Finster Baby - History

BIOGRAPHY
Ask any member of Finster Baby how the band has managed to survive for the past fourteen years in a local club scene that many would argue is the most ruthless in the country, and they'll tell you flat out that it hasn't been easy. Battling everything from a local scene that regularly eats its young, fickle club goers, and constantly changing promoters — it's been an uphill climb all the way. In the face of obstacles like these, how does a band survive a decade playing the ratholes of the tri-state area? According to Finster Baby’s guitarist, Steve Raia , the answer is simple. “write better songs and remain the constant in the storm”

Anyone who's followed the NY music scene over the past decade likely has either seen a Finster Baby show or has heard the name. Singer Scott Ceffalia, guitarist Steve Raia drummer Tony Passimenti and bassist Jim Mui formed the band in 1990 and have been a fixture in the clubs ever since. Early on Finster Baby made a name for themselves with their hook-laden, sleazy hard-rock sound and their over-the-top S&M glam look. The band’s popularity grew wildly as did their legion of predominantly underage female fans.

In 1992 Finster Baby recorded their debut album "Take A Lick 'An See" for Vagabond Records, a tiny independent label the band believed would give them their undivided support. High hopes for their debut release, were soon dashed by Vagabond’s decision to license the record exclusively to Mausoleum Records, a German company in the process of a U.S. expansion. Fueled by positive reviews and energy charged live performances, Mausoleum had originally intended to make Finster Baby their “maiden voyage” in the States, however the album soon became lost in a whirlwind of personnel, location, and musical style changes that occurred within the company. After several years of broken promises and legal battles, Mausoleum dissolved and Finster Baby were free agents yet again.

Five years after first forming, Finster Baby found themselves in exactly the same position they were when they started. The only
difference was the NY music scene was changing as were current tastes in popular music. After a failed record deal many bands would just decide to call it quits and go their own way, but recognizing that their chemistry was something special Finster continued to play together and stay current, out growing the glam image that they were originally synonymous with. Paying more attention to songwriting and arrangement has served the band well, as they have somehow managed to maintain the same fan base despite the fact that their sound has matured and landed about 180 degrees heavier than when they first started.

After so many years in the trenches bassist Jimi Mui finally decided to get out of the crossfire in 2003. Finster didn’t have to look for a replacement for very long. Once word got out about the opening many local players were interested to audition and fairly early on in the process long time friend and peer Kevin Oriol became the new bass player for Finster. Kevin has been at the helm of his own project for years and is renowned among local head bangers for his work with Kill By Inches. Since joining the fold Kevin has been busy adding his brand of fuel, inspiration and extraordinary playing chops to an already potent rhythm section.

Detractors can argue that Finster Baby has nothing new to offer simply because they have been around so long, apparently forgetting how so many new bands that make it say the same thing “...we may appear to be an overnight success, but we’ve been together ten years!” One listen to Finster’s songwriting and it's immediately obvious that the material speaks for itself. From the heavy hooks of “Burning Bridges” and “Come Alive Again” to the throttling “Stroke Your Motor”, there's no denying that this band is in it for the long haul, drawing new fans into the fold, and simply getting better at their craft. So years later despite the innumerable obstacles, on any given evening, in any given club, behind the smoke and PA cabinets, and torn flyers all over the walls, you may find the same familiar well-tuned machine churning it out, and weathering the storm...but this time around the sound is a little angrier.