Tommy Von Voight
Station
The group also chatted about upcoming third album, 'Stained Glass,' due out on Nov. 1.
New York-based melodic rock band Station will independently release its third studio album, Stained Glass, on Station Music on Nov. 1.

The unsigned band — comprising singer Patrick Kearney, guitarist/keyboardist Chris Lane, bassist Emi Asta and drummer Tony Baptist — saw its sophomore album, More Than the Moon, land on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and has opened for the likes of Pat Benatar, Poison’s Bret Michaels, Motley Crue’s Vince Neil and Stryper.

Lead single “A Matter of Time” deals with romanticizing goals in life, such as meeting the right person at the right time. Musically, it has a “bluesy rock aesthetic,” according to Kearney. And as the first track on the album, he sees it as a gateway song for listeners who may not be familiar with Station.

“It’s a great kickoff point because it’s very middle of the road in terms of our sound,” he says. “Anyone listening to it for the first time will be like, ‘Okay, I get it — this is a rock band that’s rockin’.”

As for the song’s meaning, he adds, “It’s about not being able to recognize authenticity because you have had a fantasy for so long. In the video [for the song], we personified the fantasy as this really attractive girl, something that you chased after, but you romanticized it. So when reality kicks in, it’s kind of like, ‘Wait a minute, I can’t tell if this is real or not.’ ”

Watch the premiere of the video for “A Matter of Time” —which features a woman on a date at an ice cream shop, where she soon realizes she’s turning into a werewolf — below:


Intercut between the storyline is performance footage of the band, which Kearney calls an homage “to video classics by some of our influences, like Van Halen.” He also cites Journey and Ozzy Osbourne as inspirations on the album, which he calls “very diverse.”

“The theme of the album, called Stained Glass, is the multiple colors of Station,” he explains. “We wanted to showcase all of our influences. We have bluesy rock songs, we have some heavier songs, and we have some more Journey-slash-Toto-ish ballads with bigger production. We feel like a lot of rock nowadays is either too stripped-down or too heavy, and we really like a bigger, melodic sound.”

A few days after the album is released, Station is taking its brand of rock on the road, with a 10-city tour that targets east of the Mississippi River through the end of November.

Baker, in shearling coat and snakeskin boots, in 1970.
READ MORE
Ginger Baker Appreciation: The Cream Innovator Brought a New Level of Rhythmic Complexity to Rock
When it comes to what to expect from a live performance, Kearney says, “We’re not big and flashy, we like to let the music do the talking. We don’t use backing tracks, we don’t use pyro or have a crazy amount of instruments; we’re pretty raw. We are all very proficient musicians, so we’re really tight and don’t need extra frills to grab your attention. So people walk away from our shows thinking, ‘That was a really awesome band that plays really well and has really good songs.’”

As for being unsigned, Station plans to stay that way — unless it finds the right fit.

“We’re not anti-label: We’re anti-business partners who aren’t going to help us,” says Kearney. “We would love to be signed, but we don’t want to become one of those bands that signs to a label who forgets about us, shelves the record, doesn’t put any money behind it, and then we’re trapped. We want a partner that is going to help us expand and grow our business, as opposed to just giving us the prestige of being signed.”

For upcoming Station tour dates, click here.