Local band Stonewood to debut May 5 at A to Zen

A new local band is set to debut in Carson City with musical sound that has been 40 years in the making.

Stonewood, an acoustical vocal harmony band assembled locally in Carson City, takes the A to Zen stage on Saturday, May 5 for a break-out concert.

While the name is new, the musicians are not.

Band members Craig Smith and Gary Fritz are both long-time veterans of the local and regional music scene, even tracing their childhood roots back to the Nevada state capital.

"Carson City is where we started," Smith said. "The core of this project was right here in Carson City. That's why we were excited to come back home. We all came back home to where it's natural for us."

Smith and Fritz have a musical relationship spanning four decades, having first started the band Crossroads in Carson City in 1978. The pair began playing in a small community along Washington Street called Hippie Hollows.

"It was a little village of four or five little houses," Smith recalled. "The whole block played music."

That's where their sound began. Years later, after parting ways for a time, Smith and Fritz reunited in the nineties to collaborate on a new band named Gun Shy.

"Gary and I go way back," Smith said. "We've been playing off and on in different bands together for the last 40 years."

Joining them as Stonewood are Gary Fields and Eddie Freitas, both of whom have worked with Smith and Fritz before in different bands.

Fields, from the San Joaquin Valley region of Central California, was a founding member of the band Nine Below Zero and also played with The Jackals.

Freitas, from Hawaii, made music alongside Fritz for a decade, including time spent in the band Hired Help. He also played for a while with Smith after Fritz had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.

But now the quartet of acoustic musicians is finally all brought back together as Stonewood.

Only Fields does not provide vocals for the band. The other three members do, making their sound acoustic vocal harmony in similar fashion as The Eagles and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

"There's a variety enough that it's hard to say it's any one thing," Smith said. "It's the influence of vocal harmonies."

The name Stonewood stuck after band members sought a moniker that reflected their devotion to acoustical music. Smith said they originally wanted to name the band Tonewood, but agreed that adding the "S" at the beginning had a better sound to it.

"It's a twist," Smith said. "It wasn't exactly what we wanted, but when we added the S, that was the catch. It's an easy one and just snaps."

Each guitar used by the band is made from different kinds of wood, he said, which produces different types of sounds.

Fritz is the band's lead guitarist, Smith said, and a specialist on the banjo. Freitas, the drummer and percussionist, is also an accomplished acoustic guitar player who specializes in the mandolin and ukelele.

Smith is lead rhythm guitarist, while Fields plays bass guitar.

All four musicians have strong classic rock and roll backgrounds, focusing their early careers on such sounds as hard rock and Southern rock.

"We've played rock, hard rock, loud, bust your ears out rock and roll," Smith said. "We have that influence, but that can be transposed into an acoustic session."

Stonewood takes a little from everything — all types of rock and folk — and weaves them together using its harmonious acoustical sound.

"What we like to do is take some really off-the-wall stuff that you haven't heard," Smith said. "We take it, change it up and give it our little flavor."

The new band's sound now reflects its members' appreciation for music and the many years they spent making it.

"This band is actually a culmination of 40 years of friendship and music," Smith said. "There's a lot of different bands that we all went through before we all just settled into this project of love."

Smith said perspectives of the band members changed as the years have passed. They went from an exuberant, fast-paced pursuit of rock and roll fame in their youth to the wholesome joy of just making music for the love of its sound.

"What it means now is that it's effortless, it's enjoyable, relaxing and I think we are over the big dealing stuff," Smith said. "We just make beautiful music."

Smith said he thinks that the people who have followed them over the years will note and appreciate how well this new group gels — and jams — together.

"It's a little different from anything we've ever done," he said. "We're all feeling really good about it."

For those unfamiliar with Stonewood's crop of home-grown musical talent, Smith said he hopes new fans can sense the passion each of them has for making music.

"It's the love of music. You wouldn't do it this long if you didn't love it," he said. "It's a mutual respect for one another. When we sit down, it's almost like you don't have to discuss it. If we know what key it's in, it comes together."

As for the new band Stonewood, a project about two years in the making, Smith said they are all looking forward to playing together again for the sake for making music and no other reason.

"It's a new respect and love for life," he said. "When we were young and playing the clubs, we were shooting for the stars. When we got a little older, we realized that might not happen. But we can sure have a good time and we can help you have a good time, too."

Tickets to the concert at A to Zen, located at 1803 North Carson Street, are $5 at the door. The show begins at 7 p.m.

Advanced tickets can also be purchased by calling A to Zen Gifts and Thrifts at 775-691-3945, or by contacting Smith at 775-671-8039 or craig58@charter.net.

Smith said A to Zen is the right venue for Stonewood's debut concert, because it is all about the music at the gift and thrift shop. But don't let its retail store front be an aversion to great music.

"You might discount it as just a little thrift store, until you go in and you see what it has," Smith said. "It's really eclectic and comfortable."

That's a big change for Stonewood's members, many of which had gotten used to playing in bars, clubs, pubs and casinos over the years. But it's a change that compliments the group's renewed perspective on music.

"To be able to go into a place where people are sitting and listening to your music, that was the draw of A to Zen for us," Smith said. "These people are actually listening to your music. It's really nice when you are playing for people who are listening."

Visit A to Zen on Facebook for more information about its music venue and calendar of events.