Stillborn is a Johnson City based metal band with explosive and domineering stage performances.
The members are Billy Sambill (drums), Steve Austin (bass), Allen Tisdale (guitar) and Ken Carter (vocals).
Complete with pyrotechnics and make-up, the band loves being onstage.
They say the make-up and the fireworks are major parts of the Stillborn experience.
“The make-up is such a magnet,” said Carter.
“We definitely stand out in a bar,” Austin said.
“When we are hanging out before a show in the audience people see us and stick around to see what we are all about.”
Tisdale said, “The stage is a battlefield and to prepare we must put on our war paint.”
Stillborn has been rocking stages in the Knoxville area for over a year and now they are ready to come back home to Johnson City.
“We are shopping for a label,” said Sambill. “We have been in showcases all over the Southeast.”
Stillborn has just returned from a metal showcase in Atlanta.
The band says the name is a reflection on society.
“We have no dead infants in our shows,” said Carter with a chuckle.
They explain that the name came from the feeling that they are stuck in a rut within this society. They have been predestined to play metal.
The shows are pure music with a sideshow and nothing else.
“We blow things up but we hardly stop the music during our shows,” Sambill said. “We are a bit of theatrics with a high intensity.”
Through what they call “aggressive persuasion,” Stillborn rocks you.
“You should be scared not to see our show,” Austin said. “Stillborn is the metal experience of a lifetime.”
Catch Stillborn with Blindsight, Eviction and Taste of Distance at Rafters Dec. 20.
All proceeds from the show go to Toys 4 Tots. Admission is one toy or $8.

Author