Personnel: Justin Mroz, guitar, vocals, keyboards; Lance Stewart, bass;
Jared Mroz, drums; Dan Zigmund, guitar; Kerry Finerty, guitar.
Formed: Three years ago by Justin Mroz and Lance Stewart, who knew each other from high school.
Current lineup together since: One year ago.
Sound: ”Alternative mood pop-thick layers of guitars with keyboard samples and a dance beat,” says Justin Mroz.
Influences: Xymox, Pearl Jam, Ice Cube, ”lots of British stuff,”
according to Mroz.
Songwriting: Justin Mroz is the main songwriter; Stewart also contributes. The group`s repertoire is completely original.
Namesake: ”The name was inspired by the title of a short story, but the story really has no correlation to the band. We liked the fact that Certain Distant Suns sounded dreamy and atmospheric,” Mroz explains.
Recordings: A three-song E.P. called ”The One” was released in 1990, followed by 1991`s album ”Crushed.” The band`s latest endeavor, ”Huge E.P.” was released on CDM Records in October; it`s been played on 200 radio stations nationwide, including WCBR and WXRT. The videoclip for ”Snowfall at the Most Curious Times” will be seen on MTV`s ”120 Minutes.”
Memorable experiences: ”Our first Metro show was very exciting because we`d been trying for a year and a half to get booked there. Also, we were on the cover of the Nov. 27 issue of CMJ (College Music Journal) and got a really nice review from them,” says Mroz.
Local viewpoint: ”I wish there were more outlets for a younger audience. Now that Medusa`s is closed, there aren`t many places for the under-21 crowd. I`m now 22, so it doesn`t affect me, but it probably would help the scene if younger fans could get into more clubs. Other than that, there`s an excellent variety of bands here, covering every style of music you`d want to hear,” says Mroz.
Goals: ”To keep on experimenting with guitars and the new world of sampling and to write some really good pop songs.”
Next appearances: Dec. 19 at the Metro; and on WCBR at 3 p.m., Dec. 23
(performing a Christmas song and material from ”Huge E.P.”).
