Now Hear This: Stereomud

May 22, 2001 -- WHO:Stereomud

MEMBERS:Eric Rogers, vocals; Corey Lowery, bass; John Fattoruso, guitar; Joey Z., guitar; Dan Richardson, drums

FORMED:1999 in Atlanta

WHAT'S IN A NAME?:The band was christened by a friend, Billy Milano, from the group S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death)

COMPARISONS:Sevendust, Godsmack, Life of Agony

DID YA KNOW?:Corey Lowery, whose brother Clint plays in Sevendust, is an alumnus of Mojo. Dan Richardson and Joey Z. hail from the band Life of Agony.

FIRST IMPRESSION:Perfect Self (Loud/Columbia)

Does singing run in the family?

Rogers: No; I'm a singer with doctors for the majority of my family — my brother, my mother, my sister. My father has a car dealership; the only job I ever had was working there, detailing cars and installing stereos. I actually started singing in the church choir when I was 5 years old and started singing in bands when I was 15. I told 'em no way in hell I was going to college; I was gonna be a rock star. My dad was never supportive of it until a year and a half ago, when he realized, "Hell, he must be taking this serious." Actually, my brother called me on the phone when he heard me on the radio the first time; he was freaking out, "I can't believe you're on the radio!" And I'm like, "I can't believe you dissected a human body — that impresses me.

So when you worked with your dad, did you test drive a lot of hot models?

Rogers: I got to drive a lot of Corvettes; my dad would bring 'em home to me. One time I took out an Iroc-Z when I wasn't supposed to, and I got caught racing by the police. They followed me back to the dealership and made sure I told my father, with speeding ticket in hand. I didn't drive too many cars after that.

Fronting Stereomud must be different from singing in church.

Rogers: Actually, though, I went to a church that was real liberal. Amy Ray from Indigo Girls was in the youth group, and the choir directors were a husband-and-wife team who were always really supportive. They call me every now and then to see how I'm doing out on the road.

The indexing on Perfect Self is very strange, going up to 23 even though there aren't that many tracks on the album.

Rogers:Twenty-three is our lucky number. The 23rd is the day I joined the band. It's Corey's birthday. A lot of things happened for us on the 23rd of the month; I think the record deal was finalized on a 23rd. So a lot of things that have happened personally to us that are significant, we'd look up and say, "Wow, it's the 23rd again." So on the album there's a lot of interludes, but they're all pieces of the 23rd track that work up to that song, which is also the title of the record. They're just kind of pieces of "Perfect Self" — kind of remixed, with a lot of wacky stuff done to them.