Local musician Chris Stevens stopped performing for five years but returned to the stage in 2022 when his band the Missing was asked to perform with the local act ZuP.
“We easily sold out the Foundry and had a blast,” says Stevens when asked about the gig. “It led to shows opening for Dead Boys, Sparta, etc., but I finally felt the itch to play more. ZuP had just won Scene Album of the Year for For Me, and he didn’t have a backing band, so I offered my services and the rest is history. I’ve been playing with him since.”
Last year, Stevens decided to finally start a project he’s thought about since 2016. Dubbed Jade Ring, the project will release its debut album, Pills, later this month.
“I’ve adopted it as my artist name,” says Stevens. “I had spent time in London, and when I came back, I wanted to write a love letter full length album to the city. I hadn’t written original music since 2016 or 2017, and I was in over my head, so I went back to the drawing board.”
Late fall of last year, he spent a week in Atlanta secluded from everyone only with his MacBook and a Midi keyboard and wrote what would become “Pills.”
“I’m releasing on the Ides of March through my record label Ghost Laboratories [voted Best Record Label by Scene readers in 2011],” says Stevens. “I tracked vocals and mixed with Chris DiCola [Tropidelic] at Signal Flow Studios in Northfield. On the album, I explore my past addictions and current struggle with prescription medications and legalized addiction in America. I also address generative AI. I am massively anti generative-AI. I’ve always been DIY and rooted in human artistry, so AI just makes me sick. It actually gave me motivation to write this damn album. I wanted to prove I could make a great album all by myself, with no AI.”
He says he wears a mask as Jade Ring in homage to Lucha Libre and the political punk band Pussy Riot.
Coming up, on March 13, LoCle Grown podcast will release an extensive video interview and his first-ever live performance of the song “Brash” from the album.
The official album release party takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday March 14, at the Clubhouse at Forest City Brewery. It is an invitation only event, but Stevens will release a few tickets to social media followers on March 13. Each invited guest (with a proper registration) will receive a Pills party pack featuring event exclusive merchandise, including a physical media “Pills” compact disc and a hand-drawn blacklight poster by the Florida artist Michael Zultanky.
LoCle Grown will host a karaoke after party at the venue. In addition, Stevens will reissue Who Killed Marilyn?’s album Escape the Scene to mark its 20th anniversary. He’ll also release the Missing’s City of Curses to mark its 15th anniversary. He was previously affiliated with both acts.
On March 21, the official music video for “Brash,” which he filmed at Blank Canvas Theater at West 78th Street Studios will be released on Youtube and Vimeo.
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