Two nights with The Stolen explains the dedication of their fanbase

There’s something to be said when a crowd is drowning in photographers– all poised on their toes, clicking away a cumulative of thousands of photos a second. Mik Everett once famously said “If a writer falls in love with you, you can never die.” The same can be said about any artist– paint, written, or photo. So, that’s the moment that I knew this band– The Stolen– had something special.

I spent two back-to-back nights with this band from Brooklyn, NY to Asbury Park, NJ. Each show seemed to radiate its respective energy and create its own quirky identity.

One theme remained clear, though: When I looked out over the crowd, I saw nothing, but people discovering a release and escape from their daily lives and problems.

So many people came looking for a break at their shows. In fact, The Stolen has a collection of fans who follow them from venue to venue.

“We appreciate it. They’re some of the best people ever,” says Dom, the band’s lead singer, about those fans who travel and spend countless dollars just to get to the next gig to support the band.

“It’s kinda cool,” says Kevin, the band’s bassist. “We’re building, like, this community.” Twitter and other social media platforms have brought together fans who then fly across the country for these show and to meet each other.

My mini two day tour following The Stolen gave me some insight:

Night One – Brooklyn, NY – Sunnyvale

What makes a good bar show has to be indifference. Musicians need to walk out on to that stage not caring about how many people show up… or if anyone shows up really. It has to be (and should always be) about the music.

Night one with The Stolen brought hollowness in numbers, but not with energy. The fans who were there truly showed up. With fewer fans around, however, I was able to see and recognize the music’s impact on each individual fan, watching their faces raw with emotion and devotion.

Nea, a fan of The Stolen, commented “The band itself, and them as individuals, love to interact with their fans. I honestly don’t feel like I’m talking to them as a fan, I feel like I’m just talking to my friends.” You can see and feel this type of energy from the crowd, who all seem to have this same understanding that this band is what connects them.

After the show, the band met with every single fan that came out, taking genuine time to connect with them. What I was most impressed with was their ability to be themselves, but also be the role model their fans were looking for. The Stolen started when they were rather young, having known each other in high school, but now touring is second nature to them.

“Tour teaches you a lot. It kind of makes you grow up a little quicker,” explains Dom. The band shared with me their experiences on tour from breaking down in the middle of nowhere to relying on the help and kindness of passing strangers to get to their next gig.

These experiences have bonded them together in such a unique way and it’s very obvious in the way they interact with each other and those around them. As such genuine guys, The Stolen takes what they have learned along the way and applied it to every part of their jobs, from fans to the music they make.

Night Two – Asbury Park, NJ – House of Independents

On the second night, things shifted a bit. Suddenly the venue was packed fully. The House of Independents is the sort of venue that is on most bands in this scene’s bucket list. The energy in this town is just so pure, making it seamlessly easy for musicians to tap into that. The Stolen did so particularly well, being sure to play to all of their strengths.

Firstly, what I was immediately amazed about was the complexity in some of their lyrics. As a writer, a poetic undertone to a song never hurts and their effortless revival of meaningful writing did not go unnoticed. Beyond that, though, each member of the band was able to control their own space with ease.

Dom seemed poised with attention for fans, knowing how to engage them. Kevin was a charmer with a cool approach to his instrument, never missing a beat. Mike knew his drum set inside and out and it was clear he put everything into every show. However, I was most impressed with Rob’s obvious hard-working attitude, which became even more apparent having known he’s the music producer for their records as well.

While light on punk, The Stolen knew where and when to incorporate that element and when they did place it, the tone was strong and so well chosen. And at the end of the show, they gave quite an aggressive, but somehow fitting finale.

“One day they just started doing really dramatic exits and we just accepted it,” says my photographer Ali, who has worked with The Stolen countless times.

Even for this second show, I didn’t know what to make of The Stolen musically. I knew their music was good and they were obviously talented. Never once was that in doubt, but I couldn’t figure out where they wanted to fit in the industry.

It was Mike who was able to fully explain the band’s transition through genre to me. He said, “We started as a classic rock band and you can still hear that in some of the music. Then, we got into some pop punk and you can slightly hear that. And then we started getting into a lot of 80’s pop… we kinda just meshed that together with what we grew up on.”

You take this band who has music that very closely aligns with generic pop punk, but also has a past touring with artists like Jake Miller and often has a pop chorus song and it’s hard to place. “Our music obviously gravitates toward pop, but the way we work as a band, we’re very in that mentality of DYI,” says Kevin.

And that was it. The Stolen has created a pop band that resembles the classic artists on the rise energy. They work incredibly hard to keep moving forward just as pop punk bands all have to do, but their sound often incorporates a nice hook and pop chorus. “We grew up with this mentality of let’s do Warped Tour. Let’s sleep on floors,” explains Kevin. They are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the next level.

For Kevin, he’s even take on the opportunity to play as Jake Miller’s drummer on tour. Balancing those two lives and responsibilities hasn’t always been easy. Before the show, Kevin flew to New Jersey from Los Angeles, where he had been playing with Jake at Wango Tango. However, The Stolen knows how to work around these complications. “It’s all about communication… and sometimes its hard to plan,” admits Dom.

But The Stolen is getting there, citing their growth by explaining that now they get to have hotels with hot tubs and things have gotten a little easier. Their hard work is seeming to pay off and it’s what they deserve.

“I wouldn’t say anyone every really doubted us, but they had this sense of ‘is that something you can really do?'” Rob told me. Turns out it is something they can do… and do so very well.

The Stolen’s ability to stay humble while still progress forward was amazing to me. Their engagement and support for their fan base was beautiful. “Without them you can’t do what you do,” Dom said as the band rattled off countless memories with fans, explaining that at that show in particular people had flown out to see them and that wasn’t necessarily an odd occurrence for them.

Nea was right when she told me: “They’re the best people in the world and you would be so lucky to meet them and listen to their music.”

Music is about more than words can explain. And I think I’m going to be thinking about The Stolen concert for awhile, replaying the expressions on the fans’s faces when they felt safe and alive. Like I said in the beginning, I saw the fans find that release and escape, but by the end they seemed to re-find themselves in the process… and that’s how you know that The Stolen puts on a good show.