Daily Inspiration: Meet Natalie Stamper And Frankie Starr Stamper Starr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Stamper And Frankie Starr Stamper Starr

Hi Natalie Stamper and Frankie Starr, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from a small, coal-mining area in West Virginia and work brought me to Cleveland in 2001. I wasn’t in the choir or band growing up, I was a basketball player. My Mother’s side of the family was filled with award-winning Bluegrass players. My Father’s family always had R&B playing. Dad could really sing and he sounded like Michael McDonald. Those were my musical influences.
I started singing with a band in 2013. My friends encouraged me to jump on stage and sing with the band in a club in Akron. Someone in the crowd asked me to be in their Classic-Rock band I said yes. I was terrified! I was in that band for 5 years but I really wanted something more soulful. I later started a Blues band, also in the Akron area, and we got a gig at The Cleveland Blues Festival in 2018. That’s where I first saw and heard Frankie Starr.
I didn’t know who Frankie Starr was. I wasn’t from the area and I didn’t know much about the Cleveland scene. I quickly took notice when he started playing.
His playing was exceptional. It stood out to me because of his unmatched tone. There was an elegance that I hadn’t heard before and yet, it still “kicked ass”! I would later learn that he had a robust musical career and was deeply rooted in the Cleveland musical scene. Everyone knew him and would talk about him opening for SRV and BB King.
We met at a mutual friend’s birthday jam a few days later. We did a song together that night and it was great. We started doing gigs together and when Covid shut everything down, we started doing live acoustic duo sets from his studio. That’s when we explored other genres. We started throwing in atypical songs. People loved it! When the ban lifted, we started playing more duo gigs and it’s really taken off! We have more musical freedom this way and the establishments and music-lovers have been good to us.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Covid was hard. That’s probably the biggest challenge we had as musicians but it was hard on everyone. In a way, Covid made us better because we had to adapt and sharpen our tool of resourcefulness. In the grand scheme of things, we’ve been blessed. There have been a few bumps in the road, as in any journey, but we work at great venues and get to play music for our beloved city Cleveland, Ohio.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Stamper Starr is an acoustic duo with Natalie Stamper on vocals and Frankie Starr on guitar. We are known for making our cover songs unique and soulful without comprising the integrity of the song. We specialize in having a diverse set-list and are most proud of the full sound that we produce as a duo.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
There are times as musicians that we’ve taken risks. Exploring other musical categories has been the biggest risk because people expect us to perform Blues all night. In our case, we’ve broadened our fan base by adding different genres.
Being firm on our worth is another risk that we’ve taken. Playing music is creative and fun but it’s also a business and we play private events, weddings, corporate etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stamperstarr.com
• Instagram: @stamperstarrmusic
• Facebook: Stamper Starr
• Youtube: Stamper Starr