"Egg Shells, is Stratocruiser's latest exercise in classically melodic rock. It will click with the faithful, that being Velvet Crush fans and the kind of LP fiends with death-grips on their Move, Bad Company, Billy Squier and Dwight Twilley Band records-in other words, those who attended Sparklefest. Clay Howard possesses a voice that's technically impressive and arena-ready.When Howard lets his personality shine through, like on 'I Think So,' a winner that's part British Invasion rock, part jangly confection-pop, and all Hollies, Stratocruiser is at its best." -- Rick Cornell, Independent Weekly	PRESS	NEW REVIEW FROM SHINDIG MAGAZINE (UK) STRATOCRUISER Egg Shells New Atlas Digital CD www.stratocruisermusic.com In common with earlier Shindig! faves The Shazam, North Carolina's Stratocruiser are fans of a big 70s pop-rock sound brimming with classic power pop influences. Tunes like 'Try' have the power of Cheap Trick but some of the melodic invention of Badfinger. The presence of Mitch Easter as engineer and dB Peter Holsapple on keyboards and mandolin shows that Stratocruiser have a lot more strings to their bow. Guitarist Mike Nicholson adds some inventive and inspiring flourishes to songs like 'Eggshells' and 'Light Sleeper'. 'I Think So' is a 12-string Rickenbacker delight. Vocalist Clay Howard has a strong but tuneful voice that reminds me of the Cynics quieter moments. Clay handles all the lead and backing vocals, which might present problems when the band play live, but on record this Stratocruiser is flying high.   And from Dagger Magazine: STRATOCRUISER- EGG SHELLS- NEW ATLAS DIGITALI have a previous full-length by this North Cackalackey bunch (led by Jam Records ad designer, Mike Nicholson on guitars and mellotron) but I have not put it on in ages. This record, lp #3, is chock full of the sorta tasty hooks that made records by Cheap Trick and The Knack so loveable. Not everything here hits the mark but both "Cracked Up", the jangly "I Think So" and the terrific title track all deserve repeated listens. www.stratocruisermusic.com Stratocruiser EGG SHELLS (New Atlas Digital) On their newest platter, this North Carolina foursome - accompanied by renowned dBer PETER HOLSAPPLE on organ and mandolin - continue to perfect their 1970's-inspired, hooky power-pop. As on previous LPs such as 2004's Suburban Contemporary, it's evident that leaders MIKE NICHOLSON (guitars) and CLAY HOWARD (vocals) have all but internalized their Byrds records, as that band's influence is all over this disc (see the ringing "I Think So" or the country-flecked "Make it Work") You'll also hear plenty of Raspberries ("Try") and Badfinger ("Cherry Flavored"), along with modern contemporaries Sloan (especially on the title track) and Smithereens. The luxurious guitars, attractive harmonies, and Howard's sturdy, Joey Molland-like voice are on full display on songs like the driving "Cracked Up". Fans of the above bands will salivate over this superb disc. (stratocruisermusic.com) Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Stratocruiser -- Egg Shells (2008) (New Atlas Digital) The latest from this North Carolina band finds the 'cruiser straddling the line between pop, as melodies and hooks are pretty much mandatory for every track, and a retro '70s rock approach. So it's boogie band intensity with classic song structures -- and none of that tired boogie. I like the results. These cats are true craftsmen. They can write and they can play. What really makes the band stand out is Clay Howard's robust vocals. I could easily hear Howard singing straight blues based material or Southern rock. But he doesn't go for that sort of style, keeping his intensity but harnessing any tendencies to show off (or even worse, bellow). Heck, he can even handle a sweet slice of '60s kissed jangle pop (on "Clear as Day"). But I like it best when the songs are more emotional and desperate. Stratocruiser has developed a flair for the dramatic, which comes through in spades on the title cut. Howard opens with this couplet: "I have to tiptoe around your move/and I hope I can find my groove." He sings this over an attractive acoustic guitar bed, augmented by some nice blues licks. And the blues are appropriate, since Howard is stuck with a lover who has him worried at every turn. The strong hook in the chorus brings it all home, so to speak. In a similar vein, but even more dramatic, is "Light Sleeper". This song moves from verse to bridge to chorus in speedy fashion for a mid-tempo bluster. "You say you only lie when you're sleeping/so I'm hopin' that you are awake/and that you are a light sleeper" goes the chorus. It's a somewhat corny/clever notion that might fit a country song. It sounds like a pop hit bid from The Marshall Tucker Band or The Henry Paul Band. Most importantly, Stratocruiser gets the tone right. Too over the top, and this would be camp and not as fun. Too unserious, it would turn from an urgent plea to silly piffle. Instead, it sounds like a blast from the past in the best way possible. While not as rock and rolling as the last album, there is one song that hits the classic rock bullseye. With just a bit of manipulation, "Rolling Green Fields" could be a Black Crowes song. Instead, it comes off more like a really darned good Free wannabe, with a fail safe lead guitar part that makes it instantly memorable. And I just love, love, love the pretty middle eight (think of Paul Rodgers singing about "love in a peaceful world" on "Wishing Well" - it's a bit reminiscent of that). This all works so well because the band has the basic requirements of this style down and learns one lesson that many bands from the bygone area missed -- never plod. While Stratocruiser never reaches terminal velocity, the songs move along with just enough momentum that the riffs, lead guitar lines and melodies hit with an impact. One more example of this is the powerful "By Design". I have no idea who the audience is for this music. But I'd like to think that there are some bars in North Carolina where patrons can't wait until Stratocruiser hits the stage again.-- Mike Bennett
May 1, 2008 Stratocruiser :: Egg Shells CD Review Gliding through the musical mire like a perfectly designed airliner is "Egg Shells" the latest from East Coast band Stratocruiser. This newest offering may very well prove to be their long range flagship of material as each track is a full on salute to psychedelic , trippy, power pop rock at its finest. Lead singer Clay Howard's vocals have always had a stalwart style that is transfixing, but with even more distinctive and powerful production than prior Stratocruiser releases, his latest delivery is even more provocative than ever. Long compared to the likes of Cheap Trick and Badfinger, Stratocruiser's sound could very well be the one that other bands get compared to from now on, as the uncompromising and brilliant guitar work of Mike Nicholson coupled with Matt Brown on drums and Jack Getz on bass results in a singular sound that Stratocruiser can call all its own. Moving easily from balled to straight on rocker, "Egg Shells" lands spot on to commanding lyrics, guitar work worthy of any six string legend and pocket perfect bass and drums exemplified in standout tracks like "Egg Shells", "By Design" and "Cherry Flavored". In short, "Egg Shells" is a smooth landing at what music longs to be.

NOS Revolutions Review Saturday, August 16, 2008 Stratocruiser -- Revolutions (Previously unpublished 2007 review) Stratocruiser -- Revolutions (Just Plain Lucky) This North Carolina band has shifted its emphasis from hard power pop to plain old fashioned hard rock. This doesn't mean that melody is in short supply, but the songs are more rooted in blues and R & B structures than following in the Beatles/Raspberries/Cheap Trick mode. The band is limber and not plodding, giving this a nice '70s feel. "Stuck to You" is an early winner, with its rhythm sounding Motown-ish and there's some furious vamping, while Clay Howard's husky vocals have the authority to carry across this intent number with a hooky chorus. The band discovers the great lost Foghat song on "Rock and Roll City" which has an extremely catchy classic rock chorus -- as much as I like this track, I wish the guitars were even louder -- I can only imagine how this steamrolls when it's performed in concert. "Saw Your Picture" is another bashing rocker that is rooted in '50s rock via the AOR sound of 30 years ago, with some nice Chuck Berry inspired lead guitar work. I also like the moody mid-tempo "Shimmer & Fade", which is designed to get the fans swaying. As a bonus, Stratocruiser tacks on a nice cover of Led Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop" (one of those 'hidden' tracks) with Howard doing a very nice faux-Plant. If these guys aren't the new Foghat, they might be the next Ram Jam, and the world needs one of those. by Mike Bennett

Stratocruiser Teaches 'ABC's of '70s Cool
Jordan Green News editor

Stratocruiser's Mike Nicholson (standing) says he came to love '70s rock after falling in love with the '60s era and later punk. Clay Howard's case is somewhat different. "For me, that's where I'm stuck," he says. "Cheap Trick is the ultimate." "So we're sitting right in front of the women's restroom at the Nussbaum Center," says Clay Howard, vocalist for the North Carolina power-pop group Stratocruiser. "How's that for a setting?"

Howard serves as associate development and facilities manager at the business incubator housed in the old Revolution Mill, a brickwork monument to early 20th century industrial grandeur. It's a job that requires marketing the complex's various business enterprises and some maintenance duties. A jeweler, a fashion photographer and a retired executive stop by to chat as the interview gets underway in a nook of the former textile mill.

Mike Nicholson, a Greensboro native who plays guitar for the band and makes his living running a home studio in Pittsboro, pulls himself upright as he faces off with a music journalist. He talks fast and passionately, despite or perhaps because of a summer cold he likely caught after mixing a band at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. Sudafed and unsweetened ice tea appear to be working their magic.

"It is utterly relentless," the 44-year-old guitarist says. "You have to relentlessly promote and you have to relentlessly book. You have to book for New Year's Eve in July. Hopefully, I'll never play another New Year's Eve, but you never know. It would have to be a lot of money. Not that it's all about the money. But every whore has their price. It's just so crazy; I'd prefer to be in bed by midnight."

He relishes the songwriting aspect of his chosen path more. His collaboration with Howard - generally a process of Nicholson e-mailing instrumental sound files for the singer to craft lyrics around - has produced a handful of albums and perhaps 50 songs. The band's last album, Revolutions, was released last December. By February the band had recorded 10 new original songs.

"I'm not getting any younger," Nicholson says. "I'm kind of getting in a groove. I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to be like, 'I finished an album; I'm going to wait six months before I start writing for the next one.' You've got to keep it going, keep it rolling."

You may have never heard of Stratocruiser, a band aptly named for a post-World War II Boeing commercial airliner. They feature a big, guitar-heavy, hook-laden sound reminiscent of rock's classic era when songs unfolded in spacious, luxuriant suites. They don't play overmuch in Greensboro, a town where cover bands tend to squeeze original music out of the market, but with members in both the Triangle and Triad they regularly appear in Raleigh and Winston-Salem, along with more out-of-the-way locales like Burlington.

Their last album garnered generally positive reviews.

"You can call it the ABC's of '70s cool - Aerosmith, Bad Finger and Cheap Trick," wrote Dave Lifton for Blogcritics.org. "But Stratocruiser smooth out their guitar crunch with some sweet Beatles-esque harmonies and do it with equal parts intelligence and flair so that you never know where the songs are heading."

They've also made some international inroads. The band's 2004 album, Suburban Contemporary, was re-released the following year in Japan on the Wizzard-In-Vinyl label, although the band has yet to tour the Far East country.

The new songs bristle with kinetic energy. Nicholson's guitar sound comprises a layered attack with soaring architecture and plenty of dynamic transitions. Matt Brown's drumming gives the songs steady and powerful pacing. Howard's vocals vacillate between tough sneering romps and high-flown emotive declarations.

The album is already titled Egg Shells, after one of the tracks. And the collection has already been mixed and engineered but still needs to be mastered. The band hasn't settled on a release date, but it will likely take place sometime towards the end of the summer after Brown and his wife have a baby.

One of the band's triumphs this time around was getting Peter Holsapple of the legendary power-pop band the dB's to contribute keyboards to several of the tracks.

"I drug him out to the house one day," Nicholson says. "It was a boost to have someone that legendary play on it, and he loves what we're doing."

"In my other bands I used to be kind of reticent about keyboards because keyboards always date you," he continues. "Around 2000 I got really into vintage keyboards - Hammond B3s and Mellotrons. The Mellotron is like an early sampler. You have these eight-second samples of real instruments. It was developed for bands that couldn't afford to hire a live orchestra. Because it's on a reel there's a wobbliness. It's gooey and organic. I can't even describe how wonderful it is."

STRATOCRUISER
REVOLUTIONS
JUST PLAIN LUCKY

Long live the 1970s. Is Strato-crooner Clay Howard actually Ian Gillian re-incarnated? (Editor's Note: the Deep Purple singer is still alive). Doesn't matter. Revolutions is the kind of record that would have launched a thousand wannabe rock stars had it come out the year Richard Nixon resigned. Mike Nicholson's impenetrable wall of guitars captures the period perfectly, splicing bluesy riffs between anthemic chord patterns akin to Ritchie Blackmore and Toni Iommi in their sonic prime. Bass guitarist Jack Getz' fluid lines evoke an era wherein hard rock bassists explored the upper and lower registers of their instrument with expertise and style (Dee Murray, Roger Glover, Herbie Flowers anyone?). Drummer Matt Brown stays firmly in the pocket, pushing the band with a decidedly swing feel ala Charlie Watts - but there is no jazz to be found here. Virtually every cut is a slab of feel good classic rock, especially if you can appreciate Purple, Boston, and Uriah Heep, regardless of your age or cognitive powers. If you have to download one track, make it "Rock and Roll City," which melds kitsch and metal with tongue in cheek and imaginary Bic lighters held aloft. Kudos to producer/engineer Mitch Easter (REM, Pavement, Let's Active) for keeping it real in the studio, making Revolutions this year's uncontested guilty pleasure.

-- Tom Semioli

Blogcritics Magazine
Music Review: Stratocruiser - Revolutions
Written by Dave Lifton
March 29, 2007

Sometimes you get an album that leaves you speechless, and not the oh-my-God-this-is-the-new-Pet-Sounds or the
what-the-hell-were-they-thinking varieties of speechless, but rather the I'm-not-fully-sure-what-to-make-of-this kind. I felt this way the first time I listened to Revolutions, the new CD by Stratocruiser.

I usually have a clear picture of my review after the first three songs. This album has practically everything I like - guitars that alternatively jangle and crunch, pop hooks and Beatles-esque harmonies, and one of my favorite producers (Mitch Easter) steering things. I figured maybe I was just tired and put it aside.

A few days later I took advantage of some lovely weather here in the nation's capital and listened to it during a mid-afternoon stroll around my neighborhood. Enjoying a cup of coffee in my favorite local shop, the album's charms became more apparent.

You can call it an homage to the ABC's of 70s cool - Aerosmith, Badfinger and Cheap Trick - but that would be taking the easy way out. Yes, it's very derivative, and a bonus cover of Led Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop" makes it apparent where their heart lies. But Stratocruiser smooth out their guitar crunch with some sweet Beatles-esque harmonies and do it with equal parts intelligence and flair so that you never know where the songs are heading. They feel as at home with the Thin Lizzy-esque twin guitar stomp of "Vegas To Memphis" as they do with the Merseyside jangle of "Last Christmas Girl." Other highlights include "Starched White Shirt," "Saw Your Picture," and the anthemic "Rock and Roll City."

With Revolutions, songwriters Mike Nicholson and Clay Howard have created a solid CD of clever, agreeable power-pop, with enough catchy tunes to become an integral part of every music fan's summertime playlist, even if you can't always easily describe it.

Riff-laden rock meets sweet pop on this, the third CD from Stratocruiser. This release runs wild over the landscape of classic '70s rock, the synth-filled '80s and the grinding '90s. Stunning guitar crunch is laid down over Power Pop melodies spread thick with confident vocals and harmonies. The Led Zeppelin and T. Rex influences can be heard readily here as well as some more modern comparisons to Matthew Sweet, Collective Soul and the Smithereens. With "Revolutions", Stratocruiser brings a tuneful blast of rock to loudspeakers everywhere!

Featured Tracks: "Mercury Mission", "Heavy Heavy Daze", "Starched White Shirt"

stratocruiser

SUBURBAN CONTEMPORARY
(ZIP)

This North Carolina four roll up an AOR power-pop that's a cross between Tom Petty and The Records, if you can postulate that. Leaders MIKE NICHOLSON and CLAY HOWARD have been around the p-p block with BULLWINKEL GANDHI, DOLEFUL LIONS, BANGERS -n- MASH and more, and they work in '70s radio-ready riffing stuff with twisting guitars ("Copyshop Girl," "J'aime Suis Mouvais") as well as the textured, lush end of the street associated with '80s groups like Let's Active (the standout "Blue Sparkle Daydream")-while never neglecting harmonies and perfectionist popcraft. With the keyboards competing with the guitars throughout, the repeating lead breaks of "Gold Circle" even remind of Candy-O Cars and The Raven Stranglers. But it always comes back to the '70s Byrds/Petty guitars and southern fried singing. THE SHAZAM'S HANS ROTENBERRY and THE CONNELLS PEELE WIMBERLEY guest. (www.ziprecords.com)

Stratocruiser
Suburban Contemporary
Zip
The boys from North Carolina take a healthy leap forward on their second album, Suburban Contemporary, a disc filled with weighty garage pop that's equal parts Smithereens and Shazam. Lead vocalist Clay Howard sings with guts and passion, as well as a little bit of soul when the occasion calls for it, and the songwriting team of Howard and Mike Nicholson (of Sparklefest fame) click like Astaire and Rogers (well, a ballsier Astaire and Rogers, anyway) on several of these tracks. Standouts include the album opener "#28" with its Raideresque melody line, the soulful "Top Of The Morning," the raw raver "Copyshop Girl," and the light, jazzy "Stinson Beach." The album's closer, "J'aime Suis Mouvais," is one of the heaviest tunes you'll ever hear on a "pop" album.

The best song on Suburban Contemporary is "Blue Sparkle Daydream," which is well described by its title; dreamy, warm and pretty, with a chorus for the ages. The band is ably supported by some heavyweight friends, like Shazam main-man Hans Rotenberry, who lends some cool guitar licks to "Top Of The Morning," Jane Francis of Velvet, whose backgrounds on "J'aime Suis Mouvais" are kinda sexy, and the ubiquitous Robbie Rist, who assists with too many things to mention. The only downside of Suburban Contemporary is its rather muddy sound quality, but its songs are able to shine brightly nonetheless, and that's what's most important. -DAVID BASH