Locals Only: Stay Loud having fun on stage and on their new tracks

Punk rock group, Stay Loud has been dropping singles like sweet candy throughout the year to date. The four-piece band out of Luzerne County was recently featured on 979X’s Locals Only show for one of these releases! These regional rockstars have a show at The VSpot in Scranton on Friday, June 28 with Esta Coda, Into Sunday and Look Back Luna. They’ll be celebrating five years of their debut album, “Losing Sleep,” plus playing many more of their hits alongside these other acclaimed local acts. Stay Loud has been playing live while releasing singles, one by one to the public. They’re making great progress with the current lineup of the band, while having plenty of fun in the process. Stay Loud was founded in NEPA in 2017. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Chris Cashmere starred in the musical “American Idiot” with former guitarist/vocalist Gerry Tulao, who told Chris he was starting a band that needed a guitarist and singer. Jon Kamor then came into the band on drums and backing vocals. And, Stay Loud has been rocking out ever since! Although Chris and Jon are the only founding members left, Chris said he’s excited about where the band is headed. Lead guitarist/backing vocalist Aron Wood and bassist/backing vocalist Jared Yates joined in February of 2023. Although they’re rockers on stage, Jared and Aron describe themselves as business nerds. Jared has a degree in marketing and Aaron has experience managing bands behind the scenes. Now with these two coming in, they’re taking everything they’ve learned to keep leveling up Stay Loud. “The direction it’s going now, I’m very happy with it and the future is very bright,” said Chris. The bandmates said one of the things that sets them apart is that they make music that’s fun — both on the tracks and on the stage. When making music, they utilize all their influences while staying rooted in punk rock to create their standalone sound. Although Stay Loud is a punk band at its core, they also incorporate Chris’s affinity for rock n’ roll flair, Jared Yates’ love for heavy metal music, Aron’s ability to utilize funk, and Jon’s writing that pulls from his own experiences as well as big local bands like The Menzingers and Breaking Benjamin. All the while, they stay true to their original sound. “Overall, when we play live, I genuinely feel it’s all about the experience of coming to see the band,” said Aron. “I try to make sure anyone who comes, remembers that experience.” Stay Loud pride themselves on performance. They aim to make every show an engaging spectacle, one their audience will remember. They said they’ve even coordinated conga lines at The VSpot! “I like crowd participation, so every show I try to get people to take my mic — maybe that will get someone inspired to get into music,” said Chris. See for yourself Friday night in Scranton. Stay Loud will also headline a show A Night of Debauchery at The Keystone Stage LLC in Olyphant on July 28 with Miracle Blood, with support from Jaclyns Tearducts & Stereotyped. Over the past year, Stay Loud’s been busy putting out five new singles already this year. The first song they produced in 2024, “Out of Control,” recently played on 979X’s Locals Only show and it’s such a headbanger! It’s catchy, it makes you want to move, and it would be a perfect fit for the “Stranger Things” soundtrack. “Bootstraps” is their most recent single that came out in May. This one is the perfect road trip fuel with an inspiring punk spirit. Then, other new songs like “Dracula Flow” go in a whole different direction — diving into heavy metal influences, but while having a bit of fun with sound. Stay Loud’s members said the number of EPs they’ve put out has only been made possible by the collective of minds they currently have. This four-piece band boasts diverse skills to progress their band, and not just in music. Stay Loud does as much self-management as possible. They’ve been leveraging Jared’s marketing skills, as well as refining their expertise in editing, mixing, and a little bit of everything “The quality is increasing, I’m excited about it!” said Jared. “For me I’m a real nerd when it comes to business parts of the band, so it’s taking that and applying it.” The gang gave me a little peek “into the Loud” by revealing they’re currently finishing up another song. They’re excited to put this one out next, but they’re still making sure every piece is perfect. Although Stay Loud can’t speak on any albums yet, they’re currently strategizing for the music on the way. They look forward to releasing more singles soon in 2024, maybe 2025. “We just want to keep moving along with what we’re doing, keep the ball rolling with new music,” said Jared. Stay Loud love playing together and pushing each other to get better. Although one of the band’s biggest milestones so far was playing the Vans Warped Tour in Pittsburg, they also just appreciate recording music as a unit. “From an internal perspective, we hope to continue to push each other musically and just support each other, not just from a band perspective but a friend perspective too,” said Aron. These are four opinionated, talented minds, getting on the same page and always looking ahead to the next step. Keep your eyes peeled for that next song they already have cooking. “The goal is to play a couple more shows, maybe a few big ones, and just keep going back into writing some music that people will hopefully enjoy and relate to,” said Chris. Stay Loud insists you have to come out to a show, see them live, and go say hello! Check our their newly updated merch stand at their upcoming shows and tell them what you think of their slew of new singles. They want to hear from the listeners! Follow Stay Loud on social media and listen on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you get your music. Tune into 979X’s Locals Only show on Sunday nights with Lazy E from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to keep hearing great music from talented NEPA artists like Stay Loud!