Jonathan 'Jon-John' Stewart
Vocals, Percussion, Mock Harmonica and Human Beatbox

Jon was born in Washington DC , and grew up on the mean streets of Capitol Hill (tongue firmly in cheek). He was raised by his mother and grandparents. At the age of 7, Jon made his stage debut in the starring role of Brent Elementary School 's Easter play, 'The Magic Egg' as Papa Bunny.

Jon has been hooked on music since before the age of 5. He wanted to sing and dance like James Brown, Jackie Wilson and The Jackson Five. In addition, Jon liked to rock out to his older brother's records (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rare Earth and Iron Butterfly). Jon has sung in bands and groups too numerous to count . Somewhere along the line he started writing songs.

Jon joined Stop Thief! in 2003. '' It is by far the best group I have ever worked with.'' In addition to the previously listed influences, Jon also attributes his musical styles to David Ruffin, Stevie Wonder and Motown (in general), Prince, Beatles, Beach Boys, 80's Hair Metal, and Living Colour.

Jon's deepest darkest secret is that he claims to know the words to at least 40 Monkees songs, and every Shaun Cassidy song off his first 2 albums.

 

Andy Charest
Guitar and Backing Vocals

Andy was born in Fort Belvoir, Va. Music has been huge for him since he was a l'il tyke, bouncing around the room as a healthy mix of show tunes and WMZQ (America's Country Station here in D.C.) found its way through the house.

In 6th and 7th grade, he was introduced to a variety of non-radio-centric music that can only be described as "skate punk." Bands like 7 Seconds, Minor Threat and Youth of Today found their way onto Andy's mix tapes, coalescing alongside radio-friendly 80's pop from Debbie Gibson, El Debarge, Prince and Hall & Oates. Through 8th grade and high school, Andy retained his Benetton-Colors-of-the-World musical sensibility, but added a harder edge to his influences -- bands that seamlessly melded hard rock and metal with soul, funk and other genres, like Living Colour, 24/7 Spyz, Saigon Kick, Extreme and Jane's Addiction.

Andy played in the bands Scoundrel and Dali Lama while attending Radford University in southwest Virginia, and played in the band Jetty Park during a 3 1/2-year stint in Fort Pierce, Fla., on the beautiful Treasure Coast.

Andy digs playing in Stop Thief because it feeds all the tentacles of his musical octopus, which in turn feeds the creation of bad metaphors.

 

Kevin 'B Masta Funk' Pritz
Bass Guitar

Kevin was born in Washington DC. He traveled worldwide (via military family), but spent most of his time growing up in the Northern Virginia area. Influenced early on by many groups including KISS, Rush, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, The Kinks, and The Police; he still enjoys all types of music.

In the 80's, Kevin's college roommate turned him on to rap, including groups like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Soul Sonic Force. Kevin has had stints with various musical instruments including viola, trombone, guitar, and most recently bass. He joined an early rendition of Stop Thief! in the mid 90's as mixing board engineer. Kevin was brought into the band on bass when the 2-piece acoustic group went full steam ahead as a rock and roll band. His musical preferences have brought a harder edge to Stop Thief!, even though he enjoys playing a slower tune now and then.

Kevin's ambitions include getting out of corporate America, and running his own business (lots of ideas, just no business plan yet). He keeps his sanity by indulging in various activities including loud music, PC gaming, web site development, fishing, golf, and spending time with his lovely wife and two daughters.

 

Steve 'Huggie' Jordan
Drums and Backing Vocals

Steve hails from the Albany area of upstate NY. Growing up there in the 70's and 80's, he was hip-deep in the confluence of the rivers flowing from Anglo-phile classic progressive rock (Genesis, Yes, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson), punk with a brain (XTC, The Police) and radio-friendly pop (Men at Work, Survivor). With friends and regional musicians, he performed as a vocalist and keyboardist in cover bands under the names of Entrenched and Etesian Faux Pas in those times.

During Steve's college years in the late 80's and early 90's, he dipped his feet into the sequencer and drum machine waters of new wave and techno-pop (i.e., New Order, Love and Rockets, Joy Division). He wrote and performed original compositions as half of the retro-techno duo that made up Burn That Word!, which still continues to record periodically. You can find Burn That Word! here.

For Steve, the sands continued to shift in the form of various post-college jobs and further academic tinkering. After overcoming a crippling Simpsons addiction, Steve landed in the greater DC Metro area in the mid 90's, where he has remained ever since. After taking up the drums on a bet, Steve met up with fellow ' Thieves' in 2001 and he has been playing with them ever since. He brings to the band a certain youthful exuberance. Since he's the one of the most immature members of the group, we're all undecided as to whether his nickname means he's 'cuter than a bug's ear', or that he's still not yet managed to get out of diapers.