The Rise of Stella Lost

On Saturday, October 5th, 2013 Texas A&M International University's 9th Annual AutMus Fest brought forth the likes of Steve Augeri, The Chris Perez Project, and KiSS tribute band, Destroyer. However, within all the big names was also one of Laredo's up-and-coming hard rock bands, Stella Lost. Made up of singer-songwriter, Mike Gutierrez, lead guitarist Jesse Villasenor, rhythm guitarist Rudy Martinez, bassist Drinks Murillo, and drummer Roger Molina, Stella Lost has risen to become one of the most buzzed and sought after local bands of the year. With their mixture of old-school metal, punk, alternative, and modern rock genres, the band has continued to take audiences by surprise.

Although they first started the Laredo touring circuit back in the winter of last year, Stella have since grown to headline local shows and big named festivals around Laredo. When asked about where their success comes from, frontman Mike Gutierrez responded, "Consistency. We've stuck together and we've grown together in the little time that we started. We've started getting to really know each other and as a band the magic and quality that we've been making just keeps getting better and better." Rhythm guitarist and co-founder Rudy Martinez believes that it is the love of music that has made Stella Lost very successful. He says, "We like to throw in all kinds of genres to the mix. From rock, hard rock, punk, metal to nu-metal. So I think in mixing it up, it just broadens our set. It appeals to pretty much anybody and all kinds of music."

Yet with Stella's frontman jumping off stage and into the crowd during their set in AutMus Fest, to the intense fury by both guitarist Jesse Villasenor and drummer Roger Molina; the band can also best be described as being unpredictable. When asked where a lot of the intensity in his set comes from, Molina responded, "It's just the way I have always been playing. It comes naturally to me, ya know?" While bassist Murillo says that nerves influence his performance and adds, "I have to drink some beers before I hit the stage and I guess that makes me unpredictable." Nevertheless, as unpredictable as they are, the members of Stella Lost draw from a handful of eclectic influences. For instance,Villasenor states, "Dave Mustaine [lead guitarist/vocalist of metal band, Megadeth] is the most awesome guy. He's my guitar idol," while Mike Gutierrez says that it is Soundgarden's Chris Cornell who is a key influence in his own singing. As a bass player however, Murillo admits, "I like to listen to a lot of singers. I'll take my bass playing by the way they sing. I especially like the baritones and low voices. I really like the singer of Depeche Mode."

So as the band finishes adding this years AutMus Fest as another huge milestone to their young and promising career, this Laredo hard rock band shows no signs of stopping and only plan to continue moving forward. Guitarist Martinez exclaimed, "We're very stoked. We're going to be touring a lot. We're going to be going to the Valley, Corpus, Austin, San Antonio. We want to take it as far North as we can." Drummer Roger Molina adds on that he is hopeful in recording their first album and touring outside the state of Texas, while Jesse Villasenor jokes about one day having legendary heavy metal rockers Metallica opening up for Stella Lost. Lastly, for those whom have yet to discover the band, Martinez says, "Check us out on Facebook, ReverbNation, and our website StellaLost.com. The music is there, all our shows are there, our merch, everything!"