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Focused and driven by the messages in their songs, Stereo 360 builds upon the musical and songwriting influences of past and present bands such as Nirvana, Cheap Trick, Split Enz and The Cars...artists who all emphasized melodic guitar-driven Alternative Pop/Rock songs that featured an epic rock drama to them.

"Superstar" Riff from the album Enjoy Your Life Poolside - LISTEN!

Stereo 360 is one of the hottest new outfits to come out of one of the hardest music markets in the world: Los Angeles. Fusing honest, introspective lyrics with loud, clear rock rhythms, Stereo 360 has something to say to anyone who will listen and is not afraid to say it.

Coming off of their first full-length album, "Enjoy Your Life Poolside" on their label, Baby Pea Records, Stereo 360 is on the verge of making a profound musical imprint upon the industry. Their songs come to life as illustrations of the band's philosophy and challenge listeners to take intimate looks into their own lives. Produced by Ryan Greene (NOFX, Tonic, ), the album is poised to make a booming impact within the industry.

Stereo 360's formation began nearly twenty years ago in Canada. Shad, a young expatriate from Vancouver, British Columbia, grew up listening to his parents' favorite records, and was influenced by legendary artists such as Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Tom Petty.

Access Rock: Why don't you describe the making of "Enjoy Your Life Poolside" from writing and pre-production to the recording.

Luis: Let's start with the songwriting. When we were picking songs for the record, there were probably like thirty to forty workable ideas, if not full songs. We had them listed up on this huge chalkboard in our rehearsal space. We went through them one by one with Ryan Greene (producer) because he had been with us since we did the demo for the record.

Access Rock: So you're talking about when you were rehearsing for the record?

Luis: Yah. We probably put a good three months of pre-production on the record. We had to have everything (songs, riffs, song structures) perfectly done. It was a real nit-picky process but it was worth it. We didn't have time to mess around once we got into the studio. Also, we did a couple of live recordings of the songs to see what they would sound like, then we started the album.

Access Rock: Had you worked with Ryan Greene, the producer, before?

Luis: He was going to be a producer for this band that Shad and Moon were in called Cool For August. After that, Shad and Ryan remained friends. After Stereo 360 was together for a while, Shad got in touch with Ryan. Ryan became very interested in our band and started working with us. We recorded four songs with him which became our EP.

Access Rock: You did that EP without a record company?

Luis: Exactly, we did it ourselves. The EP started out as a demo, really. It was what we used to promote the band ourselves. At shows, we would give anyone a free EP who signed up for our email newsletter.

Access Rock: What band were you in before Stereo 360?

Luis: My last band was one that I put together with my best friend called The Brave Panear. My friend, Scott McClean, was my writing partner back then. Trevor, from Stereo 360, and David Lovering from The Pixies, were also in that band. That band had a Wilco, Neil Young, sort of sound.

Access Rock: I see that you co-wrote about five songs including "Superstar", and "Automatic", my two favorites.

Luis: Both "Superstar" and "Beautiful" came musically from old riffs I had, but became songs when worked out in Stereo 360.

Access Rock: Yah, I can really hear some Beatles influence on the song "Beautiful". It's subtle, though.

Luis: I'm a huge Beatle-head..Elvis Costello. I guess I tend to listen to different stuff than the rest of the band does. I've got eclectic taste.

Access Rock: I can hear that in the riffs that you write. Does Shad write some of the riffs for his songs?

Luis: "Sick of You" was all his. But, it really depends. We've really come to a great place as far as writing together. It took a while, but now everyone is more relaxed with each other. For instance, the last song that we wrote for the album, "Radio Parade", we split the writing almost evenly between Shad and me. The opening riff was mine, the verse and chorus were Shad's, and the bridge was mine. That's how it's starting to work out a lot. I write a lot of the riffs and bridges, and Shad fills in the rest.

Access Rock: How do you collaborate? Do you write in the same room, or send music files via internet?

Luis: A lot of it happens at the rehearsal space. Someone will say, "I got this riff.", and we will start playing around with it. It's that easy. On the song "Restaurant", Shad had it completely written except for the bridge before we started working with it in Stereo 360. I wrote the bridge by using a bridge from another one of our songs.

Access Rock: What guitar players have had the greatest influence on your riff writing? Do you have any tricks for writing fresh-sounding riffs?

Luis: Anything Beatles just musically and melodically changed my life. Eddie Van Halen had a huge impact on my life. I always thought that he was a great rhythm player besides being a great lead player. In his playing, he uses a lot of triads..a lot of "keyboard" chords which is something I have completely taken from him! I have triads all over my playing..I literally play with all different voicings or inversions of triads [Editors Note: look at Access Rock's chord inversion tip or chord building lesson]. I play a lot of triad over bass note chords like what you hear in the bridge of "Restaurant". I'm a bit of a sloppy player..I think I'm a natural-type rhythm player. I get a lot of comparisons to Neil Young because of the sound of my other band. I love Neil Young. Jimmy Page is also amazing! He's got to be one of the sloppiest-type of guitar players ever!

The funny thing was, in Stereo 360, I had to learn to be less sloppy. It's been a good exercise for me as far as guitar playing. I was forced to play a lot straighter. Our producer, Ryan Greene, has an incredible ear. We came out of the studio better players.

Access Rock: How much time did you spend in the studio?

Luis: We did around two and a half months.

Access Rock: It would be great to go out and tour after that!

Luis: Exactly. We're going to be heading out in a few weeks.

Access Rock: On the song "Automatic", how did you get the wild fill sounds with the wah-wah?

Luis: That wasn't guitar, it was a keyboard! I'd love to say it was me..it really has that "old" Eddy [Van Halen] guitar growl! It was Arlen Shierbaum. He plays keyboard through filters, delays, wahs, and leslie cabinets...not to mention Mini Moog, Hammond C-3, and Accordian. This guy has the most wicked arsenal..He plays with everybody!

Access Rock: Is he going on tour with you guys?

Luis: No. We want to keep the band small at first. To simulate those sounds live, I have some toys that I"ll use. I use a lot of Line 6 stuff. I use their Delay Modulator and that gives me a lot of space echoes and delays. I also use a lot of Wah-Wah which you hear on the album.

Access Rock: I love the way those other-worldly fills of yours creep in and out of the song. How did you develop that style?

Luis: A lot of it is like the Eddie Van Halen stuff. Like on "Everybody Wants Some" [Van Halen song], he's got the Marshalls just growling! You hear that before every verse..the guitar literally getting ready to rip through the speakers! There was a lot of '80's guitar rock that Shad and I were into. There were some really cool guitar players in some really cheesy bands!

Also, being in my house growing up, my father got me into The Beatles, Elvis, and Motown. That was always being played, as well as a lot of Spanish music because I have a Spanish upbringing. My cousins always had cool records like Rush, The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick..I was fanatical over them! Rick Neilsen's guitar playing is so awesome.

Access Rock: Can you give me your top five bands of all time?

Luis: Oh, man! It always changes! I'm really into this band Interpol that is from New York. They are one of the coolest guitar bands I've heard..they're touring right now. Also Joy Division or The Cure. Volovan is awesome..they're like Cheap Trick meets The Stooges but in Spanish. Also, The Soundtrack of Our Lives is a band that I've been listening to lately. They are a Swedish band that was nominated for a Grammy award.