Stir

Stir was founded in 1994 as a three piece band at the University of Missouri, and consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Andy Schmidt, bassist Kevin Gagnepain, and drummer Brad Booker. Schmidt, Gagnepain and Booker had been in another band previous to Stir named "The Choice" and decided to form the band when that band's lead singer, Rick Smith, decided to no longer pursue a career in music. The band released a self-produced, independent LP titled "Until Now" in 1995 under its own label, Stir Music. Later that year, the band played at the South by Southwest festival. The band signed with the indie label Aware Records following the performance, subsequently releasing their eponymous debut album, Stir in 1996. This record included much of the material from the independent release. Later signed up by major label Capitol Records, the self-titled Stir was re-released to wider distribution. Under the Capitol imprint they also released their second record Holy Dogs in 2000 and were praised by radio program directors as the "new golden boys."