I’ll have to admit: when I first discovered the up-and-coming band The Stolen, I found myself blasting their eclectic sound at max in my car. The pop-punk Jersey boys have a sound that perfectly combines Cliché faves The Maine and The 1975 with a twist of ‘90s rock and modern pop, all mixed into four incredibly talented musicians. The Stolen dropped their latest EP I’m So Dead in April along with a aesthetically pleasing music video for one of the five songs off the EP, “Can’t Get Enough.” Here, frontman Dom Cuce filled us in on who The Stolen is, their spring tour, and songwriting.
Cliché: For those who haven’t heard you guys yet, can you give us a rundown on who The Stolen is and what your band is about?
Dom Cuce: We are a four-piece band from Old Bridge, NJ. We originally formed in 2005 playing cover songs of our favorite bands at the time. After years of playing together, we started writing our own songs and touring year round.
What was it like to record your latest EP, I’m So Dead?
The recording process for this record was a little different than what we have done in the past since we recorded a large portion of it ourselves. We tracked guitars with a guy named Mike Oettinger up in Union City, NJ, and then we tracked drums and vocals ourselves at a studio in Red Bank, NJ. Our guitarist Rob mixed the entire record and then we had it mastered by Robin Schmidt. Again, it was a lot different than the recording process in the past. We have never self-produced a record, so doing it was an amazing experience and we are extremely happy with how it came out.
How has the response been from fans since you put out the EP?
We’ve gotten an amazing response from our fans! Whether it’s through social media or them coming out to a show and singing along, the response to the new music has been great. We can’t thank them enough.
Who writes the songs in your band? Is it a task for one specific person, or do you all jot down lyrics as a collective?
When writing music, our process is a little different. Rob (guitar) will come to us with some lyrics and some chords on guitar, and if we are all vibing it, we go to work on the song, all making it our own. In my opinion, it’s a good way to create music because now we have four people throwing their ideas in and it allows us to create something we all love.
We love how your sound has an alternative rock/R&B feel, especially in your single “Can’t Get Enough.” Who or what influences your sound?
We take influence from so many bands and artists. I think it shows in the music we consume. In the van, we will listen to literally everything, and when I say everything I mean it. [Laughs] You’ll catch us listening to so many different artists from so many different eras and they all have an influence on the music that we create.
You guys just wrapped up a spring tour. What was that experience like for you?
The tour was amazing! It’s always a good time for us and we always look forward to going out on the road and seeing our fans.
Speaking of touring, when can we catch you on the road again?
Most likely this summer!
What are some goals you guys have for the future of The Stolen?
I would say to tour as much as we can and keep making music that is true to ourselves.
How can we keep up to date with all that you’re doing?
We are on every form of social media, so everyone could follow us there to stay up date.
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Stealing The Spotlight: An Interview with The Stolen: Photographed by Kenny Lewis
