Sparkling
Stella, sparkling like an explosion, the band was formed over drinks
in Steve Boardner's in the late 80s.
The trio consisted of Shane P. Rhody on guitar and lead vocals, Audrey Wiechman
on bass and some lovely harmonies and Ian Bernard on drums.
The
band was a strange little blend of punkie, proggie, powery rock type stuff.
With changing time and feel, each song was more like a story, a mini-medley.
A friend recently heard a song on the indie radio and said he thought it was
Stella, It turned out to be Jane's Addiction.
Stella's run began in the padded boothes of Boardner's in 1889 and continued in and around the Hollywood area for another couple of years. Contemporaries of Glue and Motorcycle Boy, Stella only got into the studio once as a band.
At Steve's Clubhouse in Burbank the trio recorded several of their best tunes which have since been digitally remixed and edited for your listening pleasure. The producer was the now-famous John X with a little help from Stella themselves.
This recording session would prove to be the last for Stella. Shortly after finishing the recordings the band broke up. Reunion seems a distant chance these days with Shane gone from sight, but Audrey and Ian still play together in redfeltpig.
