Stump The Host

Stump the Host
(L-R) Dave Gay, Brian Dunn, Diane Christiansen, Leslie Santos, Steve Dawson
Background information
Origin	Chicago, IL
Genres	alt country
Years active	1988–1993
Labels	Minty Fresh
Associated acts	Dolly Varden, Freakwater
Members	Stephen Dawson, Diane Christiansen, Brian Dunn, Dave Gay, Leslie Santos, Davyd Johnson, Dan Massey, Tom Murray

Stump the Host was a band from Chicago, United States, featuring lead singers Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen, who later formed the band Dolly Varden. From 1988 to 1993 they played primarily in Chicago and the Midwest. Their music was a mix of country, rock, and R&B, featuring dual male / female harmony vocals, country-blues electric guitar, saxophone and rhythm section. After a series of local and national reviews of their cassette recordings, and a performance at South By Southwest, they signed a publishing deal with PolyGram Music and were courted by Zoo Records. They eventually released one 7" single, "California Zephyr" on the independent label Minty Fresh.

The band began in 1988 as an acoustic trio with Steve Dawson on guitar and vocals, Tom Murray on violin, and Diane Christiansen on vocals. By 1989 they added Dave Gay on upright bass and Leslie Santos on drums and began playing larger venues in Chicago. Brian Dunn was added on electric guitar and Murray left in late 1989 as the band recorded its first cassette release with Timothy Powell in Chicago. In 1990 Davyd Johnson was added on tenor saxophone and the band recorded its second cassette release, which was given a spotlight review in CMJ. In 1991 the band signed a publishing deal with Polygram/Island Music, and was also a finalist in Musician magazine's Best Unsigned Bands Contest.

In 1991 the band caught the ear of Jim Powers, an A+R rep for Zoo Records. Zoo paid for the band to demo four songs, "Married in a Taxi Cab," "10,000 Pounds," "Bronko Nagurski," and "Pink to Black", with producer Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos) and engineer Jim Rondinelli. The company did respond with an offer, but neither Powers nor the band were happy with it and they passed. In 1993, Powers set up his own independent record label, called Minty Fresh, through which he released Stump the Host's only single.

The stress of the music business contributed to the band's breakup in 1993. Another factor was that some members of the band wanted to begin touring more actively while others did not. Drummer Leslie Santos left the group in 1992, eventually joining the Long Gone Lonesome Boys, and was replaced by Dan Massey of the group the Wildroots. Dave Gay, the bass player, also eventually decided to leave the band, and went on to play full-time with Freakwater, who he'd been a member of from the beginning. A replacement was found in Lisa Wertman, formerly of the band Get Smart!, but before Lisa got started with the band, they broke up. Lisa would continue to play with Steve and Diane, though, as a founding member of Dolly Varden. Stump the Host played its last show on Saturday, June 11, 1993 at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago.