Formed in 2009, The Stick Arounds – consisting of members of old-school Lansing powerhouses Calliope, the Pantones, and Gentleman Callers – take you to a sonic neighborhood where garage rock, Byrds-esque pop, Guided By Voices-inspired abandon, and classic rock all happily live together. A mainstay of mid-Michigan dive bars, when the time came to make an album the band decided to eschew conventions and record where they felt most comfortable: in front of a live audience. The project that followed ended up becoming a labor of love for the GTG family as the venue for the live recording was the now-defunct but much beloved GTG-operated DIY/ warehouse venue The Mystery Garage and the recording and mixing engineer was the Hat Madder’s Isaac Vander Schuur. The album, appropriately titled Mystery Garage, captures the essence of the band and documents a place and time, as all great live albums are meant to. Check out the album for 12 songs of tightly crafted rock and roll songs with a chiming, three guitar attack to complement the impressive group vocal efforts – best enjoyed cranked up with the windows down. Order the LP here or stream it on Spotify!
