Stephanie Johnston

What had happened was...

I got my first bass when I was 11. I remember riding around in the truck with my Dad, listening to Blink 182, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, and then of course the classic 80s rock hits. I distinctly remember hearing Blink 182 though, and feeling the thump of the bass in my chest. That’s when I told my Dad I wanted one. He got a little bronco bass for me and I hit the ground running, trying to learn all those Blink 182 songs that inspired me. I would sit there and play them until they sounded exactly like the original. When my Dad realized the bass he got me wasn’t going to end up collecting dust in a corner, he pulled out the guitar from his glory days, and started to play along with me. Next thing I know, he’s bringing me out to play this open mic at a place called Crowley’s in Raleigh, From there, my Dad wanted to form a band with me, that would later become Stage Left. When I was 14, we started booking shows in Cary and Raleigh, and I’ve been going ever since! As Stage Left dissolved, I went on to play with Bender Street, Just Friends, Robert Cellucci, Sixteen Penny, and I filled in with various other bands, ultimately finding my home with 454