New Jersey has always been an area that has breed some impressive musicians from legends like Bruce Springsteen to independent artist’s like Lisa Coppolla. One such independent artist has not only played in Springsteen’s favorite pit stop the Stone Pony but even graced the stage at the famous CBGB. Nick DeStefano has been around the music scene for that long and has planted his flag with much success.
Nick has performed with a few bands over the years each reaching a significant milestone. Back in the day with his first two bands Faces In The Crowd and Y Fly 2 London managed to win awards for MTV videos. “Love Without Fiction” with Faces In The Crowd & “Die For The City” with Y Fly 2 London. It is no surprise that Nick always strived to work with quality musicians to produce quality work. His music was also featured on NJ’s WDHA-FM Compilation CD. The CD had such heavy-hitters like The Smithereens, Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow) and Glen Burtnick. The EP “Just Say No” with the band Y Fly 2 London is still considered a classic.
That specific EP featured such talents like late great producer and ex-Scandal keyboardist Benjy King, Donnie Kisselback, from The Alice Cooper Band, James Lewis from Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and the great Miami Horn section, featuring Mark Pender, Stan Harrison, Ed Manion, & Mike Spengler. Another added accomplishment was Nick signing a publishing deal with Grammy award winning publisher Valentino music for a few of his instrumental recordings.
This was the mentality and drive that Nick used when he would mesh with recent band members Nestor Arcelay and John Henderson in 2014. They all ended up performing at Nick’s sister’s birthday party and received great feedback. At that point they decided to work together and haven’t looked back.
“Both Nestor and John have been well known players on the NJ music scene, we got together to do a birthday party for my sister and everybody loved it, so we decided to continue as a 3 piece.”
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Not only did Nick click with new musicians but also a developed a new stage show. The thought was to have more of a stage presence. Hence at one show they had a glow about the stage and a spider web in the front. Currently at any certain show a club would be filled with spider webs and spiders everywhere. It is actually a unique sight to see accompanied by their personal sound.
Since then they have released a single titled “Election Day
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydgKvj64_QA) which was a play on the current static during the run for President. Many would think it was a political cry or protest song but it offers a different message. The single is available on NJ based Bongo Boy Records and on iTunes, Amazon & Spotify.
“It’s all about having a great song, the riffs I had for a longtime, I just needed a great subject matter and this recent election was a perfect vehicle for the music. It really was about getting out and voting. So many people had so much to say about both of these unpopular candidates. I just tapped into all the rhetoric that had been said.”
Since the release of the single has not only been on the Top 100 AC charts for some time but also peeked at #32 in the Top 40. It has also received some substantial support on the College radio circuit. Nick strongly believes that today’s music industry is based on a singles market not album driven any longer. He would rather release singles at a time that are of top quality not just fillers.
At this point the Spiders have already booked shows in the New Jersey area for 2017. During those shows they look to add new material for their fans to enjoy. Nick is looking forward to the continued support on radio and to grow with the Spiders weaving a new web of music one beat at a time.
Visit the band at http://www.thespidersband.com/