite band is The Allman Brothers (Band). I'm a big Southern rock guy. That's what I grew up with. Those guitarists (influenced) me. I'm originally a guitar player; now I play the base. Eric is Led Zeppelin born and bred. There isn't anything better as far as he's concerned.

Was there a certain moment or concert you went to that made you want to be a musician? When I was 8 years old, my dad took me for my birthday to see Van Halen in 1984. That was huge for me. That's when I really started getting into rock 'n' roll music. As I got into high school and the grunge thing happened then, I really started getting into rock. Nowadays, everything is rap when you turn on the radio.

What are your thoughts about the music scene in York? I think there's definitely a market for original music. (People) respond very well to our (originals). I think it's the covers that initially draw their attention to the band itself. We try to do our own arrangements of cover songs. Younger kids in high school are really much more into rock than say people in their early 20s. As (hip-hop) became more popular, a lot of bars went to DJs versus bands and it became difficult to get work. (Original music) is on the upswing now.

Like any other local acts? There's tons of music around here. You just have to go out and hear it. My wife and I like the Kenton Shelley Band. I think they're really good. We used to play a lot of stuff with a band called ShortBus Graduates.

Do you guys have a best memory? We like to dress up. People find that entertaining. We still wear suits when we play. We dress up like lumberjacks sometimes. We all got kilts, and we'll all wear our kilts. We'll wear our afros and '70s leisure suits. You've got to make it fun.

- ERIN McCRACKEN, FLIPSIDE STAFF