Munich Pop-Punkers STAND UP STACY Discuss 2020, Their Band Name, and New Album ‘The Magnificent You’

Adding a German flair to anthemic, early-2000s-style pop-punk, Stand Up Stacy are a Munich-based group who have been making waves in their native country’s punk scene. Poised to drop their debut full length, The Magnificent You, in the spring, the album’s first single, “Something to Believe”, is out now and available on all major platforms. The tune is a great reflection of all the group does so well; catchy riffs, hammering drums, concise vocals and an emphatic, soaring chorus to keep us all entertained.

With a string of singles, videos and EPs under their belt, Stand Up Stacy are poised to take a huge step in 2020, and we are psyched to have the band answer some questions and riff about the German punk scene, how they came up with the band name, and what’s in store for the upcoming year. Stand up, pay attention, and rock out with Stand Up Stacy.

The place that Stand Up Stacy calls home is the city of Munich, Germany. What is the punk rock scene like in Munich and Germany in general? Is it very active?

SUS: “It’s definitely crazy times in Germany these days, as a new trend emerged over the last couple of years where so many well-established rock bands from Germany started switching from singing in English to German. They’ve started to choose their native tongue to express what they have to say and focus on the German music market, and it seems to work out quite well for many of them.

One good example is the Donots, who got global attention with songs like “Stop The Clocks.” It’s cool to see that they get positive feedback and it works out this way. But you can say that there doesn’t seem to be another Rammstein, where fans all over the world are interested in their German lyrics and songs. We decided to keep it ‘international’ and think that you’d miss that typical American college punk feeling we’re trying to achieve in some of our songs.”

Stand Up Stacy are giving us all “Something to Believe“ in.

So who is Stacy and how did you come up with the name for the band?

SUS: “The name of our band is quite new, as we chose to rename just this year. We made a list of fifty or so possible band names, but none of them really worked out for us. At that time, our bassist Markus was in Singapore for a few months, where he saw stickers on the subways with a mascot called ‘Stand Up Stacey.’ That cute figure reminded people to offer their seats to older people or pregnant women. As soon as he came back he told us about it, and we instantly liked the name and the story behind it. So we kicked the ‘e’ out of ‘Stacey’ and decided to go with that one.”

Your sound is reminiscent of 2000s punk rock and punk-pop from groups like Blink 182 and Sum 41. Who was the band you most looked up to when you were younger that really provided inspiration for you to pursue your own music?

SUS: “It’s hard to think about that one band, as we always dive right into a band’s sound as soon as we hear of them and think that they got that very special thing. Of course there is stuff from Green Day’s American Idiot record that sounds so huge and was so fucking impressive. ‘All The Small Things’ by Blink-182 is the typical kind of simple but awesome punk rock track that makes people dance and sing along, all over the world. But there are songs like ‘The Black Parade’ from My Chemical Romance or ‘Waiting for the End’ by Linkin Park that can show you how epic well-produced rock music can become, and that there are no limits or restrictions as long as you want to follow that path.”

Watch the guys incite riots with “The One I Need.”

You recently released the music video for “Something To Believe,” the first single from your upcoming debut record The Magnificent You. What’s with the matching suspenders, dress shirt and bow tie look? What’s the story or reason behind all four of you wearing a uniform, so to speak?

SUS: “The starting point really was a video shoot at the beginning of our band. Two of our band members came in blue t-shirts, and the man behind the camera thought that would look kind of weird. He changed the shirt’s colour from blue to purple in post-production. Aside from that, we often were quite uninterested in thinking about how to dress for the stage to fit together like some bands do. So we came up with the idea to dress in white dress shirts, and wear suspenders and bowties. Our fans really loved it and started to wear bow ties at our concerts, so we thought we found something special there. It’s really cool that people recognize us that fast on stage, and exactly know who’s playing at the moment.”

Can we expect to see this formal, matching look for the band in the future? Or is this kind of a one-time deal or a short term thing?

SUS: “We’ll stick to it as long as we get positive feedback and it’s cool for our look and age.”

The “Something to Believe” single dropped October 18, 2019.

You refer to “Something To Believe” as a wakeup call for people to not let go of the positivity that surrounds them. Tell us more about the song’s meaning and how you came up with it.

SUS: “The song refers to some experiences we made and is about a negativity that seems to infect a lot of people these days, where so many little problems build up to one gigantic mess of depressive, staggering thoughts you can’t escape from. The song wants to remind you that it sometimes can be easier than you think to step away from those feelings and that it all starts with you and how you see yourself.”

Now, The Magnificent You isn’t due out for a little while still. Are you still in the process of completing the record? And if so, where are you at with it?

SUS: “The Magnificent You is our biggest project to date and we are really proud of what it has become. We can tell that the album itself is already finished, so we listen to it over and over again, and are very proud of the variety of sounds we were able to put on that record. We’re looking forward to finally share it in the spring.”

What can listeners eager for a full record from Stand Up Stacy expect from The Magnificent You? Give us a preview of what we can expect when it is released.

SUS: “We are so proud with the variety of sounds we got with the record. Our first two released singles ‘Something To Believe’ and ‘Homecoming’ represent that quite well. One is a blasting punk rock/alternative track, and the other is a calming track, swapping drums with cellos and violins. The album feels like a little journey listening to it from start to finish. We got anthemic punk rock hymns on it, there are quiet and thoughtful tracks, and some raging and aggressive tracks with screams and pure mayhem.”

Everyone can appreciate a “Homecoming.“

When did you start with the writing and recording process for the album? Have you been working on these songs for some time now?

SUS: “Our drummerboy, Simon, who writes almost all instruments and arrangements for our tracks, records and tries some ideas almost every single day. So it’s hard to speak of a starting point from the record. Some demos and ideas were around since 2017, but the songs that form the album now were finished by the end of 2018. The recording started at that time, and we were done in June 2019. It’s so crazy to listen to them since then, and to think that people are just about to get to listen to them.”

There are so many great bands around the world, but there are only so many that we ever hear about or discover. What are some other acts in Germany that you think people should really pay attention to?

SUS: “There are insanely talented bands from Germany singing in English tongue, like Donots, Itchy or Emil Bulls. A band that’s just exploding and should really be followed is Blackout Problems. They are so insanely talented and energetic, and their live concerts are a great experience. You really should take a listen to their stuff.”

So, once The Magnificent You is released, what can we then expect to see from Stand Up Stacy? Do you have tour dates upcoming or music videos that you’re planning to release upon the album’s release?

SUS: “The journey to the album’s release isn’t done yet, we’ve got some more music videos and singles in the works, so stay tuned for that! We will do a release show in our hometown of Munich for the album, and afterwards, launch a little tour. We’ll be playing some festivals during the festival season, that will be so cool and we’re looking forward to it. And to finish our busy 2020 in a good way, we’ll do a bigger tour in Central Europe by Fall.”

The band wants to let you in on their “Secrets.”