The Current Cast of Players:
Former:
A brief history:

STNNNG began their first rehearsals toward the tail end of 2002. Nate and Jeremy recorded demos of three songs, which they used to recruit Adam and Chris, who joined mere weeks before the band's first show in April 2003.

The original four-piece lineup played just 35 shows in 2003 and 2004, but they wrote nearly half of the band's catalog of songs during this time period, resulting in two releases: The Means/STNNNG split 7", and the band's first full-length album, Dignified Sissy. Their debut album was widely praised, receiving many nice accolades from critics in the Twin Cities and beyond. Top honors included a 6th place ranking of "Best local album of 2005" by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (the band placed 1st in "best live acts" that year), and in December, 2009, the Minnesota Daily declared it to be one of the best local albums of the decade.

Bass player Jesse Kwakenat joined the group in January 2005, thereby rounding out STNNNG's sound and stage intensity. Now a quintet, they began touring in March, and started making a name for themselves around the midwest. In September, STNNNG appeared on the cover of the Minneapolis City Pages after placing 1st in their annual "Picked to Click" poll of local musicians, club owners, radio personalities and critics.

The band returned to the studio in the spring of 2006 to finish their second full-length album, Fake Fake. Modern Radio Record Label released the album at the 4th Annual Lunch Show, alongside Signal to Trust's new full-length, Golden Armour. Both bands collaborated again the following year on a split 7" when they each recorded a cover of a song written by the other. This release was included with admission to Lunch Show 5, the final installment of the afternoon all-ages/pot-luck series.

STNNNG's pace slowed in 2008 while members focused on other projects. Their third album, The Smoke of My Will, was completed and released by Modern Radio in October 2010. Smoke was recorded in a variety of locations between 2008-2010, including FlatBlack Studios in Iowa City, Old Blackberry Way in Minneapolis, and at the band's rehearsal space in Minneapolis. It was the last STNNNG album to feature songs performed by the original lineup. Ben Ivascu replaced Ward on drums in August 2009.

Lyrics from these songs and selections of the band's catalog were published in Besinger's book, The Usual Beast, which is available now from Laughing Mouse Press.

About this site:

This site is maintained by J. Michael Ward, former drummer of STNNNG. Content has been published for historical purposes only. The site was redesigned by Ward in the summer of 2011, as part of an academic program, and continues to be a work in progress.