Johnny Stanec has released his new album titled ‘Sunrise Sunset’. As heartfelt as it is heartwarming, Johnny sends up 16 tracks of solid rock/Americana wrapped up into a bundle and sent via the love and passion of a true artist. Each track tells a story and that story is relatable coming from someone whose lived it as much as they wrote about it.
Following with his musical strengths and syphoned through his creative diversity, Johnny Stanec announces his creative arrival by letting you know he is here to stay.
About Johnny Stanec
Musically somewhere between hooky rock’n’roll and stripped-down acoustic songs, Johnny Stanec has been releasing music under his own name for much of the last decade. A singer-songwriter from Youngstown, OH, his music is a mix of Americana, folk rock, the sound of 90s Britpop and elements of Indie. A seasoned live performer with over 600 shows under his belt, he has toured throughout the US and into Canada over the years. He has been noted for his melodic song structures, clever lyrics and bright harmonies. Favorably compared to such artists as Tom Petty, Noel Gallagher and Ryan Adams; his musical influences are present in his work, while still creating his own unique sound. He has shared the stage with noted songwriters like Jesse Malin, Ike Reilly and Cory Branan; to name a few.
Inspired by everything from folk to brit pop, this Youngstown native has been releasing music for nearly a decade. Sharing stages with artists like Jesse Malin, Ike Reilly and Cory Branan, Stanec has been honing his craft for years. And the culmination of that is his newest record, “Sunrise Sunset.” Filled with stories of everyday life and divided by time of day, Stanec chose to record the songs shortly after they were written.
Off the album is the track “Along The Middle”, a bittersweet ballad that walks the line between Petty and Gallagher. With its fervent acoustic strums and earnest vocals, this single is that perfect end-of-summer driving song. Stanec sings, “Colors make their way across the statements that we make / bursting into nothing once they’re through.” It’s these types of “golden hour” lyrics that make this a timely song.
I feel like this is the best work I’ve ever done. I know every musician claims that with every new release, but I think the results are better than I expected. I’ve written quite a bit over the years, but never with this much focus and attention to detail. I think being more “hands on” with the recording process opened up so many new ideas and allowed me to take the production in new directions. Using layered effects and instrumentation gave the songs more nuanced arrangements and overall produced some of my best work to date. I think fans of classic songwriting will enjoy this album, but also listeners looking for an updated take on the singer-songwriter genre will find something worth discovering.
Johnny Stanec
Much of 2020 was spent writing and recording which resulted in the vinyl collection, ‘Never Met A Stranger’.
With live shows on hold, 2021 began with new recording sessions that would stretch into spring 2022. These sessions would produce the new album, ‘Sunrise Sunset’. Taking an uncharacteristic approach of having no prepared material, songs were written sporadically and then recorded almost immediately within weeks of their inception. The results were fresh and urgent songs that benefited from the focused attention. As the sessions went on an idea was developed from the finished songs to present them somewhat conceptually. The new album details “a day in the life” and is divided into four distinct parts; morning, midday, evening and night. Each part is introduced by a musical vignette and the songs highlight a day’s emotional journey. Mixing and mastering concluded in May 2022. Releasing on September 16th, the new album will be available on Compact Disc and all Digital/Streaming outlets.
Live shows stretching from Chicago to New York are planned for fall 2022 to support the new album’s release, with more dates forthcoming. New music is also being written for a future follow-up.
LINKS:
https://www.johnnystanec.com
https://johnnystanec.bandcamp.com