Perhaps, like me, you’ve followed the local music scene for a long time. Perhaps, like me, you’re familiar with the success of the band Sound Tribe Sector 9, which has seen its devoted following swell to the level that people are starting to talk about it the way they do Phish, or even the Grateful Dead. You still, like me, probably had no idea that STS9 has been a Santa Cruz band for more than 20 years.

This is not how things usually work. In the rare instance that a Santa Cruz band finds national success (or, let’s face it, even significant regional success), it’s usually a huge deal here. True, STS9 are transplants, but so were (for instance) the members of The Devil Makes Three—and local music fans lost their minds when that band got national attention in the late ’00s. Good Riddance’s critical acclaim and huge legion of fans around the world have been a source of civic pride for two decades. Hell, Snail got some nationwide notice in the late ’70s, and we’re still talking about it. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen so many great local bands regularly pack the Catalyst, seem primed for bigger things, and then … never quite make it. We can’t help but stan hard for the ones who do.

So how has STS9 slipped under the radar as a Santa Cruz success story? Adam Joseph finds some answers in this week’s cover story, and also explains why the group’s two nights of shows at the UCSC Quarry Amphitheatre this week are a sort of coming-out party for STS9 as a Santa Cruz phenomenon—complete with festivities. Read on!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF