The Cast of Players:
Chris Besinger - vocals
Adam Burt - guitar
Jesse Kwakenat - bass
Nathan Nelson - guitar
J. Michael Ward - drums (2002-2009)

What you should know:
STNNNG began their first rehearsals toward the tail end of 2002. Nate and Jeremy recorded demos of three songs, which they used to recruit Adam and Chris, who joined mere weeks before the band's first show in April 2003.

The original four-piece lineup played just 35 shows in 2003 and 2004, but they wrote nearly half of the band's catalog of songs during this time period, resulting in two releases: The Means/STNNNG split 7", and the band's first full-length album, Dignified Sissy. Their debut album was widely praised, receiving many nice accolades from critics in the Twin Cities and beyond. Top honors included a 6th place ranking of "Best local album of 2005" by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (the band placed 1st in "best live acts" that year), and in December, 2009, the Minnesota Daily declared it to be one of the best local albums of the decade.

In January 2005, Jesse joined as the group's bass player, thereby rounding out the sound and stage intensity. The band began touring in March, and were starting to make a name for themselves around the midwest. In September, STNNNG appeared on the cover of the Minneapolis City Pages after placing 1st in their annual "Picked to Click" poll of local musicians, club owners, radio personalities and critics.

The band returned to the studio in the spring of 2006 to finish their second full-length album (and first as a quintet), Fake Fake. The album was released by Modern Radio Record Label at the 4th Annual Lunch Show, alongside Signal to Trust's Golden Armour. Both bands would collaborate again the following year on a split 7" - Signal covered 'Dubbed Warehousing' off of Fake Fake, while STNNNG covered Signal's song 'Victory Over the Sun' from an earlier 7". This release was included with admission to Lunch Show 5, the final installment of afternoon all-ages shows combined pot-luck style eating.

By 2008, the band's pace began to slow, and work on their third full-length album crawled while members focused on other projects. Rehearsals were infrequent, and with few shows on the calendar and no completion of the album in sight, Jeremy left the band in August 2009 with the hopes of forming a new group. He was replaced by drummer Ben Ivascu.

STNNNG's third album, The Smoke of My Will, is slated for release by Modern Radio in the summer of 2010. It was recorded in a variety of locations, including FlatBlack Studios in Iowa City, Old Blackberry Way in Minneapolis, Phantom Manor in Chicago, and at the band's rehearsal space in Minneapolis. Many of the recordings that were done prior to Jeremy's departure have been re-recorded, but two songs - Two Sick Friends and New Black Hole - are confirmed for inclusion on the album. Lyrics for these songs and from most of the band's catalog were included by Chris in his book, The Usual Beast, which is now available from Laughing Mouse Press.