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They call it "FunkyPopSexyHouse Rap," and its magic formula includes two guys, two girls and a bouncing bandwagon full of jaunty, dancefloor-filling rhythms that glisten with sweet, sharp, pinpoint-perfect harmonies. - Atlanta, GA
Rock Candy….With a sexy, brassy blonde lead singer, 13 Stories plays lipstick, nail-polish, no-worries dance music with songs fusing modern pop, funk and rap with lots of ‘80s-style keyboards. The band makes it bubbly Columbus debut at The Loft on Saturday, just one week after playing Atlanta’s Music Midtown.
- Columbus, GA
13 Stories is a party band and you have to love them for that. What is wrong with having a little fun every once and a while? 13 Stories is sexy and cute and they aren't sorry about it. Cheri D is like a mistress of ceremonies urging you to party, loosen up, and get with the plan. 13 Stories plays music to shake your ass to. Try them. I know you want to. - Atlanta, GA
Mountain Express – Asheville, NC
Atlanta-based pop machine 13 Stories makes a stop at Westville Pub Saturday,
March 19. The good-time band, an exuberantly odd fit for Asheville, boasts a
sound that's been described as "the B-52s groovin' to Prince at a Gwen
Stefani pool party." On the road promoting its fizzy, titled-for-dummies
debut album FunkyPopSexyHouseRap, the group features two girls and two guys,
all of whom go cheekily by first name only.
- Asheville, NC
Times Columbia
13 Stories-Not since the B-52's has Georgia produced a band that's as
unabashedly pop as 13 Stories. Their debut album's title,
FunkyPopSexyHouseRap, goes a long way toward explaining their sound, which
borrows, heavily from Blondie, The Floyds and Fetchin Bones, as well as the
"Love Shack" legends. Like those bands, 13 Stories has the prerequisite hot
babe up front in bleached-blonde bombshell Cheri D. Add an equally
attractive gal on guitar, and the result is an energetic, irresistibly
bubblegum rock band with the visuals to match. At Delaney's
- Columbia, SC
A mesh of B-52's sound with a Punk Rock style, these delightful songs are full of positive powerful energy. Reminding me of my club dancing days in the 80's...It has that feel-good musical beat with tantalizing lyrics… - Georgia
13 Stories rocks! Their new CD "FunkyPopSexyHouseRap" is original, high-energy, catchy and contagious. It's like the B-52's powered by rocket fuel! I can't take it out of my CD player. This band is destined for greatness! - Asheville , NC
"...smile-inducing selection of bubblegum dance pop that reins everything in just as you think it's about to plummet to too cheesy territory. The four piece's hyper-bubbly music is incessantly energetic, with live shows to match." - Athens, GA
Hurts So Good
By John E. Citrone
The ancient form of execution known as Leng Tch’e may have been the cruelest of all. A slow-death method of public torture, the practice involved feeding opium to the subject and smearing his body with the dope in order to dull the pain of the protracted dismemberment that followed. The unexpected result was that the subject witnessed his own bloody execution with a look of ecstasy on his face-a spectacle made more unsettling by the wide-eyed masses that gazed upon the limbless torso. This is what it’s like listening to 13 Stories’ release, FunkyPopSexyHouseRap. A co-ed Spice Girls of sorts, 13 Stories plays some of the most insipid pop music of our time, wonderfully bad and deliciously painful to behold. Not unlike “Like a Virgin”-era Madonna, 13 Stories combines kiddie pop with push-up bras full of sexual innuendo. Case in point: “The La Song.” Herein, the harmless nonsensical line, “You’re the mac daddy bam biddy man to me/And I can’t wait to see ya” combines with the overt “And I hear loud and clear you like my cat/And she likes you, hey, how ‘bout that/Ladies, listen to your pussy.” Of course, the next verse references stroking said feline. The melodies are infectious, like an incurable venereal disease acquired from some irresistible paramour. You know it’s wrong, and you’re probably gonna die if you keep it up, but the CD player remains on a constant loop. God, please, make it stop.
- Jacksonville, FL
‘The song is stuck in my head’
Beep! Beep!: Love it or hate it, you can’t escape the addictive car commercial that’s lit a fire underneath an Atlanta band
Be careful when you turn on your TV these days. There’s a car ad that’s sitting on the horn.
If you’ve seen it — and heard it — you definitely know which one it is. It’s the Ford Mustang commercial that features a hip little ditty called “Beep Beep.”
One of those songs that’s impossible to get out of your head, “Beep Beep” is done by an Atlanta-based band called 13 Stories, which also has a performance role in the sleek commercial that has been running during prominent network times throughout the Southeast.
The high-octane dance pop quartet — with Cheri D on vocals, guitarist Cat, bassist J3 and drummer Max — has been compared to the B-52s, Blondie and No Doubt — no doubt because they have female members. The band, which will appear at The Gathering Spot in Greenville Saturday night, has a new CD called “FunkyPopSexyHouseRap.”
Response to the ubiquitous ad, especially in the Carolinas, has been strong. “The commercial has become a water-cooler conversation piece. It’s unbelievable,” said Randy Sadd, the band manager who originally got the ball rolling by sending a copy of the song to Ford’s ad agency, JWT. Not only did the agency love the tune, but it developed an ad around the song that featured the band’s dynamic stage presence.
“There’s my mug, as big as it could be,” said singer Cheri D, who adds that reaction to the ad has pushed awareness of the band from zero to 60. “I’m getting phone calls like crazy,” she said. And the response from people on the street has a common theme. “They all tell me, ‘The song is stuck in my head.’ I get a lot of that,” said Cheri D.
Of course, it’s supposed to be memorably addictive. That’s the point, according to Kevin Fisher, who not only owns a Columbia ad agency but also is a big music fan. He immediately liked the ad. “It’s all black and blue. It caught my attention the first time I saw it, and I’ve paid attention to it every time I’ve seen it since.
“I like the visual feel of the ad,” he said. “It’s memorable for the look and the music.” Fisher believes Ford hit the mark with this ad because it stands out. And it reaches younger viewers who might be in the market for a car like the Mustang.
“I like it as a car ad because it’s different. It’s a good, infectious little tune, but I like the approach. It’s what I call breakthrough value. It breaks through the advertising clutter.”
Thursday, April 27, 2006
- The State-Columbia, SC
Discography
Full-Length CD- "FunkyPopSexyHouseRap"
Photos
Bio
"We're unapologetically pop," says Cheri D of the Atlanta-based band. "Our name is about a place people don't go to often enough, but maybe shouldn't be afraid of. A lot of people don't know what to make of us, like they don't know what to make of the idea of the 13th floor".
Fronted by sassy Cheri D on keyboards/lead vocals -- backed by feisty guitarist Cat and the firm but funky rhythm section of bassist J3 and drummer Max -- 13 Stories is a quartet whose perky "FunkyPopSexyHouseRap" shows get a share of catcalls, but mostly calls for encores from audiences who find that 13 is a lucky number for those who like melodic, vivacious rave-ups. 13 Stories performances have garnered the group favorable comparisons to everyone from No Doubt and Blondie to the B-52s, Cibo Matto and Tom Tom Club.
The members of 13 Stories have been playing together in different capacities for nearly six years, but landed on their united approach by almost disbanding. Originally featuring a 'flashy' lead guitarist and more jamming sound, 13 Stories serendipitously stumbled on the group's infectiously energetic, edgy take on pop when naturally developing and expanding their sound. The group brought in keyboards and each member took on microphones, giving a completely unique dimension to their live show and recordings.
Aching to perform since the age of four, Cheri D has "so much energy she can't pause it." She sang in multilingual choirs for years and haunted open mic nights to hone her voice, influenced by '80's pop and folk music. Cat is a rock 'n' roll naïf, ripping natural leads with coltish energy and few influences outside of a little Billy Joel and obscure salsa bands, feeding off her band mates’ enthusiasm. J3 is the perfectionist, most widely versed in winding genres and setting the steady pace while always mixing things up. And inspired by country and heavy metal, Max is both the anchor and versatile hype man.
"I am so proud to be a part of 13 Stories," said Cat. "We have a uniquely defined live show mixing alternative and power pop with funk and infectious rhythms".
To go with the up tempo instrumentals, Cheri D writes flirty, but firm lyrics dealing with everything from letting someone take you on a good ride without putting you through a bad trip to a song inspired by social work and appreciating what you have to be joyful about at the end of a week.
Each member of 13 Stories delivers parts of the vocals, whether it's echoing, rapping or just sultry whispering. The band weaves hip-hop through new wave and funk through synth-pop, resulting is a snappy sound, which comes across as a soundtrack for a perpetual spring break patio party. It’s something that just happens but is unexplainable by the members of the group. One constant to 13 Stories is that the band writes songs in major keys, intending to keep tempos and spirits high.
"After a while, we just stopped pressing so hard in trying to define our sound. Instead of trying to invent something, we just started using each of our strengths and that’s when the 1-3 sound was born", says Cheri D. "It actually opened up the creativity to do what each of us does best". And they remain amazed by how each can take one another's suggestions, consistently leading to a bubbly lick or groove that automatically feels natural.
Much of that egoless interaction is crisply captured by Producers Jeff Hodges and Don McCollister (Sister Hazel, Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins) on 13 Stories' much anticipated debut, FunkyPopSexyHouseRap. Their first single, "Beep! Beep!", has received overwhelming immediate response. "Beep! Beep!" was quickly discovered by Alt Rocker KIWR The River in Omaha, NE. and reached #1 Most Played and #1 Phones.
Soon there after, 13 Stories became a part of a major FORD Motors campaign. The band is featured performing their single "Beep! Beep!" in a number of commercials that have extensively rolled out to both TV and radio.
The group has performed live throughout the Southeast and beyond, including dates at Atlanta's Music Midtown, 99X-Atlanta New Years Eve Event with Arrested Development, Charlotte's 600 Festival, West Palm Beach's Clematis by Night festival, Las Vegas MGM Grand Hotel, and opening for Collective Soul at Centennial Olympic Park.
"We have worked, and still work, super hard to deliver an unforgettable, in your face, confident show that's a blast. . . a 1-3 party that we are proud of and the fans love," said Cheri D.
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