The Stick Arounds are a band forged on a foundation of harmony, grit, melody and crunch. Formed in late 2009, by a group of veteran Lansing musicians, The Stick Arounds have built an audience from the ground up with powerful live shows that have drawn comparisons to Guided By Voices, Teenage Fanclub, Sloan, The Replacements, and Big Star. This combination of experience and shared vision has resulted in a prolific period over the last five years that has seen the release of three full length LPs and a dozen singles.

2016 saw the release of ‘Mystery Garage’, the band’s first album, which was recorded live over two nights in 2015. Releasing a debut record of live originals might seem an audacious act, but it was the perfect way to capture the urgency and energy of that first batch of songs and stands as a unique way to introduce a band to the world at large.

‘Ways To Hang On’, the second LP, is a pristine studio accomplishment. The album embraces the talents and differing styles of the band’s two primary songwriters and features fleshed out arrangements that emboldens the songs without weakening their punch. The result is a powerhouse collection of ten rollicking power pop gems filled with harmonies, crunch, bombast and hooks.

On the heels of ‘Ways To Hang On’, the band began an ambitious project for 2019. The Hot Singles Club - yep, that is really what it’s called - saw the band release a new digital single every month that fans would be able to download for FREE. The project was a new and unique way to showcase the musicianship and songwriting diversity of the Sticks, while also allowing for a chance to record high quality versions of a trio of cover songs and give studio treatment to a pair of songs on the first live record. Those songs have now been compiled onto a twelve song album that is available on CD, LP and Digital in February of 2020 on GTG Records.

In April of 2021, The Stick Arounds emerged from the pandemic fog with ‘Waiting For The Click’. Four tight and taut songs make up this ten minute trip into an approach rooted deeply in harmony, threadbare honesty, and the enduring power of rock and roll.

The Stick Arounds sport a signature three guitar attack that is equal parts crunch and jangle, a pounding rhythm section and stacked vocal harmonies that would give the Wilson brothers something to smile about. In short, they’re a power pop band for a new century. 

Matt Carlson: vocals/guitar/keys
Jeff Gower: vocals/guitar
Joel Kuiper: drums
Jason Lantrip: guitar/vocals
Ian Walker: bass guitar