Email Interview with Chris Stickney of Stutterfly
 September 1, 2005

www.stutterfly.com

The summer of 1998 brought forth the creation of 'stutterfly'. What started as a hobby for four young men from Kelowna, B.C., Canada, swiftly turned into a passionate and emotional outlet for members: Chris Stickney (vocals), Jordan Chase (bass, vocals), Bradyn Byron (guitar, vocals), and Craig Langerud (drums). In 2003, Jason Ciolli (guitar) joined the band and in 2004, Ryan Loerke took over on drums to complete the line-up. After reaching number one on mp3.com in their genre, Stutterfly maintained a top 10 position for over a year, and received almost 200,000 plays. With the help of Los Angeles based Freeze Management (the Used, Story Of The Year, Goldfinger) Stutterfly inked a deal with Madonna's Maverick Records (Deftones, Alanis Moressette, etc.) in the summer of 2003, and later that summer toured with fellow labelmates Story of the Year.
I had always heard rumors that the members of the band were Christians and knew the impact of their latest album.  So, I took a shot and made an effort to interview Stutterfly and with thanks to Seth at Total Assault, the interview happened.  You can read our album review here of their June release on Maverick Records.

Dennis: So, you guys are just hoping off your selected dates on the warp tour. The tour seems to be getting bigger and better all the time! How was it this year and how was the crowd response to your guys extreme stage presence and new tracks?
Chris: This was our first time playing Warped Tour, so we didn't really know what to expect. It turned out to be really awesome for us!! We had some amazing crowds, got our name out there, made a lot of new friends, and people seemed to enjoy our set:)

Dennis: I know the rumor mill is turning but any word on a fall tour yet?
Chris: We are going to be heading out with Bleed The Dream, Roses Are Red, Bedlight For Blueeyes, and The Confession this September, for a full cross U.S. tour. All The info. for that tour can be found at www.myspace.com/stutterfly or www.stutterfly.com.

Dennis: I know most bands hate this question but it is one I am always curious about because you never know what the response will be, but where did you come up with the name Stutterfly and what does it mean to you personally?
Chris: I had a very strange dream one night, I was outside on a sunny summer day, in the back yard I played in when I was a little boy. I looked into the garden and saw a huge butterfly fluttering in the breeze. Suddenly the butterfly froze in mid air, and just sat there like it was frozen in time. The sky went dark almost instantly even though moments before there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a strange darkness, almost as if it had become night in a matter of seconds. All the sounds of the summer day ceased, like water had seeped into my ears. I looked back towards the butterfly, it had started moving again, but this time it stuttered through the darkness, almost as if it were flying through a strobe light. With it's strange movements it flew through the black in silence. I woke up and had the name Stutterfly stuck in my head, so I wrote it down. Months later we changed our name from Uncle Ed's Private Jet to Stutterfly. There have been a few interpretations people have given me to this dream, but I guess we may never know what it really meant.

Dennis: Sites like my space and pure volume have done an amazing job the last few years and helping to launch the careers of many bands. I know I have read mp3.com was a big help with you guys as a band. What type of advice would you give to upcoming bands out there reading this?
Chris: The internet is a huge tool in the music industry now. Especially places like myspace where you can network with other bands and talk to fans. I think that if you spend enough time promoting your band on the internet, and with a proper demo, you could create a fan base and get label interest without ever leaving your house. Of course there is nothing more important than touring and letting people see your band live, but I believe that the internet is definitely a great way to get the ball rolling.

Dennis: The latest album, We are Bled of Color, has an incredible mix of passionate and melodic rock to touches of metal. The sound has a strong sense of maturity within the mix. Also, some of the lyrical approach has changed with a less frontal approach with the screaming to a more melodic vocal presence. What led to the change of style and how do you feel the reaction has been to the listeners? (freaking awesome album by the way in my opinion!!)
Chris: Well thank you very much!!:) I really love beautiful music and melody is one of the things I enjoy most in music. With this new album we tuned our guitars down a lot more than our last CD which allowed me to sing more in my vocal range and the also made the music a little heavier. We learned a lot about song writing over the years and we didn't want to put in a bunch of screaming, just for the sake of screaming. We wanted to place the screaming in the right places for it to add emotion and where if felt right. Music is about feeling, when you play it and when you listen to it, so that is what we did with this album...we felt it:) There has been differing opinions on the new CD, which is bound the happen and also what makes music great, everyone hears music differently, and each person takes something different from it. We had complete artistic freedom with this CD, which was great, so we did what we wanted to do and ' And We Are Bled Of Color ' is what came out.

Dennis: Our website is a Christian based website but we promote anything that rocks and has good quality! One of the questions I find interesting is asking about personal spiritual beliefs of whoever is responding to the interview. What are your thoughts about Jesus and the Christian environment in today's culture?
Chris: We are all Christian guys in Stutterfly, and our beliefs are important to us, however we know that not everyone shares the same beliefs and we are not out to shove anything down any ones throat. We want to be a positive influence and shed some light into a sometimes dark industry, but we want to do that simply by being ourselves and living our lives according to what we believe to be right. Very often there is way too much shoving and not enough loving.

Dennis: Lyrically, Stutterfly takes on heavy lyrical content with messages that reach straight to the heart of the pain and suffering many teens deal with on a daily basis. How do you guys personal deal with adversity in your life and what message do you hope the listeners take from your band?
Chris: I have been through some hard times in my life as has everyone, and music is one thing that really helped me through some of these times. Listening to a song that seems to describe exactly how you are feeling at a certain moment is one of the greatest things, even if it is a bad feeling. It can help you to realize that you are not alone and that others have felt this way before. Sometimes a song hits so perfectly that it seems like that song was written just for you, or even that you wrote that song yourself. I wrote the lyrics for this album, hoping that some could experience that. By writing from experiences in my own life, and by being open and honest, I hope that my lyrics hit home and are uplifting to those who need to hear them at that moment.

Dennis: Ok, another question fans always want to know, what are you guys listening to right now traveling around the country?
Chris: We are at home at the moment so I can't speak for the other guys. I have been listening to a lot of different things right now. Here is a few: Menomena, Dredg, Sigur ros, Code Seven, The Dissociatives, The Fire Theft, HIM, Imogen Heap, Mew, Loudermilk, The Myriad, and tons more. I am a bit of a music junkie:)

Dennis: If you were standing in front of Jesus what would your first thought and response be?
Chris: I would want to hug the person who created love.