Rocker AJ Fratto
Hailing from a little city (Geneva) in the empire state of New York... AJ Fratto served 15 years in the U.S. Navy as a Aviation Search & Rescue Swimmer, Blue Angel Crew Chief #1 and Council provider to young Americans..... This Battle Cat has a lotta' love, heart and soul! AJ could be a character right out of the children's book "Where the wild things are". If you saw AJ in action at a rock show you know "The wild thing" put us all on our feet!!! AJ is the guest vocalist and the American Soldier personality for the legendary Progressive Metal Gods; QUEENSRYCHE on their epic latest release "AMERICAN SOLDIER". AJ Fratto is featured in a kick ass song called "SLIVER" and did voice overs on songs "Unafraid" and "A dead man's words". As a tour kick off novelty, AJ was going on the road for five shows... but do to the overwhelming love and support from the rabid cult like Queensryche fan base, AJ did an impressive eighty 0ne shows nation wide. As the front man of Pensacola, FL rockers 'BELOW THE STITCH" AJ Fratto has been coined by the media as the "Heavy Metal Tom Jones". Below The Stitch just released an album entitled "NEVER WALK ALONE" . The band have earned rave reviews and is starting to cause a rumble in the main stream. AJ Fratto is a man of many hats and loves to share his time with family, friends and of course his fans! AJ has a wide range of influences and his love of music is his life line. AJ's vocal style is often compared to the likes of such acts as: The Cult, Sevendust, Tom Jones, Blood Sweat & Tears, Ides of March, Kiss, Van halen, Metallica...... with a dusting of MO Town and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Geoff Tate of Queensryche has been quoted as saying "AJ Fratto is a very powerful personality and did a wonderful job on the record. He's a bull of a man and does a great job of pumping up the crowd, stay out of his way". Guitar phenomenon Michael "Whip" Wilton describes AJ Fratto in a single word.... "ferocious".
Music
Below The Stitch
Below The Stitch is four unique individuals with diverse backgrounds merging to create a bold, musical statement. Below The Stitch combines many different writing styles to bring forth a heavy driven sound with undeniable melody. Influences range from Rage Against the Machine to P-Funk from Queensryche to Sevendust The Cult, Kiss, Van Halen, Prince, MO Town, Journey to Metallica. The raw emotion captured in this band's material is sure to wake up a new generation of music lovers and remind the previous of why they love energy filled music. The members of Below The Stitch have been the support act for Papa Roach, Godsmack, Staind, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Live, Three Days Grace, Lit, Everclear, Greg Rolie Band, Sugar Ray, Quiet Riot, Flogging Molly, Night Ranger, Dream Theater and more. Below The Stitch is an explosive, dynamic group of live performers with the ability to capture their intensity in the studio. The band has just released its debut album "Never Walk Alone", a culmination of rock, metal, and funk. This is a group leaning on each others different playing experiences to make their own resonant style.
Anthony James (AJ) Fratto: Roar
"The Beast From The East" is the live wire that spearheads BTS. Coined by the media as the "Heavy Metal Tom Jones" AJ enormous stage presence and omega emotional performances are second to none. "The infectious compatibility between my band mates and myself are apparent through our melodic motivational metal. I feed off their onslaught and proceed to devour anything that crosses my path". Emotionally driven, AJ's heart and soul set the standard as a conscientious showman. I live for the crowd; we together are active participants in this beautiful assembly of sound. I consider our band to be "the peoples champ". After all, the people are what it's all about. I'm so proud they allow us to be a representative of their culture and spirit. We will NOT let them down.
Gary Humphrey: Guitar Orchestrations
Playing stringed instruments since the age of 8, music has always been present in Gary’s life. Having a strong love for the live performance, he has been playing gigs since sixteen. Though Gary is able to break a song down to its subtle elements, his true nature in playing is all out, energy driven riffs. “The tendency for most guitar players is to over play. Surround yourself with great players, and you can create something great with more understandable elements. To me it’s better to feed off the energy of the group around me.”
Justin Williams: Low End
Justin is part of the diverse character that defines Below The Stitch. His roots do include rock, but are better described as a punk-funk blend. He brings an element to the group that involves a lot of counter melody, crossed with a more syncopated approach to bass playing, versus simply holding the low end. Many effects and ambiance that are present in the music are actually the bass. Justin does create many different textures in the studio recordings, but to see him live is to know his true calling. Simply put, he was born to be an entertainer. In addition to bass, Justin also writes acoustic oriented material on guitar. His versatility is very evident by playing the most heavy of elements to opening up the flavor of melodic acoustic grooves. Having this ability enables him to make the puzzle pieces fit in Below The Stitch's songwriting.
Michael Lukers: Battery
ichael knew he wanted to play drums since he was ten years old and his Nana gave him an old beat up Ludwig tom with no bottom head and a gold oyster pearl finish. Michael has performed jazz, orchestral, marching and intricate progressive metal music since he started. Some of Lukers' inspirations come from great artists such as Eric Carr, Snowy Shaw, Vik Foxx, Shannon Larkin and Mark Zonder, to name just a few. Michael has the ability to push the music while also letting it "breathe". My band has something different to offer musically and emotionally. We have songs you won't be able to get out of your head after you hear us. I like being in the studio, but LOVE performing live music with these guys. I think they are both a necessity for me to keep sane in the music business. When I'm staring out among all of those people during a show, it makes me feel alive with appreciation. If we can get the crowd into the groove of a song [and] be visually entertaining, then we've done our best!
