There are some bands and musicians whose names are surprisingly difficult to say on the radio, and near the top of my list is the band Been Stellar. Their name isn't exactly a tongue-twister, but it's important to make clear that you're not referring to Ben Stiller, although he himself was in a band at one point (we'll get to that later).
Been Stellar has made New York City their home, but two of the five members are originally from Michigan, so we can sort of claim them as Midwesterners. On top of that, they've made an Iowa connection in recent years, and it’s a pretty heartwarming one at that.
“Our van broke down in Harlan, IA, and a mechanic and his family helped us out quite a bit,” said Sam Slocum, the lead singer for Been Stellar. “And then they actually drove us to the airport in Omaha because our van was so fried.”
Been Stellar returned to Omaha in October for a much happier occasion: opening for Fontaines D.C. during their USA & Canada tour. They played at Slowdown, a venue that the band says is about the right size for them.
“I think on the West Coast and on the East Coast, the rooms are bigger, but over here they tend to be a little bit smaller, which I actually prefer quite a bit, especially being an opening band,” said guitarist Skyler Knapp. “I think there's way more room for connecting with the audience, and people are less inclined to be on their phones or whatever, because you can actually see their faces.”
Adding to the cozy feel of Slowdown, Been Stellar had their friends from Harlan in the audience as their guests.
“The mechanic’s brother is very into harmonicas, so he comments on all of our videos — like ‘Where's all the harmonica? Come on,’” said Slocum.
“He also gave us some harmonicas and mouth harps,” added Knapp. “So he's a legend.”
Been Stellar’s performance at The Slowdown consisted mostly of songs from the band’s 2024 album Scream from New York, NY. As Knapp told me before the show, Been Stellar performs with a lot of passion. “We really, really want to be here,” said Knapp. “We're very hungry, so I hope that comes through and I hope people can tell that we really mean what we're doing.”
To me, the band’s two-guitar sound brought to mind a lot of classic New York City bands: Television, The Velvet Underground, and, of course, The Strokes (which is a comparison the band is almost certainly tired of hearing). So I was a bit surprised to hear that Been Stellar’s biggest musical influences aren’t really guitar bands.
“We're definitely a guitar band,” said Knapp. “But to be honest with you, it's not really something I think about a lot because we don't really just listen to guitar music. And I think in a lot of ways, guitar music as a whole isn't the most interesting thing happening right now. We're really into hip-hop, especially the drumming on this record. For (drummer) Laila (Wayans), that’s definitely her wheelhouse.”
Knapp and Slocum also cited trip-hop artists Portishead and Tricky as influences on Been Stellar, as well as minimalist composer La Monte Young and the band Bowery Electric, who were also from New York City and were active in the mid-’90s. “They kind of come from like a really interesting pocket of time in New York, right before The Strokes and everything came about,” said Knapp. “It was kind of like a sort of musical wasteland a bit, at that time. So to me, I can live vicariously of that sort of ‘pre-gentrified’ time through their music, I think.”
Despite their varied influences, Been Stellar still want to just make pop music. “We'll make songs that are really long and droney and ambient, and then we're like ‘No, we actually want to be a pop band,’” said Knapp. “We take from (those influences) and, I think, make more traditional songs.”
Been Stellar had one big surprise for me during our conversation: Their band name was not directly inspired by the aforementioned Ben Stiller. “There was this electronic artist from Ann Arbor, which is kind of close to where we grew up, called Com Truise. And you know, I was 14 years old and I thought that was cool. But I also like the name Been Stellar, because it sounds like something someone ironically would say — like, ‘How have you been? Oh, I've been stellar!’ It just sounded cool.”
Of course, they’ve actually met Ben Stiller, whom they confirmed is a really nice guy, and they suggested everyone check out his old college band Capital Punishment. We also all agreed that Night At The Museum and There’s Something About Mary are good movies.
Been Stellar’s music is available on Bandcamp and streaming services. They’ll be hitting the road again in 2025.
