Sound Tribe Sector 9

Hunter Brown - Guitar, Synth Jeffree Lerner - Percussion David Murphy - Bass, Synth David Phipps - Keyboards, Synths Zach Velmer - Drums For guitarist Hunter Brown, meeting fellow musicians and sharing audiences is a reminder that "There is incredible music coming out these days. People feel alive. They feel that their lives matter, that their choices matter. This leads to great art." Art exists to show us the world in a new way. It's a fiction that shines light on the truth. Read more on Last.fm …read full bio

Hunter Brown - Guitar, Synth Jeffree Lerner - Percussion David Murphy - Bass, Synth David Phipps - Keyboards, Synths Zach Velmer - Drums For guitarist Hunter Brown, meeting fellow musicians and sharing audiences is a reminder that "There is incredible music coming out these days. People feel alive. They feel that their lives matter, that their choices matter. This leads to great art." Art exists to show us the world in a new way. It's a fiction that shines light on the truth. And because tension is an impetus for creativity, the best art is often produced in the most trying times. As HB says, "From Bob Marley to Bob Dylan, the music we like has always spoken to the struggle." "The music of the sixties and seventies reflected the politics of the era," Murphy says. "America's back in that place right now." STS9 aims to capitalize on the current climate by pushing toward innovation-musically and socially. Their live shows are fun, surely. But the band works to create an environment where folks can stop and think about how all of our lives might be made better. "When people get together and share ideas," Brown says, "they come up with something bigger than themselves as individuals." To build on this community, STS9 has developed peaceblaster.com, an informational website where fans will find copies of the Bill of Rights, speeches by Dwight Eisenhower and Martin Luther King, and links to alternative media outlets. As with the live show, the site encourages independent thought. It's a space where people are free to stand up for the right to their own opinions, whatever they may be. The only agenda here is education. "Our role as artists isn't to preach," Murphy says, "but to present information for people to engage." Sometimes engagement means putting money in the hands that can make a difference. Through benefit concerts, per ticket charity fees, and other special events, STS9 has donated generously to over a dozen organizations, including Rock Against Cancer, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, Global Education Fund, and the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans. They've also supported such independent media sources as Democracy Now!and the Haiti Information Project. Ultimately, STS9 knows that they are just a band, playing songs. No more, no less. But they also understand music's power as a cultural force. They know that friction can be a catalyst for change. And even though they can't literally blast peace into our consciousness, they can carve out a musical space where new ideas might take hold. "We're just trying to get inspired and to get people inspired," Brown says. "That's what music is: a never-ending conversation between strangers. We need this conversation to help us understand the world and our place in it." www.sts9.com | www.1320records.com | www.peaceblaster.com | www.regeneration-themovie.com Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.

…shrink me down again