Steve Hefter and Friends and Friends of Friends

Sun Reporter

November 30, 2006

Hometown: Baltimore

Current members: Steve Hefter, guitar and vocals; George French, guitar; Pat Hughes, drums; Doug Keen, bass; Mike Ward, piano and keyboard; Greta Thomas, violin

Founded in: 2006

Style: folktronica and indie pop

Influenced by: Bob Dylan, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wilco, Ryan Adams, Sufjan Stevens

Notable: The group formed after the members of Hefter's previous project, Challenge Club, went their separate ways. Hefter and Co. released a six-song demo earlier this year, which Hefter mixed himself. It was an extremely stressful process, Hefter said. He and his band mates will head to Kentucky early next year to record a full-length album.

Quotable: "The fact that I don't know what I'm doing is frustrating for everyone," Hefter said. "You can't be an objective critic of your own stuff. You have to listen to it 200, 300 times to figure out what makes it just right."

The band: myspace.com/hefterandfriends

[Sam Sessa]

sam.sessa@baltsun.com