Well-Suited for Transition
by Barbara Bales
Stealing Jane (formerly Hyjinx) has been busy working on Say Something, a six-song CD due out on September 15. The self-described groove-rock/pop band is signed to BTO Records, founded by their sax player and vocalist, Pat Iannelli, who is also their manager and producer. Iannelli had been booking the band for years before deciding to create his own label. "The way I produce a record, and my inspiration for BTO, is Everfine Records, which BTO is modeled after," he says. "What Everfine does which is cool is that they believe in artist development."
Although he would like to expand BTO one day, Iannelli is content to work with Stealing Jane exclusively. "I am in the band and I try to run the label by being sensitive to both sides, that of an artist and that of an outside person," he says. "I'm not interested in advancing the label right now, but my hopes are that if I find another band I'm interested in working with, then I will.
"The biggest challenge to running a label is trying to separate yourself from others and to be the one fish out of a million that gets noticed. I'd like to develop the label and make it something in and of itself. I believe in Stealing Jane and in developing the band's talent. I will take on another band if I know that I can help develop them, and I will only do that once Stealing Jane has reached a certain level of success."
Iannelli describes what it's been like producing Say Something. "Right now, we're in a transitional period. It usually takes two to two-and-a-half weeks to track a record. Mixing it is an ongoing process. I'll listen to it over and over again, come back to it weeks later, and then listen to it again to see if there are things I need to fix. I listen to everyone's opinion. I assume a lot of control, but not all of it."
Why the name change from Hyjinx to Stealing Jane? "We used to be a bar band doing covers," he says. "Over a year ago, we decided to wean ourselves off doing covers and just do originals. We did a show with Greg Raposo at the Knitting Factory in New York City in June 2006. The fans we got from that show gave us the push to move ahead as an original band. As Hyjinx we'd won the Good Times Festival for Original Music in 2004, but after the gig with Greg, people started myspacing us with comments like, 'Hey, we'd love to help you promote,' or 'Great job.'"
Their first official show as Stealing Jane was in February 2007, but the earliest incarnation of the band (as Hyjinkx) was in 2001, when Bryce Larsen, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, teamed up with fellow high school senior Brian Bunce, bass player and vocalist, to start a band for the high school talent show. "We would later ask friends/band mates Dave Calzone, Randy Rice, Matt Giordano and Nijhad Jamal to join us, and we played our first show, a talent show, as Hyjinx," recalls Bunce. "The band lost but decided to keep playing, and did so in venues across Long Island and some rare shows in the Northeast. After transforming from a ska band to a cover band to a jam band, we finally settled on a sound that could be simply described as pop, but includes influences from rock, punk, funk, soul, R&B and ska. But the name Hyjinx was still associated with the bar band and old ska material. The name change allowed us a fresh start."
The group has played in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and as far south as Kentucky. Their next tour, the Cartoon Cities Tour, will officially kick off on June 14 in Pennsylvania and will consist of 25 cities in 30 days. "We've done shows with George Clinton and the Funkadelics," notes Iannelli. "We've opened for the Spin Doctors and for Tower of Power and we're going to open for the Wailers. We'd covered their song 'Could You Be Loved' on the first Hyjinx record and we got a lot of positive response from it."
Each member has gotten sponsorship from such companies as Reed, D'Addario Strings, Evans Drumheads and Planet Waves. "We submitted press kits and hoped for the best," says Bunce. "Since I discovered there was a difference in brands, I've used D'Addario's strings. The EXP coating is my preference, as it allows me more shows before the tone dies. Even on my home electric and acoustic guitars, they definitely offer a superior tone quality." Adds Larsen, "D'Addario strings have been on my guitar since the first time I picked one up. I've played on other people's guitars and I can instantly tell when they aren't D'Addario. I love how they color code the gauges, and it definitely was an honor to receive that sponsorship. I feel like as far as strings and cables, I can represent them well because I truly do believe in the product." Says Mike Giordano, lead guitarist and vocalist, "I've been using D'Addario strings since I started playing guitar. I was advised by every guitarist I knew that they were the best. I have experimented with other strings and I've learned that D'Addario is by far the most consistent string in both sound and lifespan. I think any guitarist would agree that Planet Waves is always coming up with the most convenient and innovative guitar accessories." When Iannelli got word that he was sponsored by Rico, he was overjoyed. "I have used Rico since I was in fourth grade, starting with the Rico Royals," he says. "Now, almost 10 years later, I use Rico Plastic coded, a reed that Richie Cannata [saxophone player for Billy Joel], who was giving me lessons at the time, recommended I try. Throughout the years I've tried other reeds and there is nothing like Rico. I was recently added to the Rico website and all I could think was, What the hell am I doing on the same webpage as great saxophonist like Leroy Moore [Dave Matthews Band], Michael Breacker and so many more insane players? It truly is an honor."
"Our long-term goal is to put out the CD," says Iannelli. "Touring is a huge responsibility and we want to tour as much as possible. Focusing on our street team and our fans is important, especially for Matt, who is our street-team leader. He is on his computer all day talking to fans and to the street team. It's my job to make sure that everything's set up onstage, and I videotape every performance and then show it to everyone to get their input. The other guys have the time to talk to the fans and to hang out. Our street team in Massachusetts just burned 500 samplers for us, as well as stuffed them in sleeves for us. They made Stealing Jane phone charms for us to sell. Last week, a fan from Chicago and one from Ohio drove all the way to see us at McCoy's in Commack; they hadn't seen us live before. They'd only checked us out on myspace. Then they drove up to Massachusetts to see us live. A lot of bands say it, but we have awesome, awesome fans!"
