Stephen Speaks was started in 2000 by TJ McCloud and Rockwell Ryan Ripperger... well... kinda. Here's the story.
It was spring 1999, and Rockwell and TJ were both about to graduate from their highschool in Jenks, OK. The two had been nearly inseparable since the sixth grade, and grew up learning guitar together, as well as acting in drama class and singing in choir. The two had even played some concerts, and of course jammed every weekend and wrote their own songs together. Toward the end of senior year, Rockwell mentioned to TJ and another close friend, Ab Colby, the idea of making a CD of some of their own songs just as a keepsake - "something to show the children." After all, Rockwell had owned a studio since he was 15, and the recording would be free. TJ and Ab loved the idea, and the recording process begun!
After about half the album was done (a month into the project) friends started to hear the stuff. Requests for copies started to come in, which is when Rockwell had to step in and say, "Whoah... I can't burn 200 CDs in my little 2x recorder!" So the three checked into getting the album mass duplicated. One problem - back in 1999, CD duplication was only available with orders of over 1000 CD's. The three highschoolers thought, "Dude... that's a lot of money. We don't have two grand." So they agreed, "If we can get 200 people to PRE-ORDER the disc, then we'll print them... if not, then too bad." So they went to school with little receipt books, hoping to get 200 people to agree to buy the disc. Within a week they had over 200 orders. So they named the album, "Doubting Thomas" and printed it. Doubting Thomas sold out fairly quickly.
There was one problem. Now people started calling and asking for concerts... which was a problem since there wasn't really a BAND.They did play though... with various friends filling in on other parts. (A recording of "Wasting Time" from their first concert ever can be found in the bootleg section.) Lifelong buddy of Rockwell's, Ryan Tedder, played congas for them that spring. However after just 3 months of that, they had to leave for college. Not to mention everyone was leaving for college. So the alleged band took a break.
So where does Stephen Speaks come in? Good question. About a year later, TJ McCloud approached Rockwell about recording a solo project, and of course Rockwell was down for that... that's what friends are for, right? It wasn't more than one song into the album though, that Rockwell was pitching in and writing with TJ, and they both got carried away and kinda forgot it was a "solo" project. As the album progressed more, Rockwell even ended up singing some of the songs on the disc. By this point, they were starting to realize that the idea of them being in a "band" isn't going to go away. But they needed a name... Doubting Thomas was copyrighted, and wasn't really the name of a band anyway... just that album. The band had never had a name... because there had never really been a band. One day TJ was driving over to Rockwell's house and saw the words, "Tonight, Stephen Speaks" written on a billboard. Stephen was the name of the first Christian martyr... he gave a speech before he was stoned to death. TJ liked the implied meaning, thus the name of the band. Ever since that day, the band has slowly grown.
The "band"... or whatever you want to call it, has been though many different musicians. Stephen Speaks is more like a collaboration between TJ and Rockwell's friends. Dain Samuelson, the younger brother (and best buddy) of Rockwell has been the most faithful third member... he's always been there, so those three have made up the core of the band mostly. Stephen Speaks has had about three or four drummers, who all ended up getting jobs or moving away. They never had a bass player until summer of 2002 when Blake Howard joined, at the same time as their current drummer, Blake Farmer. Amber Sturges, their female vocalist, was a close friend of Rockwell and TJ's from high school. Her touring has been limited due to and extremely hectic college schedule. Click on her for more her story. Ben Mosier has been a favorite guest to the band, though his touring with the band is limited due to his busy schedule with rock band, Upside. If you can catch a show with Moiser on electric guitar, it's a treat.
So where does the band sit now? Good question. "We are what we are" says Rockwell, wish a smile. Attending a show is always a surprise - could just be Rockwell and TJ in a laid back coffee shop, and could be an eight member band completely rocking the house. It all depends on who can get off school and drive to meet in the designated state, or where they're playing. However the REAL future of Stephen Speaks has been on hold till spring of 2003, when most the members graduate. Then... well... who knows.