AUTHOR: Alex Sayegh
Sitting on Stacy is a San Diego based band formed in 2013. The band is equipped with two albums, Obsessed (2017) and Perfectly Sane (2019), each layered with tones of punk, ska, reggae, among others. Prior to their Valentine’s Day show at the Soma, I had the pleasure to talk with them.
Did you guys have any name ideas before choosing Sitting on Stacy?
Hoyt: We were called Paper for awhile, which was the worst name ever because people would search it up and find us and the Staples Center. They wouldn’t even find us they would just find pieces of paper.
Kyle: Staples like the company.
Hoyt: Yeah we had to change it. There was Stacy’s Grass, which was kind of weird, that one didn’t go down. Atlantic Beard was an idea that got thrown across. There was Warm Plum, we were almost gonna be called Warm Plum. That would’ve been sick, but yeah we just settled on Sitting on Stacy.
What was each of your first concerts?
Leland: Warped Tour 2015.
Hoyt: My first one was Blink 182, I saw the original band with Tom Delonge and everybody and it blew my mind. I was like 12 and I’ve been a punk rocker ever since.
Kyle: I saw Aerosmith when I was like 12, and I was like damn this guy’s old, and I knew I wanted to do that.
What was your motivation when you started the band and how has it changed?
Hoyt: Our motivation was definitely just to play music and hang out and play in front of people.
Kyle: We just wanted to hangout and chill and eat junk food.
Hoyt: Yeah chill and watch T.V.
Kyle: And how has that changed? We’re still doing the same.
Leland: That’s why you wanted to form a band? To chill and watch T.V.?
Kyle: Yeah we play with the band just so we can watch T.V. after. Just when Judge Judy’s on we’re like “Alright we can jam!”
Hoyt: Once Jersey Shore hits the T.V. we’re like “Alright! It’s time to jam!”
There’s a lot of San Diego vibe in your music, does where you live inspire you at all?
Kyle: Heck yeah dude.
Hoyt: Honestly, I think it does a little bit. I feel like whenever we play in front of a San Diego crowd everyone just loses their mind, and they’re just so crazy and they don’t care about anything, so we’re just like, “Let’s write music that makes people not care about any of their problems.”
Kyle: I feel like if we were living in Nebraska we’d be writing like sad, dark music. We’d be looking at the plains of Nebraska and be like “I can’t think of anything.”
Hoyt: It’d just be like acid jazz. Yeah we’d probably be an acid jazz or crust punk band if we were in Nebraska.
Leland: (breathes smoke into microphone)
Hoyt: There you go, that’s his answer.
Do you think it’s stressful to balance your personal life and band at the same time?
Kyle: Band is my life.
Leland: Yeah pretty much.
Kyle: Yeah you just gotta find the time.
Hoyt: Yeah it does get hard with school and just hanging out with people.
Kyle: You gotta watch T.V.
Hoyt: He watches T.V. a lot apparently.
Kyle: You just gotta schedule it up.
Leland: Schedule it up?
(laughs)
Kyle: Yeah and then you can achieve your dreams.
Hoyt: You use Google Schedule?
Kyle: I use Google Schedule. It's only $2.99 in the app store.
What band or artist do you dream to open for?
Leland: Rage Against the Machine.
Hoyt: Sublime.
Kyle: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.
Hoyt: Yeah actually I changed my answer to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. He’s like this jazz guy who plays the trumpet.
Kyle: He’s like the origins of crust punk.
Hoyt: Yeah and we just really like him. What about you Leland?
Leland: Tame Impala.
What has been your favorite show you’ve played so far?
Hoyt: This one!
Kyle: We haven’t even played it and it’s already my favorite.
Hoyt: Yeah, soundcheck.
Leland: The Irenic in San Diego.
Hoyt: Yeah, the Irenic was so sick. We were like the last band to play there. It was crazy there were so many people just throwing up, falling, emitting liquids from their body onto the stage and we were slipping in it and falling.
Kyle: I grabbed a sip of water and I looked up,
Hoyt: and people were like a zamboni off the stage.
Leland: Yeah it was pretty crazy, but it was really fun.
Hoyt: Yeah it was neat.
Do you have any rituals before or after a show?
Kyle: We like to jump up and down five times (jumps five times)
Hoyt: Yeah definitely it has to be five, one time we did six and we got kicked off.
Leland: Lemon juice. He’s got lemon juice right here.
Hoyt: Yeah it’s not pee.
Kyle: Not yet.
Hoyt: Sometimes we huddle up and have a moment with each other, then we’re just like (inhales) and we just have an out of body experience. Then we just go up there and have fun.
Leland: A little bro smooch before the show.
Kyle: “I love you bro, I love you so much have such a great show.”
Hoyt: And then we make eye contact like the entire time. We don’t break eye contact with each other.
Who’s the guy in the mask?
Entire band: Ohhhhhh.
Leland: He’s coming.
Hoyt: Yeah he’s coming tonight, you’ll see him in the crowd or on the stage. Everyone would die underneath him. He's just too big.
Kyle: I was actually blown away when you said it was Whatshisname in the video cause he looks so much smaller in the video than he is in real life.
Leland: You just have it away that it’s a guy, it could’ve been a girl.
Kyle: His name is Steven Mambamenjenson
Hoyt: Steven Menjenson. That is the man in the mask.
Leland: No it’s not. Why would you lie? It’s The Stu.
Kyle: The Stu.
Hoyt: Yeah it’s the Stu. He drinks beer and takes pictures. He’s gonna see this and be like “What the heck? What are you guys doing?”
Leland: “What are you guys even doing?”
Hoyt: Yeah, but he’ll be here tonight!