STUNTDRIVER

The LA-based performance-driven genre-bending rock spectacle known as STUNTDRIVER is not just a band. It is a torrid conceptual experience that is straddling rock and art crowds with its Evel Knievel-style white racecar suits, gold/black helmets and painted faces, Janet Jackson-inspired choreography, and unabashed self-inquiry that makes everyone feel like they’re on the same punk rock team together. But we’re not just talking punk rock here,... More

The LA-based performance-driven genre-bending rock spectacle known as STUNTDRIVER is not just a band. It is a torrid conceptual experience that is straddling rock and art crowds with its Evel Knievel-style white racecar suits, gold/black helmets and painted faces, Janet Jackson-inspired choreography, and unabashed self-inquiry that makes everyone feel like they’re on the same punk rock team together. But we’re not just talking punk rock here, STDR mixes industrial, electro, new wave/dance and even early 90s metal using howling, melodic vocals, bass-driven, barreling drums & dark synths interlaced with the occasional squealing guitar to accompany the visceral interaction of humans and things (think props like yellow sponges used to clean off new friends and life-size tunnels.) STDR started as a wild, theatrical, immersive living album experience in which the audience travelled through the unreleased record, with individual “stations” dedicated to a song and a particular introspective, interpersonal theme. The concept album was performed via traveling singers, actors, backup dancers, and a double drumming six-piece band.  Over the past year, the adventurous act has honed itself into a sleeker vehicle for performance artist/music-maker/songwriter Kym Priess’s ambitious musical vision with distilled concert venue versions but with the multi-disciplinary, theatrical approach in tact. And to keep you guessing more, the lineup can vary from a duo to a five-piece or even Priess solo. You might find former Oingo Boingo member John Avila (bass, backing vocals), Anton Söder (drum programming, keytar)and Nightmare Air’s Jimmy Lucido (live drums) playing alongside Priess (vocals, synths)…just depends on which show you catch! To get more specific, STDR is the retelling of the age-old epic battle between Light and Dark, referencing Star Wars and haunted houses while confronting society’s struggles/demons in an abstract, sarcastic and playful manner. The inferred dark side (a la Darth Vader) is represented by a character called “The Influencer”, clearly a biting critique of social media, who makes blatant online appearances and is represented at live shows via projections or abstractly by a quadriplegic mannequin prop.  As a separate thing, Priess has a solo show she does which is a seminar of “The Influencer”s product called Nitecreme that supposedly disguises one’s flaws. Stay tuned for more combinations of the like! Clearly, the Drivers (white-suited players) represent the “Resistance” or the good side. :) Barn-burner “Bad Bath” was the debut single along with an accompanying bombastic, surreal music video.  80’s banger “Plastic Faces” was released at the end of 2019. Up next is the premiere of its own video that Priess filmed alone in her garage with a red seamless backdrop, a mannequin and a roll of plastic. The goal is to return to the living album experience in 2020 for the release of the full concept record tentatively titled STUNTDRIVER: The Saga. In the meantime, look for the single “Fugitive” and torridly interactive STUNTDRIVER shows across America that summon you to another realm. Less