Harlem-Based Band Opens for MC Hammer Thursday at Stamford's Alive @ Five

When they were first contacted about opening at Stamford’s , the Harlem-based urban alternative band Stereo Crowd crossed their fingers and agreed, even though they didn’t know who they would be opening for.

For weeks, they wouldn’t know anything more than, “We can’t tell you who it is yet, but you have to trust us.”

That trust paid off when two long weeks later, drummer Jamie Robinson, bassist/vocalist Vincent Ferguson guitarist Robert Keith, and guitarist/vocalist Paul-Anthony Surdi got the news they’d been waiting for. They would be opening for MC Hammer.

“We were just like, “Get out of here! That’s the coolest!” Robinson laughed.

“It’s going to be a euphoric thing,” Ferguson told Patch.

For Ferguson, taking the stage tomorrow night will have a special significance.

“That was my first concert — seeing MC Hammer. It was fantastic, just a dancing army of people and over-the-top showmanship,” Ferguson said. “He’s an icon.”

“I remember wearing the Reeboks and hammer pants,” Robinson laughed. “I can put this in the book of things I never thought I would get a chance to do.”

Stereo Crowd has had a successful year and recently opened for Girl Talk at Wagner College. Priding themselves on the diversity of their music, infused with elements of hip hop, rock, R&B, and soul, Stereo Crowd's band members each bring their own distinct background to the group.

“We all come from very different backgrounds, but we have the same open-mindedness which is great for the music industry,” Robinson said.

The members of Stereo Crowd first came together at rooftop parties in Harlem. The jam sessions drew crowds and built a following. As the best people stuck around and began playing together more often, Surdi made the call — it was time to form a band and make it official.

“We were a band without a name for awhile — we had a naming party and threw names in a bucket,” Ferguson said.

Stereo Crowd’s “Covert Band-Naming Operation” was a success. Everyone in attendance had to put at least one idea in the bucket and the band members woke up the next morning and began sorting through over 150 names in total. Stereo Crowd was an instant stand-out.

“A stereo channel is that right to left channel, the extreme differences between people,” Ferguson said.

“It was the most obvious thing — those rooftop parties developed a culture, people came from all around and you had this group of people brought together,” Robinson added.

That love of live performance and bringing their experience to a diverse crowd has stuck with Stereo Crowd as they began performing down at street level, at larger venues, and outside of Harlem.

"For me, in a performance, what's most rewarding is being active the entire time. Once I broke my A string two songs in, it was horrible, but you can't stop. I kept going, rocked out, then I can go home and be happy with the show," Keith said.

"It's feeling that adrenaline," Robinson said. "This is what we set out to do, playing live shows and doing what we love to do. This is a passion."