Aenone / Nyack – Nyack N.Y. (1988 – 1996)

The proximity from Rockland to NYC has always been equal parts a blessing and a disaster to Rockland bands. While affording influence and opportunity in copious amounts, the insular nature of “ the media capital of the world” can also be a death sentence for a band trying to distinguish itself from the thousands of other bands that clog the streets of NYC. It takes a very talented and unique band to break through that snobby and jaded ceiling that exists in the NYC music scene, and to rise above the din….to where they stand on their own, and become something beyond the norm! Let me welcome to the blog a band from Rockland that managed to do just that….say hello to Aenone / Nyack.

Aenone started in 1988 in Nyack NY as the brainchild of Kreg Sterns and Kim Collister while they were still in high school. Feeding on their love of all things Brit….they set off to create a band that defied the conventional Rockland norm. After buying a keyboard, a Mac and a sequencer they started creating demos at home. Aenone embraced the Shoegazer movement with what appears to have been every fiber of their collective being. Glistening chords, flange, fuzz, and Kreg Sterns generally hushed vocals dominated their recordings. Soon….Aenone became a four piece by adding Bill Stair (Hugo Largo) and Steve Crowley (Antietam) answered and soon they booked their first gig at the Underworld in NYC.

As fate would have it, members of the local band Lotion were there and fell in love with the bands swirlie style of music and melody and passed their demos onto Shimmydisc/Kokpop (Kramer's label). They recorded a 4 track EP called - Saints and Razors, released on Kokopop Records at Kramer's Noise NJ studios under his production. Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover said of this EP: "With its pleasant ambiance, Pale Saints-like waterfall melodies, and washed-out guitar with pretty lead touches, Saints and Razors is one hell of an impressive little EP."

A bunch of gigs later including supporting Medicine, Velocity Girl and playing CBGB's over a dozen times, they caught the ear of an American A&R rep for the newly formed Echo Records UK by having had their demo passed onto him by their lawyer. They showcased at CBGBs, and within a month found themselves recording in London with Alan Moulder and being asked to change their name (eventually to NYACK). Their first release was the 1994 Savage Smile EP which included an inspired orchestral version of Saints & Razors. Just prior to the release of their second EP I'm Your Star in March 1995 they landed the prestigious support of Sleeper's tour to coincide with the single. Shortly after this…Nyack released their debut album 11 Track Player.

The album, while brimming with the same textural and hooky pop that was familiar to fans of Aenone was sadly released to little commercial success. The last release Nyack featured on was The Echo Label compilation Drink Me for which they recorded a version of Heart's Barracuda. After that the Nyack name was to be no more as Echo found Nyack to be too expensive and the band took a break from playing. The group resurfaced in 1997 as Fork and released an album Alien Fairies. Kreg Sterns and Kim Collisters current project is The Nuevos (formed in 2003) and they released their debut album On The Brink Of Overnight Obscurity in Jan 2008 available as a free download and deluxe CD.

All said and done Aenone / Nyack were an incredibly talented, innovative and supportive band. (Full disclosure time)…my old band Dahlia Seed were given quite an early boost from Kim and Kreg in our formative years, and I will forever be grateful for their kindness and support when others simply looked the other way.

The Rockland music scene always has it’s up’s and down’s…..bands that always jump on a trend, and ride it to it’s end, but in the case of a band like Aenone / Nyack……they were the” sideways” of the scene, the ones who didn’t jump a trend…who played passionately, and used influence as a building block, not as a template. The ones who created a sound that NO ONE else was doing at the time, and in the case of Rockland County, I would guess probably still aren’t! Kim and Kreg are still making great music to this day in their new project The Nuevos…..and the world is a better place for it!


Chris Skelly
01/24/2012




Saints & Razors
Savage Smile
Saints & Razars (alternate take)
Celestia