I spoke to Will Wight, booking agent at The Sights Set North Agency and manager of local bands Alanas Mark and A Journey To Fall, about the upcoming June 3rd show.
"Another Hero Dies (Invogue Records) is going to be headlining with Sleep Separis Sleep (Ex-Static Age)." Says Will. " I threw on some friends of mine (on the line-up), Serianna, who recently signed to Bullet Tooth Records and other local acts, Alanas Mark and A Journey To Fall, who are both part of Sights Set North and managed by me." There will be performances from My Oh My and As A Heart Attack as well.
The second show is an all day event lasting six and a half hours with performances from Rise Record bands and several Sights Set North bands, too, such as, My Oh My, Sworn In, A Journey to Fall, Alanas Mark, Luna Stella and more!
A Journey To Fall
"Help celebrate Serianna's signing to Bullet Tooth Records and kick your summer off right by throwing down with some of the Midwest's greatest bands. Hope to see you there!" - Will Wight
In the summer of '09, Ian McLaughlin began writing songs on the guitar, these instrumental songs would later become the basis for band, Luna Stella.
Joe Mitchell would join on the drums in the following December after leaving his previous band. Death Will Ensue. Before they could play any shows, they needed a bassist. Joe asked a friend of his, Taylor Cleveland, to play for them. agreed and a few weeks later they began playing as a three piece instrumental band. This would be Ian's first band.
Their first show was at Swilligan's Pub in Rockford and the band remembers everything going well. They used the name Luna Stella, meaning moon and stars in Latin. They played instrumentally for several months before hearing from friend, Doug Warriner, who was drumming for Oh So Secret (now Steady Hands), that band mate Alex Meinert left the band. They met Alex in June of 2010 and several weeks later, he joined the line-up as lead vocalist.
Things started getting a little tricky and drummer, Joe Mitchell, left the band due to personal matters. The band turned to former Another Hero Dies drummer, Matt Barker, to record a song and play a very large show with Dance Gavin Dance. unfortunately, he was unable to stay with the band, and the band looked for a replacement drummer for the DGD show.
They, again, turned to friend Doug Warriner for help and he played drums for the band's show. After he left his band, Oh So Secret, he became a permanent member.
The band has 2 songs recorded at Rock Valley College, the local community college. They also have a five song EP that they recorded themselves. They will be professionally recording in late summer.
What began as a progressive, math based, instrumental band has slowly transformed into a progressive rock band with melodic and pop elements. To date, they have played about fifty shows and say they would like to play in Tokyo like Cheap Trick, although, it is uncertain as to how serious the statement was. The band is very silly when it comes to interviews, but they are definitely a treat to talk to.
