Stars Go Dim, recently named the “Best Pop Rock Band” in Tulsa, is hosting their first official CD release party this Saturday at the legendary “Cain’s Ballroom.”
Doors to this coveted event open at 7 p.m. The concert itself is expected to start around 7:30p.m., with Stars Go Dim taking the stage somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 p.m.
Two bands: High Five Low Five and Five O’Clock Shadow as well as friends of Stars Go Dim, SleeperStar, a pop group from Dallas, will serve as the opening acts.
“It is going to be quite a show,” Michael Wittig, bassist for Stars Go Dim said. “We’ve been doing interviews for the past two weeks getting ready for it.”
One of the media outlets helping to build publicity for these hometown heroes is local radio station K-Hits, who sponsored a special meet and greet contest for K-Hits listeners.
Winners not only get free tickets, but they get the chance to meet with the members of Stars Go Dim at 6:30 p.m., just minutes before the doors open at Cain’s Ballroom.
“It starts there,” Wittig said. “The show follows after that.”
Not only will it be an evening of great rock and roll, fans attending this event receive a free copy of the new album with their ticket stub.
That’s not all, either.
Wittig and fellow band mates have also planned a huge after party following the concert.
“Everyone who attends the concert is invited. We’re going to have catering brought in and we’ll have a DJ on site,” Wittig said. “We wanted to do something nice for all of our fans to thank them for all of their support and we thought an after party was the best way to do that.”
For this band that started out as a side project, this is an event the group has looked forward to for the last two years.
“In 2007, we released a couple of singles. Then, we released a five song EP in 2008,” Wittig said. “This is our first full length album and we are so excited.”
The album, which is titled, “Love Gone Mad” was made available for purchasing on Aug. 4.
“Promoters and those in the industry have really helped us to move the cd along at a pretty fast rate,” Wittig said.
Although it can be purchased digitally for almost any online outlet, fans can purchase it for the best price at the band’s website located at: www.StarsGoDim.Com.
“The best way to support a band is to buy the music from their site directly,” Wittig said. “When fans buy directly from us, it helps.”
Track listings on the new album include songs such as: “Get Over It,” “Come Around,” “Love Gone Mad,” “Where Has Our Love Gone,” “Crazy,” and “Letting Go.”
A 20 minute DVD, titled, “Life. Love. Music. Soul.” along with the book, “Love Remembered” written by Tamara Brooks, were also released the same day as the band’s new cd.
“They all go together and are available for purchase at our website,” Wittig said. “I have been listening to the new cd for a long time and I am excited that other people now have the opportunity to hear it.”
For this band that has accomplished so much, timing was everything.
“Although we could have released the cd earlier, it wasn’t right. As marketing consultants, we understand the timing aspect of this business,” he said. “We thought about releasing it this past Spring, but that was too early. We were waiting on a few things to come through on the business side. All things considered, August turned out to be the right time for us.”
Band members Joey and Chris are credited for much of the songwriting on the new project.
“No matter who you are, you can personally relate to our music. The songs are very soulful. Just straight up Pop,” Wittig said. “We weren’t trying to write songs that were on the edge. Instead, we wanted to draft songs that people would listen and sign along to. We weren’t trying to be cool-just trying to write hits.”
Following the cd release party at Cain‘s Ballroom, Stars Go Dim has a long list of shows planned in the future.
Wittig says the band is going to keep working hard and trying to build on this initial success. “We’ll see what happens. There are some cool things that we have in the works,” he said.
Along with a show schedule that includes around 150 concerts a year, each of the band members have part-time jobs, too.
“Chris leads worship at his church, while Joey and I do marketing consulting,” Wittig said. “Our jobs our very flexible. That enables us to work while we are on the road touring.”
As the group prepares for Saturday night, band members speak highly of the local club owners.
“They have all been so supportive of us. We play a lot of venues in town and really enjoy that. We selected Cain’s because we wanted to make it easy for everyone,” Wittig said. “Everyone knows where it is located.”
Along with their latest award received Aug. 8, from Urban Tulsa, which hosted the "Absolute Best of Tulsa Music Awards," Stars Go Dim has won the CMT Listener’s Choice Songwriter’s Award and a slot on the Ernie Ball sponsored Mayercrise 2009. They have also opened for acts such John Mayer, O.A.R., Guster, and Daughtery.
Members of Stars Go Dim include: bassist Michael Wittig, vocalist and piano player, Chris Cleveland, guitarist and principal songwriter Joey Avalos, and Lester Estelle Jr on drums.
Along with the regular band members, Stars Go Dim will have a special guest with them this Saturday night. They are flying in their good friend Dean Berner from Nashville to perform with them onstage.
Tickets for this event are $10 in advance and $12 at door. Each ticket purchased receives a free copy of the new album “Love Gone Mad.”
For more information on the upcoming show, please visit: http://www.cainsballroom.com/
“If you haven’t seen Stars Go Dim, this is the one event that people will want to attend,” Wittig said. “There’s going to be a lot of surprises for everyone.”
Last Updated ( Monday, 24 August 2009 )