Alberta Cross

Alberta Cross
Live Amsterdam Paradiso 2012
Background information
Origin	East London, England
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Fiction Records, Geffen Records, ATO Records, Ark Recordings, Dine Alone Records
Associated acts	Historia, The Candles
Website	www.albertacross.net
Members	Petter Ericson Stakee
Past members	Terry Wolfers

Alberta Cross are an Anglo-Swedish rock band, formed in 2005 by singer-guitarist Petter Ericson Stakee and bassist Terry Wolfers, currently based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States.

In 2013 Wolfers left the band, leaving Stakee as the only permanent member of the band. The band's official Facebook page lists band members as "Petter Ericson Stakee and friends!".

Petter Ericson Stakee, from Uppsala, Sweden, and Terry Wolfers, from Waltham Forest, North East London, England met at Strongroom Bar & Kitchen in Shoreditch, East London in the early 2000s. Stakee grew up in a musical family with his father, singer-songwriter Peter R Ericson and older brother leading the way before him. Wolfers joined Stakee's band Historia at a time when Stakee had begun writing new material that didn't suit the band. The duo developed and recorded the songs together in Wolfers' home studio in Highams Park, Waltham Forest and soon departed from the band to concentrate on the new material. They began playing acoustic gigs together across London before forming a live band with drummer Sebastian Sternberg and Stakee's brother John Alexander Ericson on keyboards. After four gigs together as a band, they signed to Universal subsidiary Fiction Records in the UK and Europe and Geffen Records in America. In April 2007 the band released their debut 'Mini album', The Thief & the Heartbreaker, a collection of self-produced demos. In October 2007 the band, now with drummer Paul Cook, released the single/digital EP Leave Us Or Forgive Us.

In early 2008 Stakee and Wolfers re-located to Brooklyn, New York to begin work on their debut full-length album,. Once there, they decided to re-locate permanently to New York City calling Brooklyn their new home. After a few low key shows they caught the attention of ATO Records. In April 2008, with a desire to turn Alberta Cross into more of a band, the duo recruited new members drummer Austin Beede, guitarist Sam Kearney and keyboardist Alec Higgins and the band began work on new material together as a unit. After parting ways with Universal the band signed to Ark Recordings and PIAS in the UK and Europe.

The band recorded their debut album Broken Side of Time in Austin, Texas with producer Mike McCarthy, with Stakee describing the album as "kind of a desperation album, a darker album; it's definitely angrier" in relation to their debut EP. The album was released in the US in September 2009 via ATO Records and in the UK and Europe in October 2009 via Ark Recordings/PIAS. The band toured the album extensively across the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and Japan, supporting bands such as Them Crooked Vultures, Oasis, Neil Young, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bat For Lashes, Mumford & Sons, Portugal. The Man, Ben Harper, Phosphorescent, Dave Mathews Band and The Shins as well as playing festivals including Coachella Valley Music Festival, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Austin City Limits in the US, Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury Festival and Latitude Festival in England, Malmöfestivalen in Malmö, Sweden, Fuji Rock Festival in Japan and the Splendour in the Grass festival in Australia, Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands, Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium, Rock En Seine in Paris and many many more. The band also played many of their own successful headlining tours in the US, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia with many of the shows being sold out.