Stone Eagle represents everything I dig about blues-rock: fierce determination, fuzzy grooves and rhythm, consistent flow of energy, and just pure kickass sound.
The Kansas-City hard rock-blues band released their EP Backside of the Mountain on December 17, 2024.
Opening track "Crawl" was released as a single on April 30, 2023. The song kicks off with determined, devout energy. Ernie Yates' powerhouse vocals are infused with soul.
Second track "Blues Road" continues with Chris Schmidt's fuzz guitar opening. Drummer Brett M. Taylor has some interesting fills across the track, as the holy blues-grooviness shines through with bassist Bradford Padley.
The abundance of energy does not run out; third track "42 & 11" is hard-hitting with a contagious groove. This band is a powerhouse on every level.
"Cupboard" is the conclusion. Wrapping up the EP with a consistent sound of more blues, soul, and utter rock'n'roll, Backside of the Mountain is one of the strongest debut EPs I have heard from the local scene in a long time.
I interviewed Stone Eagle about the EP and the behind the scenes of the band:
LP: How did Stone Eagle get started? What are the origins of the band name?
Stone Eagle: Well, when a mommy bird and a daddy bird loved each other... they called up the stork, and that asshole brought a hellraiser to the party!!
LP: How did everyone join the band?
SE: Two hoodlums cornered me out on the patio of VIVO and peer-pressured me into joining the party. All the cool kids were doing it, they said.
LP: What was the writing/recording process like?
SE: WE NEED MORE BASS. We all just kind of throw out ideas here and there and then jam on them until they morph into a song.
LP: How do the songs evolve when you play them live?
SE: We tend to go off the vibe of the crowd and bandmates and allow the song to naturally morph into the direction it wants to go
LP: Describe the band ultimately in your own words.
SE: A group of veteran rockers from a wide variety of genre backgrounds looking to push our music forward and improve the music scene. We're just a good old rock'n'roll band heavily influenced by the blues and stoner/doom. We've played many shows around the Kansas City region from small corner stages all the way up to larger stages like at Kansas Speedway.
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