The Stolen discusses release of debut album during headlining tour

My first impression of The Stolen is that each band member is remarkably polite. They are extremely accommodating of my request for an interview and even thank me for my time, as if I’m not the one being granted an amazing privilege. The New Jersey group has a legion of fans in this building, and I feel lucky to be able to tear the band away for an all-too-quick thirty minutes.

We make introductions as we gather around a table on the first floor of The Smiling Moose, a quirky bar/music venue in the South Side area of Pittsburgh. While bar patrons shuffle in and out of the building, the upstairs music venue is packed with excited fans of all ages, many of whom were waiting outside in the rain for doors to open just an hour prior.

As The Stolen’s tour mates States & Capitals sound checks and performs upstairs, conversation turns towards the release of the band’s self-titled debut record.

The self-proclaimed “DIY band” has a multitude of EPs and singles under their belt, but the release of a full-length album marks a milestone for the indie rockers. The 11-track record was released on May 31.

“The original plan was another EP,” explains guitarist Rob Chiarappa. “But life happens, and we thought, ‘Let’s write more.’”

“It’s harder to make an album, but you kind of owe your fan base at that point,” continues lead singer/guitarist Dominick Cuce. “They need more to invest in.”

“It was over a long period of time and a lot of weird hours, but you have to want to do it,” says Rob. “If you want to do it bad enough, you make time for it. You should be hustling as hard as you can. Any moment you’re not hustling in any way is a time when someone else is doing it.”

In addition to the release of the album, the group is proud of how much work has gone into their constant touring.

“We’ve been touring forever,” Dominick says. “We’ve toured everywhere. We started touring out of high school, and people just kept coming. It was building on its own.”

“We’re proud of it all,” comments Rob. “It’s been our thing, built from the ground up. We can’t let one aspect outshine others.”

Backed by such a heavy and grueling touring schedule, it’s no wonder that The Stolen have made a few friends along the way. It’s been these friendships that have helped pave the way for the collaborations on The Stolen’s album.

The collaborations on the album happened “organically,” remarks bassist Kevin Smart. “We were friends first.”

Kevin explains that he has been playing drums for Jake Miller for seven years, so collaborating with him on the track “Rooftop” was as easy and natural as sending a text.

The Stolen also toured twice with singer/producer Patternist. What started with sending memes back and forth gave way to the ear-worm “Millennial” pretty seamlessly.

“When they’re your friends, it’s easy,” Rob agrees. “You’re in it for the same reason. They just need to be fitting for the song.”

Working with friends is just one facet that helped create the album. The record also came to exist due to a deep love The Stolen has for their home state.

“We’ve never seen a community in music that cares about each other like New Jersey does,” Dominick says. “We’re from a small suburban town in an area between New York and Philadelphia, so it’s not really the city. It breeds a certain culture of who we are, and we have a lot of pride in it.”

“The New Jersey music scene is really underrated,” drummer Mike Chiarappa chimes in.

“For sure!” the rest of the group agrees.

“We really embraced the Jersey sound,” Mike continues. “There’s like a Bruce Springsteen vibe [on the album] that’s kind of not on purpose.”

Aside from the “Jersey sound,” The Stolen pulled from a variety of influences to design the sound for their record.

“We’ve gone through phases: classic rock covers to the pop-punk wave to 80s pop,” Dominick explains. “We consume so much so we’re pulling from everywhere. It’s important to have a mix.”

While their influences and inspirations are in a variety of areas, so are their talents. Each band member is a skilled multi-instrumentalist with the ability to take on multiple roles within the group, as seen particularly in tracks seven and ten on the album. Brothers Mike and Rob take over vocal duties on songs “Before You Were Gone” and “This Is Good For You, Yeah?” respectively.

“When we were younger we gravitated toward certain things. Now we’re more experimental,” expresses Dominick. “We know what makes sense and what doesn’t. We all have our own roles, but if an opportunity arises, we take advantage of it.”

“[Rob and I] wrote two emo songs, so it wouldn’t come across as real to me if Dom was singing our emo feelings,” Mike explains. “It comes across as forced.”

“Any musician can do anything,” Dominick says. “We don’t put limitations on anything. We’re a team.”

As for what The Stolen has in mind for the future of the band, they keep their goals pretty straightforward.

“[Our goal is] to keep making music we love. We are super grateful for every single person who supports us in any way. Making music with my best friends means something to me, to us,” explains Rob. “We aren’t here to impress people. We’re here to make music we love. Whatever comes, I’m grateful for it.”

This sincerity seems to follow the band members in all that they do as they make a point to meet fans at every show.

“[It’s about] connection. These people make your dreams a reality. I know it sounds cliche and corny,” Rob confesses, “but we wouldn’t be sitting here right now otherwise. We don’t play rock stars, it’s not our thing. We genuinely want to thank you for supporting our music.”

Be sure to catch The Stolen on the rest of their headlining tour this summer, now through June 26.