Stewart

Tales of sordid relationships, friends turning against friends and broken promises aren't typical fodder for fun and energetic pop rock songs, but STEWART's Andrea Tarka isn't your typical songwriter. Acupuncturist by day, Tarka is as enthusiastic as her music suggests, proving that even the most difficult subject matter is no match for a sunny disposition. ?I never wanted to do this for a living,? jokes Tarka, and the path leading her to this point hasn't been the most direct route.

?I never wanted to do this for a living,? jokes Tarka, and the path leading her to this point hasn't been the most direct route. Although she sang and played guitar in high school, for both the school choir and her own band, in college, she began her career as a puppeteer at the University of Connecticut. Although she enjoyed the profession, she discovered that it wasn't right for her and it was that, coupled with the untimely death of her boyfriend, which sent Tarka to Los Angeles where she discovered acupuncture. She later moved to New York City to continue her studies and had her sights set on forming a band.

Stewart officially started in 2005 at a party in Bushwick when Tarka met the painfully shy, but extremely talented, lead guitarist John White. She found that the Arkansas-raised guitarist had amazing chops, and the two have been playing music together ever since. Rounding out the group is drummer and songwriter Kevin Cerovich, who joined Stewart in August 2009. Cerovich is a seasoned jazz musician, having won the 2007 International Trombone Association's jazz competition. Originally from Kansas, he has been living in New York City since 2008 and has since become a fixture in the East Village/Williamsburg indie scene as well as the jazz scene. He has toured Europe extensively, even once sharing the stage with Sting at a benefit concert in Italy.

Though the band has had some stops and starts along the way, Stewart has kept busy since its inception. The group produced a full-length album, Jawbreaker, as well as an EP, Existing at Extremes, in 2007. In 2008, the band released Part iV: A New Hope, a 17 song full-length containing auto-biographical, retro-rock tunes, reminiscent of Green Day, Tilt and Paramore. Tarka calls it ?the first real representation of Stewart as a professional band.? Artwork for the album was provided by Marvel/Dark Horse comics illustrator Jacob Chabot and in 2009, the band produced ?The Skullboy Sampler,? a soundtrack for Chabot's original comic, ?The Mighty Skullboy Army.? Originally Skullboy's theme song, ?Dance With Me? was recently released as a downloadable track on the Rock Band Network for the Xbox 360.

Stewart plays extensively around New York, Brooklyn and surrounding cities, including shows at CBGB and The Continental before the legendary venues closed their doors, as well as Knitting Factory, Arlene's Grocery, Luna Lounge and many more. L Magazine called them "A NYC pop band with a huge weakness for bands like Weezer, Nada Surf and Fountains of Wayne." They've been featured twice as part of the CMJ Music Marathon (in 2007 and 2009) and have self-booked a couple of tours in the Northeast and Midwest, one of which featured a stop in Cincinnati to perform at the Chick Rockfest.

Stewart's energy shows no signs of dissipating. Their newest full-length, Kicks, recently released in June 2010, won critic's vote for "Album of the Year" and the band is currently playing shows in support of it.