Review: Sons of A Tradesman Release Debut Album

West Palm Beach rock-n-roll band Sons of A Tradesman released their debut album Stir The Pot on March 11^th. The band was formed in 2017 by Andrew Alonso (vocals), Chris Santiago (drums), Nicholas Polycarpo (bass), and PJ Saiani (guitar). A year after forming PJ Saiani left the group and was replaced by guitarist Mike Guido. Polycarpo died unexpectantly in 2019 and was replaced by Marvin Hawkins.

Each of the band members was influenced by differing musical styles. Alonso was inspired by Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Merle Haggard. Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and Led Zepplin drummer John Bonham were influences for Santiago. Guido’s style was influenced by guitar greats Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Rory Gallagher, and John Frusciante. Hawkins drew inspiration from Primus bass player Les Claypool.

Sons of A Tradesman release Stir The Pot

The band says, “Someone once told us that ‘instead of trying to pay tribute to your heroes, try to start making them look bad,’ meaning that instead of trying to emulate sounds that have been done before, try to make something new and completely different.”

Stir The Pot is a concept album which tells the story of four brothers fighting for a coveted throne. The storyline was developed by Polycarpo prior to his death. The band started work on the album in the 2019 but had to stop production due to the death of Polycarpo. They ultimately decided to continue with Hawkins taking over on bass.

The feel of the album encompasses elements of multiple genres. Alonso sings the tale of the Bandit, Vigilante, Baron, and the Wolf where one moment he is rapping and the next his vocals are soaring like Robert Plant. Guido’s guitar work traverses from 12 bar blues to jazz to hard rock. The band manages to seamlessly blend all these various styles in a cohesive way making for a unique and appealing debut album.

Stir The Pot Track List