Stellar Kart was an American Christian
pop punk
Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
band from
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, signed to
Inpop Records and
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
. The band released their first album, ''
All Gas. No Brake'', in February 2005. Most of their singles have been accepted exclusively on
Christian radio
Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
stations such as
Air 1
Air1 is an American Christian radio network owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry. It primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network.
History
On July 15, ...
. Their song "
Me and Jesus" from their 2006 album ''
We Can't Stand Sitting Down'' hit No. 1 for seven weeks on the Hot Christian Songs chart and won the 2007
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...
for "Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song".
[38th Annual Dove Award Recipients]
". Published by the Gospel Music Association
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...
. Retrieved April 26, 2007. Their song "
Something Holy" from their 2010 album ''
Everything Is Different Now'', an album which adopts a more "worshipful" flavor charted at No. 23 on ''
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...
'' for eighteen weeks. Their latest full-length album, ''
All In'', was released on August 27, 2013.
The band released an EP of covers of songs from the 2013 film ''
Frozen'', on April 15, 2014 before disbanding that same year. Lead vocalist Adam Agee subsequently became the lead vocalist of
Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio A ...
and later
Newsboys
Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band that has existed in various permutations since its founding in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tenness ...
.
History
The Phoenix-based band started in a youth group. Adam Agee and Jordan Messer led worship, with former bass player Tay Sitera joining them on weekends. Cody Pellerin joined them prior to being signed and Brian Calcara replaced Sitera after their debut release. In 2009, Pellerin left the band to spend more time with his wife, and in 2010 joined the band Our Hearts Hero as lead guitarist. Jon Howard (formerly of Dizmas) stepped in on lead guitar for Stellar Kart. After Jon Howard left the band to become a touring guitarist for
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...
, former
Thousand Foot Krutch
Thousand Foot Krutch (often abbreviated TFK) is a Canadian Christian Rock music, rock band formed in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1995. The band has released ten studio albums, two live albums, and three remix albums. The core members consist of ...
touring guitarist Nick Baumhardt (husband of
Superchick
Superchick, originally known as Superchic was an American Christian rock/Alternative rock#Alternative pop, alternative pop band that debuted in 1999 and disbanded in 2013. Their music incorporated various styles such as Pop music, pop, Punk ...
lead singer Tricia Baumhardt) has joined the band. Stellar Kart derived their band name from working with kids on youth camps. Their name is often abbreviated SK, as seen in the band's music videos to "Activate" and "Life is Good". The band has been interviewed on various television shows, including ''TMW'' and ''The Zone'' (on the Christian IPTV service
Sky Angel
Sky Angel was a U.S. operator of Christian television networks; it operated three channels, Angel One, Angel Two, and KTV, all of which were exclusive to Dish Network. The company's corporate headquarters were located in Naples, Florida. The c ...
). Stellar Kart has also appeared on a season finale of ''the Logan Show''.
The band's third album, ''
Expect the Impossible'', was released on February 26, 2008. Their album, titled ''
Everything Is Different Now'', was initially made available during November 2009 at concerts/online only—its official release in stores was March 9, 2010.
Stellar Kart has been an opening act for bands such as
Kutless
Kutless is an American Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1999. Since their formation, they have released multiple studio albums and one live album, '' Live from Portland''. They have sold over 3 million records worldwide.
...
on the ''Strong Tower Tour'' and
Newsboys
Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band that has existed in various permutations since its founding in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tenness ...
on the ''Go Tour''. The band's first headlining tour began on December 1, 2006, and was called the ''Punk The Halls Tour''. Support for this Christmas tour came from
Run Kid Run,
Eleventyseven
Eleventyseven (stylized eleventyseven) is an American pop punk band from Greenville, South Carolina which was formed in 2002. They chose the name "Eleventyseven" because "it's the one that looked cool the next morning". The band was originally sig ...
, and
Esterlyn; it went so well that they decided to do the Punk the Halls Tour every year. Stellar Kart performed on the main stage at Onefest and the main stage of
Creation 2007. Stellar Kart recently played on a Lifelight circuit concert in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with the bands The Switch and Remedy Drive. On June 9, 2007, Stellar Kart played its first international concert at the E.O. Youth Day in the Netherlands in front of an audience of 35,000. In the beginning of 2008 the band began the ''Expect the Impossible Tour''; this was their first headlining tour that wasn't for the holidays. They performed on the Fringe Stage at Creation 2008 and 2009. In 2009 they played at Rock the light in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 2005, Stellar Kart released their debut album ''
All Gas. No Brake.'' Singles include "Finish Last", "Life Is Good", "
Livin' on a Prayer
"Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi from their third studio album, '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, performed strongly on both ...
" (
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
cover), and "Spending Time."
In July 2006, Stellar Kart released their second studio album ''
We Can't Stand Sitting Down''. Singles include "
Me and Jesus", "Activate", and "
Hold On". "Me and Jesus" charted at No. 18 on US Christian charts for three weeks.
Their album ''
Expect the Impossible'' was released in February 2008. Singles include "Jesus Loves You", "Shine Like The Stars", "Innocent", and "I Give Up". "Jesus Loves You" charted at No. 24 for four weeks. Their single "We Shine" was released in 2009, and charted at No. 46. Their first compilation album, ''
Life Is Good: The Best of Stellar Kart'' was released in February 2009, which includes remixes of previous songs.
On March 9, 2010, their album ''
Everything Is Different Now'' was released. The single "
Something Holy" was released on the same date, and charted at No. 23 for three weeks. Lead vocalist Adam Agee explained that rather than focusing on more relational matters, on "Everything is Different Now" the material has more of a worshipful flavor. “We had performed at a camp earlier in the summer before recording, and we really discovered that we loved leading worship for youth again,” he said. “So we tried to find some of the songs that were our favorites and wrote a few new songs, too, and that eventually became "Everything is Different Now".
Stellar Kart released an
EP, ''
A Whole New World
"A Whole New World" is the signature song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin (1992 Disney film), ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers B ...
'', on August 16, 2011, which includes four songs from
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
films including ''
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...
'', ''
The Lion King
''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'', ''
Beauty and the Beast
"Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales'').
Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
'', and ''
Aladdin
Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...
''.
The studio release ''
All In'' was released August 27, 2013. "Ones and Zeros", was released in the motion picture soundtrack for the film, ''
God's Not Dead''.
Band members
Final lineup
*
Adam Agee — lead vocals, guitar (2001–2014)
* Nick Baumhardt — guitar, background vocals (2010–2014)
* Aliegh Shields — bass guitar, background vocals (2012–2014)
* Jeremi Hough — drums (2011–2014)
Former members
* Taylor Sitera — bass (2001–2005)
* Cody Pellerin — guitar, background vocals (2001–2009)
*
Jon Howard — guitar (2009–2010)
* Jordan Messer — drums (2001–2011)
* Brian Calcara — bass guitar, background vocals (2005–2011)
Timeline
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bar:Aleigh from:01/07/2012 till:end color:Bvocals
Discography
* ''
All Gas. No Brake.'' (2005)
* ''
We Can't Stand Sitting Down'' (2006)
* ''
Expect the Impossible'' (2008)
* ''
Life Is Good: The Best of Stellar Kart'' (2009)
* ''
Everything Is Different Now'' (2010)
* ''
All In'' (2013)
Awards
GMA Dove Awards
References
External links
CCM's Stellar Kart PodcastCCM Magazine Interview with Stellar Kart
{{Authority control
American pop punk groups
American power pop groups
Christian punk groups
Christian rock groups from Arizona
Musical groups established in 2002
Musical groups from Phoenix, Arizona
American musical quartets
2002 establishments in Arizona
Inpop Records artists
American performers of Christian music
Musical groups disestablished in 2014