Meet Jonathan Stutz | Frontrunner for the band Stütz Bearcat

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonathan Stutz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonathan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Back in 2020 I was a fresh faced musical theatre actor living in New York. When the pandemic hit in March, April, I had to move back to California with some family to figure out my next moves. At the time my friend Andres Acuna(from Dirty the Queen) was also living here in SoCal and started showing me how to produce and write music. Wanting to utilize my family name, I decided on Stütz Bearcat. They were originally a luxury automobile company in the 1950’s that my grandfather was very amused by, since we were no relation to them but the name isn’t that common.

In April of 2021 I released the first song under that band name, “Save My Love.” I was able to finally put a live band together and almost to the day two years later, we played that single live for the very first time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
While I have my degree in musical theatre performance, I have spent many years working the technical background of the entertainment industry. I have worked stagehand, lighting crew, currently as a live audio engineer, and it has made it difficult at times to balance the creative output of my own art versus my “day job,” if you will. Oftentimes I’ve had to scale back my approach and just get real simple with my songwriting, lyricism, or just sound in general to find what I love.

When in doubt, ask for help. And be able to divorce your feelings from criticism, ESPECIALLY your own. Because we all are our own worst critic, but every now and again our inner voice does have a point. Being able to learn from others but also yourself has been a big thing I’ve discovered in the last couple of years.

One thing about us, is that we will bring the energy. Most of us are theatre kids so give us a mic and a stage? It’s game over haha. Doesn’t matter if it’s a packed venue or just 2 people quietly trying to enjoy their drink, we will have a good time and the people that see us will have a good time. We like to blend 80’s style synth-pop with some early 2000’s millennial rock, so even when we play originals no one has heard of before there’s something there for everyone.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Definitely a day in Santa Monica. Hit Montana Ave and all the cute coffee shops there and boutiques, go down to Ocean Ave to watch the sunset, then pivot in the evening and head to 3rd st Promenade for the night out.

You gotta spend some time in Hollywood. Elbow Room, Desert 5, and the Bourbon Room are all landmark bars in my opinion. During the day the Amoeba Music Store is an absolute blast to go in and browse.

During a Wed or a Thurs, getting day passes to Universal is the vibe. It’s not super crowded and seeing Super Nintendo World is a trip, especially the first time.

Going up to Zuma Beach, just past Malibu. Probably the nicest coastal area I’ve been to, either taking the PCH or Kanan Road off the 101. Makes for a really nice day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First of all I have to throw it back to Andres, Spencer, Lukie, and all the guys from Dirty the Queen. They really encouraged and pushed us to get our band to a strong enough place to hang with bands like them, The Pride, Goodnights, etc.

Second, Eric Graham from Fennec Brand. I met him working audio for a high school musical and we got to talking and found out he runs a clothing/merch company. High quality stuff with a high quality dedicated website for your brand. We ended up selling out of our t shirt drop for our first show.

Also got to mention Natalie Acheson, without whom our band would not have come together the way that it did.

And of course, my boys Trent Terpstra and Zach Santolaya, drummer and keys player. From day 1 these guys were fully in it and committed, and I’m excited to see where we go this year.

Website: https://www.thefennecbrand.com/stutzbearcat

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanstutz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stutzbearcatmusic

Other: https://www.instagram.com/stutzbearcat.music/ – official band page

Image Credits
Photographer – Ariana Nicolau