Stingray Green CD Release at Hexagon Bar on 4/22/06

By: Bob Longmore

In checking out some songs by Stingray Green before their CD release party at the Hexagon, I had a hard time figuring out the band. Were they an earnest pop band with catchy guitar hooks and giant three-part harmonies? Were they a hard rock band with blazing guitar solos? Were they a tongue-in-cheek super group of Twin Cities music veterans?

What I did know is that they don’t cheat the audience out of a good time.

Singer and guitarist Dan Sarka held up a six-sided shield, which serves as the Stingray Green logo: two green arrows pointing in opposite directions on a black background with a green border. Sarka was quick with a Spinal Tap reference, claiming that the shield was intended to be 40 feet instead of 40 inches, while guitarist Kent Militzer asked, “Where are the dwarves?”

So began their set, the members dressed in matching green (stingray green, perhaps?) blazers. Immediately, it was clear that these guys are professional musicians. They were absolutely tight from the beginning to the end, and they were having a great time on stage. The four-piece bounced around the small stage with energy and joy, as evidenced on their faces in the form of self-assured smiles.

The band culled their members from past local bands, such as The Magnolias, Sparrows, The Vandalias, The Spectors and Magnatone. This collective experience not only served their musical prowess well, but I am guessing it helped to fill the Hexagon to near capacity with excited fans, many of whom seemed to know the songs already.

Not that Stingray Green really needed it, but a sure way to win favor with the audience is to get them drunk. So, before their song Bad Batch, Sarka asked the lovable matriarch of the Hexagon, Rosie, to pass out free cans of beer to everyone in the audience.

Stingray Green was there to celebrate the release of their album, Hard Numbers, which they played from end to end. A collection of catchy pop, hard rock and arena rock solos blended perfectly to form a unique, if familiar sound.

As for the questions I had before seeing them live, Stingray Green answered yes to all of them. They are superpower super group with the ability to lay intricate three-part vocal harmonies over giant hooks and blazing solos. They are anything you want them to be.

Photo by Bob Longmore.

Location Info: Hexagon Bar
Artist Info: Stingray Green

Share this story: