Bay Area rock band Stimuli create thoughtful and heavy rock music about the human condition, delivered through Jimmy Tomahawk's melodic and edgy vocals and spacious and heavy guitar riffing, Tai Hake's solid and snarling bass tones, and Cole Andrew's intricate and powerful drumming. Stimuli will release their first official full-length album titled They Are We in stores and online worldwide on August 17th. The album is a winding 11-track explosion of the trio's dense, ambitious, and fiercely original sound.

In April 2018, the band generated buzz when they released their debut single and music video for the album's title track, “They Are We.” The single knocks out a hard rock, radio-friendly sound that also exposes the introspective themes of understanding and empathy that permeates their new album. They Are We was recorded at the idyllic Russian River Studios on the Ingels Ranch in Talmage, California, where Tomahawk and Hake had previously recorded with their band Yeibichai. Ken Ingels, the owner of the studio, was extremely helpful, and they enlisted Andrew Miller to engineer and mix the album, and Mike Wells for mastering. For the artwork and album layout, the trio had their eyes photographed and then overlaid the irises so that the colors merge and overlap, accomplished thanks to the superb talents of Michael Miller at Digital Realm Productions, who brought their vision to life in a way that represents the music on the album exceptionally well.

Not only do Stimuli masterfully rock the traditional power trio format, the band also incorporates synth atmospherics and eclectic instrumentation that is not often associated with contemporary Hard Rock. Bassist Tai Hake also plays Theremin, and their music features Native American flute, sitar, acoustic guitar and ambient synthesizers. Lyrically, Stimuli's themes possess a rare depth - insightful and meaningful, ruminating on personal experiences and reflections about peace, empathy, destiny, and self-actualization. Combined together, Stimuli are a sort of “Thinking Person's Rock Band.”

While all members are of a shared generation, their influences run the gamut. The heavy, tight and polished sound of Stimuli has been compared to Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Tool, Rush, and Nirvana. The individual and collective history of the band is just as varied and multi-faceted as their music. Comprised of seasoned musicians from around the world (drummer Cole Andrew is from Australia), Stimuli is a collage of three very strong-willed personalities who, like most productive collaborations, happen to have chemistry and work well together.

“Our music contains a strong emotional intensity with personal, social, and philosophical messages about the human experience,” explains guitarist/vocalist Jimmy Tomahawk. “Although there is an undeniably serious disposition in the band's message, as individuals, we don't take ourselves very seriously at all - satire, slapstick humor and wisecracks are the norm when we are together. It's a bit of a collective Jekyll & Hyde scenario, really. We try to remind ourselves that the initial spark of passion and the joy of playing music that caused us to pick up our instruments in the first place is why we do this!”

The formation of Stimuli began following the split of Bay Area rock band Yeibichai, the brainchild of Tomahawk and Hake. When Tomahawk came across a video of Cole Andrew demonstrating his powerful and detail-oriented drumming, he reached out and they began to jam. Tomahawk couldn't imagine any other bass player but Tai in the room with the sounds that he and Cole were creating. In 2013, Stimuli opened up shop in their new studio space at the fabled Soundwave Studios in Oakland. It was here that Stimuli became a band and their deep friendship and musical bond was solidified.

In early 2017 Stimuli found themselves at a crossroads. Things suddenly felt new, vivified, and stronger among the three of them, but a glaring question remained: who would be the voice of the band? Jimmy Tomahawk decided then that nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling his original plan as a young teenager of being the vocalist in his own band. With the encouraging support of his bandmates, Tomahawk began to write, and at some point along the way, singing became as fluid and as much of an unconscious operation for Tomahawk as playing guitar. In just a few short months the band was in the studio tracking drums and bass for the new album.

Stimuli feel an unprecedented sense of optimism and joy with the music they are making. The audiences are reciprocating that energy that is conveyed at their live shows with great fervor. With much more to come from this exciting new Bay Area rock band, it would appear that Stimuli are just getting started!

Pre-order here.

Tracklisting:

"+x-"
"They Are We"
"The New Dream"
"Sandstorm"
"Fire In Disguise"
"Ripple"
"Pill For The Pill"
"Only Liars"
"Prize Of Nothingness"
"How On Earth"
"Pushing The Stone"

"They Are We" video: