Stavesacre

Stavesacre are an American supergroup from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West.

For the plant sometimes referred to as Stavesacre, see Delphinium staphisagria.

Stavesacre
OriginHuntington Beach, California
Genres
Years active1995–2010, 2014–present
LabelsTooth & Nail, Nitro, Abacus
Associated actsThe Crucified, CHATTERbOX, Argyle Park
Members
Past members
  • Jeremy Moffett
  • Neil Samoy

Stavesacre has released six studio albums, two EPs, one split album, one compilation, and one DVD.

In 2007, the band stated they would disband following the recording of new songs with original guitarist Jeff Bellew, who had departed in 1999 after the recording of Speakeasy. Those songs were released in the 2009 Against the Silence EP/DVD documentary.

However, after a period of inactivity, the band began writing new music in 2014, and in 2016 the group announced a crowdfunding project for its sixth studio album.[1] MCMXCV was released in August 2017.

History

Stavesacre was formed in 1995 as a post-hardcore band following the breakup of The Crucified. Vocalist Mark Salomon and guitarist Jeff Bellew played in The Crucified and, following its disbandment, the two still had a desire to write music. Salomon and Bellew recruited bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Jeremy Moffett. They knew Lemmenes from his former band, Focused, which The Crucified toured with.[2] Salomon and Moffett had been roommates for a while, and Moffett played in the band The Blamed.[3]

The newly formed Stavesacre signed to Tooth & Nail Records because The Crucified was on the label and Salomon enjoyed working with the label owners.[3][4] The band soon got to work on its debut album, Friction, which was released on June 7, 1996. After the album's release, Moffett left the band and was replaced by former Scaterd Few drummer Sam West. The following year, Stavesacre released Absolutes. Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, saying the lyrics didn't stand out to him but "the sound is so heavy and foreboding that the lack of strong writing becomes a moot point."[5] Following the release of Absolutes, Ryan Dennee joined the band as a second guitarist. Bellew soon departed to focus on his marriage; however, he recorded additional guitars for the band's next album.[6][7]

Stavesacre's third studio album, Speakeasy, was released on November 16, 1999. Doug Van Pelt of HM magazine praised the album and its lyrics, saying, "Lyrically, the band seems to open up its heart for surgery."[8] Speakeasy gained the band its first chart position, debuting at number 44 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and number 35 on the Top Contemporary Christian Chart.[9][10] This was the band's last studio album on Tooth & Nail. The label released a collection of songs from Stavesacre's first three albums on Collective and the band released Split/EP with Denison Marrs on famed indie label Velvet Blue Music. In support of the album, the band toured for nearly two years and grew immensely tired of being on the road.[11]

Neil Samoy joined the band before the recording of its fourth studio album, (stāvz'ā'kər). The new album was released on October 1, 2002 through Nitro records. Allmusic reviewer Bradley Torreano gave the album a four out of five stars stating "First, they've managed to balance the mix of guitar and vocals perfectly, with Mark Salomon's dark moan carrying beautifully over the fuzz-drenched guitars" and CCM magazine said "With the release of its self-titled Nitro Records debut, Stavesacre finally delivers on the potential greatness it has often hinted at through three Tooth & Nail releases and a few EPs."[12][13] Even though the album received favorable reviews, the band was not happy with the final product.[14] In December 2003, Samoy left the band for personal reasons.[7]

In 2005, Stavesacre released an EP, titled Bull Takes Fighter, and the following year released its fifth studio album, How to Live with a Curse, through Abacus Recordings, an imprint of Century Media Records. Praising the lyrical themes on the album, Andrew Shaw stated "the overall feel of the disc was straightforward and truthful, something that there is all too little of in the industry."[15]

On February 27, 2007, Stavesacre announced they would be disbanding following the recording of several new songs with original guitarist Bellew and the release of a DVD documenting the band's history. The announcement was made on the official Stavesacre MySpace:[16]

On March 17, 2008, Lemmenes announced on the band's MySpace that Stavesacre was unsure if they would be disbanding or not. He said West is working on the DVD and a few songs have already been recorded with Bellew. The band stated they are recording a new EP titled Against the Silence. It marks the first songs recorded with previous bandmember Jeff Bellew since Speakeasy in 1999.[17][18] If all goes according to plan, presale on the new EP is set for June 25, while the first batch is slated to ship on July 10, 2009.[19]

2014 saw a resurgence in activity online, with a variety of pictures posted on members' Facebook pages as well as the band's, showing the band writing new music.

Stavesacre has announced that they are to release an album in 2017, originally titled Stavesacre VI.[1]

Discography

Studio albums
Year Album details Peak chart positions
Heatseekers Christian cont.
1996 Friction — —
1997 Absolutes
  • Released: November 4, 1997
  • Label: Tooth & Nail
  • Format: CD, cassette
 — —
1999 Speakeasy
  • Released: November 16, 1999
  • Label: Tooth & Nail
  • Format: CD, cassette
 44 35
2002 (stāvz'ā'kər)
  • Released: October 1, 2002
  • Label: Nitro
  • Format: CD
 — —
2006 How to Live with a Curse
  • Released: April 18, 2006
  • Label: Abacus
  • Format: CD
 — —
2017 MCMXCV
  • Released: August 2017
  • Label: Independent
  • Format: CD
 — —

Other albums
Year Title Label Notes
2001 Split/EP Velvet Blue Music Split EP with Denison Marrs.
2001 Collective Tooth & Nail Compilation album
2002 Live from Deep Ellum XS EP
2004 Bull Takes Fighter Independent EP, limited to 1,000 copies
2009 Against the Silence Independent EP

Videos
Year Title Label
2005 Live from Dallas Zambooie

Members
Current
Former
  • Jeremy Moffett - drums (1995–1996) (also performed in The Blamed)
  • Neil Samoy - guitars (1999–2003)
Timeline
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References
  • Salomon, Mark (2005). Simplicity. Relevantbooks. ISBN 0-9760357-6-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Footnotes
  1. Stagg, David (March 11, 2016). "Stavesacre crowdfunding new album, 'Stavesacre VI". HM Magazine. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  2. Salomon 2005, p. 121
  3. "Stavesacre's debut". HM: The Hard Music Magazine. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  4. Argyrakis, Andy. "Stavesacre Collective". Christianity Today. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Absolutes overview". Allmusic. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  6. Speakeasy (Media notes). Stavesacre. Tooth & Nail Records. 1999.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "Stavesacre biography". Christianmusic.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  8. Van Pelt, Doug (January–February 2000). "Album Reviews: Stavesacre, Speakeasy". HM Magazine (81). ISSN 1066-6923. Archived from the original on March 8, 2001.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. "Heatseekers Speakeasy". Billboard charts. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  10. "Top Contemporary Christian Speakeasy". Billboard charts. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  11. Salomon 2005, p. 32
  12. Torreano, Bradley. "(stāvz'ā'kər) overview". Allmusic. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  13. "(stāvz'ā'kər) review". Ccmmagazine.com. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  14. Jeremy Hunt. "Stavesacre interview". Hmmagazine.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  15. Shaw, Andrew (April 17, 2006). "Stavesacre How to Live With a Curse". Jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  16. "Stavesacre break up". Altpress.com. February 27, 2007. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
  17. "Update..." Bandsonfire.com. March 17, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
  18. Lemmenes, Dirk. "New Stavesacre music". Indievisionmusic.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved June 26, 2008.
  19. Stavesacre Myspace Page
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