Stars Go Dim

Stars Go Dim

Since their inception in late 2007, Tulsa-based pop-rocker-foursome Stars Go Dim [Chris Cleveland (vocals, piano, and guitar), Joey Avalos (guitar), Michael Wittig (bass), and Lester Estelle (drums)] has captured the attention of a devoted fan base as well as music critics; they took the crown in a series of both fan and industry voted music contests nationwide, including the Country Music Television’s Listener’s Choice Award. In mid-2008, The Urban Tulsa named Stars Go Dim the “best unsigned pop band in Oklahoma.” Their popularity is only strengthened by opening act performances for Switchfoot, Daughtry, Paramore, All American Rejects, The Roots, and John Mayer. Stars Go Dim boasts two Grammy-nominated musicians with a musical style that blends pop, rock and smooth soul and feature engaging lyrics held together with captivating melodies. The group recently recorded a self-titled debut EP in anticipation of the first single, Come Around. The full-length album, Love Gone Mad, was released August 4, 2009.  

How do you describe your music to people, Michael?
Stars Go Dim plays soulful, pop/rock music. We are not trying to be cool, but just write the best song that we possibly can.



Tell me about how you originally got into your craft.
I saw Bill and Ted's excellent adventure when I was a kid and wanted to learn to play guitar. My youth pastor taught me how to play guitar, and I soon switched over to bass. The jazz band at school needed a bass player and the hottest girl in school was in the band. The rest is history.

What is your favorite thing to do in the whole wide world?
My favorite thing in the whole world is to snuggle up with my two sons. I am the only one with kids in the band. I love to see them smile. Second to that I love playing and writing music. Meeting new people all across the world is pretty cool too.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to running your business?
Our challenge is different than most bands. We have members in Tulsa, OK (myself and our singer Chris), Kansas City (Lester our drummer), and Phoenix, AZ (Joey our guitar player). So we have lots of expenses before we even jump into the RV for a show. But we've been able to make it work. We played 140 shows in 2009.

When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
Well first I wanted to be super man, then a pro wrestler, and at about the age of 15 I wanted to do music the rest of my life. I've been blessed enough to be a full-time musician for the last 11 years.

In what way has your community impacted your development as a musician?
Although our members live all over the place we are based out of Tulsa. That is where the majority of us live and our RV is parked. The community of Tulsa has been awesome. Its a perfect place to build a band. Its central in location. Its big enough that we have radio stations, newspaper, Morning news programs, an arena, and many legit venues. But its small enough that we have personal relationships with ALL those people and they support us. If we lived in a bigger city like NY or LA the chances of that happening would be slim.

What other artists out there do you love?
I really dig John Mayer, Robin Thicke, and just good music. All styles.

What does your future hold?
BIG THINGS! World-wide success. Millions of records sold. A life playing music and doing what we LOVE!

Thanks so much for the interview. We appreciate it.

Peace, Michael and Stars Go Dim

Catch up with Stars Go Dim at starsgodim.com, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.

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