 "Photo: Courtesy of Stealing December")
A sound-proof recording studio connected to a comfortable, inviting and well-decorated room is the setting where Stealing December is recording its first album.
Because of catchy lyrics, rock rhythms and charismatic members, it's no surprise this band is rapidly gaining momentum and a large fan base.
Stealing December has been together since March 2005 but Brandon Langer, Ryan Mullen, Joe Ristano and Michaelangelo Ristano share a close bond and embody the enthusiasm of aspiring rock stars.
Stealing December won the Zippo Hot Tour on Oct. 19, receiving the grand prize of touring with rock superstars, Papa Roach.
Langer, a junior and lead vocalist for the band, comes from Lincoln, Neb. On Nov. 14, Stealing December is opening the tour at the Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia.
The tour has posted 15 dates so far and some performances will be filmed for HDTV.
The Zippo Hot Tour is the biggest unsigned band competition in the country. Stealing December entered the Philadelphia bracket in April along with 80 other bands. The competition consisted of many rounds.
All the bands within the Philadelphia bracket were eligible for online voting, and the competition was knocked down to 8 bands based on votes.
"We played at a two-night show with the other bands in Philadelphia at Grape Street where fans voted," Langer says. "There were three judges and basically out of that whole thing we won the Philadelphia bracket."
From there, Stealing December moved to the national finalist round with nine other bands, he says.
"It was all online voting so we were out in Philly, Wilmington and Newark, passing around fliers trying to get votes and support for the city we were representing," Langer says, "in this case Philadelphia, but also Delaware."
Joe, the band's bassist, says it was a great experience to be spread out in different areas.
"We felt like we were representing Philly because we played in Philly," he says. "But we were also representing Delaware because we're from Delaware."
Mullen, guitarist and vocalist for the band, says in a sense, Stealing December represented the whole Northeast because Philadelphia was the northern-most city on the East Coast that had a bracket.
According to the band, winning a spot on the Zippo Hot Tour with Papa Roach has many advantages.
"We get our own tour bus and won a bunch of gear," Langer says.
Each of the guitarists and bassists gets three new guitars and amps, he says. Other prizes include a Pure Volume promotion package, featuring a banner on the Web site, $1,000 toward CD production and a paid trip to Los Angeles to showcase for Geffen Records' A&R representatives, who work with artists such as Papa Roach, A New Found Glory, Mary J. Blige and Ashlee Simpson.
Joe describes the band's music as having evolved from a pop-punk kind of sound to more of a rock status.
"I would classify our music more as rock - not hard rock, but rock - with the melodies of a pop song," Joe says.
"We are definitely not emo," Mullen says.
Some of the members of Stealing December were friends before they got together as a band. The band's drummer, Michaelangelo, and Joe, are brothers who work together and try to avoid sibling quarrels.
"Like with any relationship, we have our moments," Joe says. "When you are passionate about something, your passions take over.
"I have a vision and Michaelangelo has a vision and on great days, the vision comes together. On other days we have to express ourselves to get that vision across, sometimes louder than others," he says.
Mullen and the Ristanos were in a band together prior to Stealing December. The band split and lost contact, Mullen says.
"Mike and Joe contacted me and asked if I wanted to get together to work on a project, and I said yes," Mullen says. "We started looking for a vocalist."
Mullen and the Ristanos contacted Brandon through his ad on Myspace.com.
"Joe found me and he was like 'Come jam with us,' " Langer says. "I was actually going home the next day, but he encouraged me to come. So we jammed and it went well."
Mullen recalls the first experience he and Joe had live on stage in third grade.
"We were lip syncing to 'New Sensation' by INXS," Mullen says. "He was the guitar player and I was the singer. Out of anybody in the band I know friends-wise, I have known him the longest."
Collectively, the band derives inspiration from Motley Crue, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Blink-182, Goo Goo Dolls, Jimmy Eat World, Our Lady Peace and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Mullen says his inspiration comes from a different source.
"I'm not the guitar player I am without my best friend Jeremy," he says.
The band's ultimate goal is to be recognized for the quality of its music.
Band manager Mike Ristano, Joe and Michaelangelo's father, says he retired early to manage and book all the band's shows.
"I hope at times I am a shoulder for them to lean on," Mike says. "When it's time to be a father, I am a father and when it's time to be a manger, I am a manger."
Stealing December is playing its final show before going on tour Nov. 2 at the East End Café on Main Street.
"In general we want to excel, get signed, tour, make money and just be successful in the music business as a whole," Langer says. "We have taken major steps toward this but it doesn't stop here. Hopefully this is only the beginning."
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our feed
Contact us through email
Be the first to comment on this article!