3 Pill Morning

Cleveland, Ohio

3 Pill Morning at the Cleveland Agora

3 Pill Morning’s Never Look Back

Hailing from Minneapolis, 3 Pill Morning is a super cool hard rock band with an absolutely killer sound, both live and in the studio. With highly energetic playing and singing, 3 Pill Morning puts on one hell of a riveting show. On tour with Thousand Foot Krutch and Adelitas Way this summer, Lead Singer Jeff Stebbins, Bassist Ryan ‘Riplee’ Lee, Guitarist Jon Stephenson, and Touring Drummer Tom Dupree III rocked crowds across the country. I was lucky to see one of 3 Pill Morning’s crazy awesome shows at the Cleveland Agora as well as have a chat with Jeff Stebbins a few weeks later.

The band’s sound is definitely not that screaming, in-your-face type of music, but instead is engaging and powerful with songs to get your blood pumping. If you want to hear great music with fantastic singing, this is the band for you. Definitely download Electric Chair and Bottom of a Barrel. I’ve listened to both songs time and time again since the show. In fact, you’ll thank yourself later by buying the whole Never Look Back album. This band simply rocks. And, make sure to check out 3 Pill Morning live on their next set of tour dates with Alter Bridge and Adelitas Way.

The Chat
Fortunate to catch up with Lead Singer Jeff Stebbins, I was able to ask him about touring, the band, and the successful PledgeMusic crowdfunding of 3 Pill Morning’s latest album Never Look Back.

Jeff Stebbins of 3 Pill Morning

What is music life like in Minneapolis?
The music scene in Minneapolis is pretty cool. Lots of bands and right now a pretty strong rock scene.

Tell me a little about the crowdfunding of music, and how this process helped 3 Pill Morning.
For us, it was a big opportunity to get people involved in the recording process and also show the level of commitment our fans have. Everyone says they have great fans. But, when you set out to make a record [with] the level of success [you’d] like to achieve… you only have your fans to help build and support that. They’re either there for you or they’re not. We accomplished some incredible things in making and releasing this record, and it truly was from people spreading the word and their belief in us.

What are some of the ups and downs of life on the road? To me, touring the country would be a dream-come-true adventure. Is it?
Being in a different city every night and meeting new people is really awesome. Even better is experiencing a national audience that knows your songs and the band. That is definitely a dream come true. It’s the in-betweens that bring the lows: vehicle breakdowns, the constant hurry-up-and-wait for [the band’s show] time each night, off days, and being away from friends and family can all take their toll. We’re very fortunate to have supportive families and get along really well. But for all the amazing things we get to experience, there’s always something to knock you back a few pegs from time to time.

What do you like to do for adventure or fun outside of music?
Oddly, travel is still something I love to do when we’re not on the road. When you’re touring, you get to see a lot of cities, but rarely get to have a vacation-like experience and really immerse. You’re usually at the venue and then back on the road. So getting to travel and actually spend some time is killer.

I recently interviewed Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch (see post here). Cool guy. Great music. What was it like touring with Thousand Foot Krutch and Adelitas Way? Do you ever get to just hang out?
We’ve been big TFK and Adelitas fans for a while, so to get added to this tour was great. This package [was] awesome and all the bands are super chill. Everyone [did] hang out and have a good time. It’s really been an awesome run.

Ryan ‘Riplee’ Lee of 3 Pill Morning

I love what you say on your Facebook page: “3 Pill Morning doesn’t need to be the “biggest” bunch of guys in the room. The reputation they are building is much simpler: they’re the nicest guys anyone could meet, they’re good dudes, fun to party with, and completely blow down the doors anytime and anywhere they play.” How does this play into your music writing and concert performances?
We definitely write about the real world. This business doesn’t allow for the rock star mentality anymore, so we try to have fun and also make any show people go to a great experience, not something forgettable.

How was the band formed?
I had started out drumming in a couple of bands in the cities and one day decided I wanted to start my own band. I’d had a lot of friends in other bands and started asking around for people that might want to get something going. We assembled our first crew and have pushed forward ever since.

Jon Stephenson of 3 Pill Morning

Dying to know, what is the origin of the name 3 Pill Morning?
It stems from the fact that the whole world is medicated. It’s not really specific to the “pills” but the fact that everyone’s popping something for some reason to get by. The number three just seemed about right. It stuck and is still something people seem to latch onto.

Not trying to jump into the future just yet, but what are 3 Pill Morning’s plans for the rest of 2016 and heading into 2017?
With the new album out, the formula is simple: be on the road! We also have plans for a new single and music video as well, so it’ll be exciting to watch that all come together!

Anything else that you would like to share with readers of Adventure Music Life?
Definitely get out and see us live. It’s the one thing we live and love to do. Thanks again for the time!

Left: Jeff Stebbins and Nici Lucas ● Right: Jodi V, Jeff, and Nici