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Artists To Watch Out For: Street Stories

The high-energy three piece punk pop band from Shillong love Lady Gaga and aren’t afraid to show it

Jan 16, 2013

Street Stories is one the five bands that have made it to our list. 

Street Stories. Photo: Naman Saraiya

WHO The three-piece band from Shillong comprises the Kronu brothers”” Riko (bass) and Pezo (vocals, guitar) and their schoolmate, Matsram Sangma. The band that has been influenced by Blink-182, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, got together in 2010, when the bassist and vocalist spotted Sangma playing the drums during Sunday church service.

SOUND Like all young punks, Street Stories are hypercharged on stage with catchy riffs driving a show that’s tough to match. Their songs have strong melodic hooks that build into a riot of commanding riffs and whip-cracking snare hits. Says Pezo about their five-track debut EP, The Apple & The Clown, “It’s about relationships, boyfriend/girlfriend stuff”¦ at least the first three songs. Since I do most of the songwriting, our songs are mostly about random stuff in my life.” The Apple in the EP’s title is a metaphor for his girlfriend, tells us Pezo, and the clown is a title that he’s bestowed upon himself.

BEST WATCHED When you watch Street Stories’ 21-year-old frontman Pezo Kronu twist and convulse on stage as he performs
“I’ve Got Something to Live For,” it would be hard to believe that he is painfully shy offstage. Their undersized, underaged
lineup only adds to their heavy sound. “We like the idea of a three-piece band. There are fewer complications and since no one
is covering one another, all of us get a big sound when on stage,” adds Pezo. 

From performing at local clubs in Shillong, Delhi and Kolkata, the trio has been regulars on the competition circuit having performed at Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival and Mumbai’s Ray-Ban 75th Anniversary band hunt, besides playing festivals like Escape in Naukuchiatal and Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh. “We have been selected as finalists at many band hunts, but never won. Maybe the judges are a little old-school,” feels Pezo.

The band that draws its inspiration from all sorts of music ”“ classic rock to punk and pop ”“ recalls how a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” imbued with their own brand of energetic alt-rock was a performance highlight at the Escape Festival. “We recorded
it at home sometime in 2010, and put it on ReverbNation. It became quite popular and we even performed it in our home town,” says Pezo.

WORK AND PLAY The three bandmates are all still in college and a look at their touring roster this year will make it clear that the boys really have to work hard at balancing studies and music. Says band frontman Pezo, “I’m pretty rebellious when it comes to school. I don’t want to be in school, I want to play music.” His loathing for a structured educational system has proved to be good fodder for their creative interests with the band’s latest single “Ink and Pen,” a track that urges you to look beyond formal education.

SPIN THIS The title track from their EP, “The Apple & The Clown” where melodious progressions hop in and out to produce
a tight punk-driven assault, talks about the ups and downs in relationships.

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