DIXON – When Dixon natives Stan McConnell and Steve Plock began playing music in high school, they didn’t know they would end up in a band called Santah, touring the country and making records.

Stan and Steve met Otto Stuparitz and Tommy Trafton while attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Santah formed shortly after, in spring 2008.

Stan’s sister, Vivian, 20, joined the group last year.

Both McConnells play guitar and sing; Steve, 23, is the drummer; Otto, 23, of Highland Park, plays bass; and Tommy, 24, of Naperville, is the keyboardist.

All but Vivian live in Chicago now; she’s going to school in Champaign-Urbana.

Stan wants Santah to become a household name, with people singing along to its music on the radio while the band headlines shows and sells out stadiums.

That vision might be becoming reality.

Santah released its first album, White Noise Bed, in spring 2010 with a modest 500 or so copies.

This June, though, No Sleep Records picked up the album and gave it a proper re-release, distributing it nationwide. A mini-record with six or seven songs is coming out next year.

It was Santah’s big break.

“They saw [the crowd] we were attracting with our live shows,” Stan said.

Although most of their gigs have been in Chicago, the band has performed all over the country, as far west as Texas and as far east as Boston. They’ve also played Minneapolis.

The name comes from the joy Santa Claus stirs in young children, Stan said.

“As a kid, Santa was someone that made everybody happy,” he said. “We thought it would be fun to extend that past the white Anglo-Christian tradition and make it for everybody.”

The laid-back name reflects Santah’s attitude – “fun and happy and cool,” he said.

Their music is primarily rock ‘n’ roll. “We call it psychedelic rock candy,” Stan said. “Psychedelic implies that there is a cool atmosphere to the band” and candy “sounds good on the air. You can sing along to it.”

Stan writes chords and lyrics, and although he has “an artistic vision” for many of the songs, the song-writing process is a collaborative effort, he said.

Stan “just wants to make great art. The more you pour into your art, the more reaction you get out of it, that many more lives you are cutting into.”

Stan and Steve’s goal always has been to improve their craft.

“We always wanted to be better musicians,” Steve said. “Every day that we keep playing, we achieve some of those goals.”

Traveling with the band has been a great experience, and he won’t forget the people he’s met along the way, said Steve, who wants his music to keep him so busy that it’s all he has time for.

“We want to continue making music that we like,” he said. “It’s always great to go to a city that has a great crowd and accepts the music and is receptive to the art you made.”

They haven’t forgotten their Dixon roots.

Stan, 25, graduated from Dixon High School in 2005, and Vivian, 20, in 2009. Their parents are Bruce and Vicki McConnell of Dixon. Plock, 23, graduated in 2006. He’s the son of Chuck and Nancy Plock of Dixon.

Do you know a former area resident who is making waves in the arts and entertainment world? Let us know. Email showtime@saukvalley.com or call Kathleen Schultz, 815-625-3600, ext. 528.

More about Santah

Go to  www.facebook.com/santahhhh, www.listn.to/santahhh or santahmusic.com for more information on the band, to hear some of its music and for tour dates.

The band's albums and music also can be bought at Amazon.com and iTunes.

Obscure Sound recently posted a review of the band's "White Noise Bed" album. Go to, obscuresound.com to give it a read.