We Are A Vegetable Themed Band: An Interview With The Hudson Valley’s The Veggies

Written By Raph

By Staff | January 24, 2026


Hailing from the Hudson Valley, The Veggies are a self-proclaimed "nutritious" duo featuring Stefano (guitar/vocals) and Connor (bass/vocals). Their creative process, known as "Veggification," involves transforming acoustic sketches into catchy, high-energy tunes through the use of pedals and amplifiers. On stage, they are joined by Lucio, a Roland SP404 drum machine that serves as a permanent, business-focused third member of the group. Deeply rooted in the local DIY scene, the band prioritizes building community and supporting physical spaces like breweries and art-friendly venues. Beyond the band, Connor operates Mearns AV, a tape label that utilizes a "bedroom production" style to produce physical media for various local acts. After gaining recognition as a "NY Slice" on WFMU in 2025, the group is currently preparing to release a live acoustic album on Groundhog Day 2026 while beginning work on their first full-length LP.

A major part of your mission is using music to meet people and build community. In an era of digital streaming, why is it so important for The Veggies to focus on supporting local Hudson Valley businesses and physical spaces?

CC: Local music feels like a club you can sign up for in middle school and serves many of the same functions. A good way to see friends, make new ones, often can lead to an adventure and it's certainly good to get out of the house. In the streaming age it feels like people’s interests can be so diversified yet also extremely niche it's hard to find a unifying aesthetic like goth or electronic to unite people under. Also we are bombarded with conveniences tempting us to never leave our homes or interact with another human being in person ever again. So it's best to get more to the heart of all of what those earlier subcultures were really about and say “Come on out because we all need each other.”

SLG: Also we just love the Hudson Valley. It’s a beautiful and special place and we’re proud to rep it. Creating a sense of community keeps us connected not only to each other but to the places around us. When we first started out I was more focused on visual art and would show my paintings in local businesses so a lot of the places that we had our first shows at were also places that hung local art like the Green Growler in Croton-on-Hudson, NY and the Rushing Duck Brewery in Chester. It was cool to see how the arts allowed us to be more connected to our neighbors and build new bridges to people and places we may not have otherwise.

You describe yourselves as the Hudson Valley’s Most Nutritious Duo. How does this concept of nutrition translate from a slogan into your actual songwriting process and the energy you bring to a live show?

SLG: the idea of being Nutritious spawned out of a process we called “Veggification.” I had a bunch of songs that I’ve been writing over the past 15 years - all of them on an acoustic - until Connor and I sat in his basement and decided to “veggify” the songs. Connor loves pedals and gear and I knew nothing about any of it, so when we took the songs and played them through amps and pedals we started to see them come to life in a way that was really fun and exciting - nourishing for the soul - which eventually led us to being Nutritious. The Veggies songs aren’t meant to be taken super seriously. We write simple catchy tunes and just really lean into how powerful a hook can be.

CC: I would like to add that when we started I wanted to make an explicit point of not being a vegetable themed band in any way, then at our second show someone came up to Stef and said “so I heard Connor has to always talk you out of making the band vegetable themed” in a very smug and rude way. So I says “You know what? Frick that guy we are a vegetable themed band,” After that I was very down to lean into being fresh and nutritious.

Lucio, your Roland SP404, is described as the member who "never misses a beet." How does having a drum machine as a permanent fixture change the way Stefano and Connor interact on stage compared to a traditional human drummer?

CC: Everything about The Veg is a two dude operation and this band is a tribute to a fantastic old friendship that gets stronger all the time. Having it just be the two of us and a machine I feel totally safe to be myself knowing that whatever I’m in, someone I trust and love is in there with me and that is the only thing that is on display when we play.

SLG: I agree with Connor. Being a duo in of itself allows us to really focus on building our dynamic both on and off stage. Lucio is 100% a member of The Veggies and we love him, but he’s much less personable and really has no interest in mingling or mixing his personal life with ours. All business that robot.

Technically speaking, something cool about having a drum machine is also that it really forces you to know the tracks and to work within the box so to speak. We could be using the 404 in other ways too - cranking up tempos, throwing in pauses / fills, or popping in samples so it’s really a world is our oyster kind of deal.

Stefano handles guitar/vocals and Connor handles bass/vocals. How do you balance the vocal duties? Do you find your styles contrasting or blending to create that signature Veggies sound?

CC: I am definitely backing vocals which makes it a lot easier, Stefano is the lead singer and I chime in when the time is right. I was in a rap group called Young Republicans for a long time (the name was funnier back then) and am currently the DJ/Producer in Top Button “America’s Favorite Dance Pop Duo” so years of harmonizing and ad-libbing make being Stefano’s back up singer comes naturally.

SLG: I definitely think sharing the duties has led to a blending of our styles - there have been a bunch of instances where one of us will do something new with the vocals of a song (usually while we’re rehearsing or recording) and it just sticks. Even though I sing lead, I like to think of our vocals as a unit because when we sing together we can really emphasize a hook or a line that gets to the heart of a song.

Connor, you founded Mearns AV. What was the catalyst for starting your own label, and how does running a label influence the way you approach the business side of The Veggies?

CC: I used to run a tape label with my ol pal DJ Crazy Feelings called Hidden and we made a bunch of tapes so I picked up how to do it from Cody (DJCF). Mearns started because I had a lot of solo music and nowhere to put it so I decided to make tapes. Making tapes fills the same role in my life as building lego sets or Gundam models, the fun part is making them. It serves as a fun creative project where I can make stuff that my friends like. They're cool, fun to look at and it doesn’t have to live in my house afterward so what’s not to love?

You produce tapes for bands like Rusty Guts and Buoy George. How would you describe the Mearns AV sound, and how does The Veggies fit into that local ecosystem?

CC: People who have similar attitudes about things tend to find each other in places like local music. I would say the real unifying factor we all have is we all just do this for the love of the game and really let it all hang out, the rest is hard to put into words but whatever it is Rusty Guts and Buoy George are shining examples of it. As are all of the other amazing acts we’ve made tapes for Rolando Magic, Namelessfacelessdreampeople, Andhi & The O’Neills, Book Club, Vails Gate, Adult Contemporary and our newest friend B. Francis. The Veggies fit right in. As far as the actual sound of Mearns, The Veg songs are recorded and produced by me like many of the other projects on Mearns so they share that same ableton with an interface DI recording bedroom production style which I am a big fan of. Garageband is the new Tascam 424.

SLG: I want to add that Mearns also is a unique example of how to be creatively self-sufficient. Even though we work as a team to make the Veggies tunes, the Mearns bedroom production style as Connor called it is a skill that any musician can learn and utilize. It’s extremely freeing to learn how to bring a creative idea to life.

You specifically mention producing tapes for other bands. What is it about the cassette format that resonates so strongly with the Hudson Valley DIY scene right now?

CC: I think tapes are the easiest thing to make from beginning to end at home. CDs and records involve a lot of shopping things out to other people, which is all well and good CDs and records are great. I don’t know that tapes are big in the HV like that right now they’re just what I enjoy making. Making the labels, dubbing the tapes while watching rasslin and putting everything together is fun. If I’m at a local show and I see an artist who doesn't have physical versions of their music I’d be happy to make them tapes, I’ve been doing this a long time and it's good to have a way to physically hand someone your music and tapes are cool.

Being chosen as the "NY Slice" on WFMU is a huge nod from the independent radio world. How did that exposure impact your trajectory in 2025, and did it change how you approached your subsequent recordings?

SLG: Being the NY slice was a huge honor. It didn’t do much to change our trajectory as much as it validated what we’re already doing. We learned that you CAN be a DIY band and end up on WFMU. If anything it’s emboldened us to do what we do even more - lean into the nutritiousness that is the Veggification process. Hearing our song Snuggly on the radio was a surreal and beautiful moment. We actually had a person tell us that they heard us on the radio without knowing we were gonna be on it, which was really cool. It was a powerful moment for us and definitely made me more confident in promoting our music. I handle the social media and promotion of the Veggies and after being the Slice I basically said “well I must be doing something right” so I’ll just keep doing cold calls and sending emails because you never know who is gonna say yes.

You were featured in Issue 22 of Grib Jaanga. How did a Portland-based magazine find a Hudson Valley duo, and what was it like seeing your local mission recognized on a national scale?

SLG: Grib Jaanga is a really awesome publication - I came across them after a couple other Hudson Valley folks like Preston Spurlock (an amazing artist and animator) and Connors' other project Top Button were featured in the magazine. I reached out and they agreed to give us a feature. The folks at Grib Jaanga share our love for the DIY and the interdisciplinary so when I started chatting with them I immediately felt connected to their mission despite being 3000 miles apart. After the issue came out, we found ourselves following / being followed by a bunch of new Portland based people and artists which is what we’re all about - building bridges and getting connected with other people.


You’ve released 4 EPs since 2023, but your next project is a live acoustic album. Why did you choose to unplug for this February 2026 release, and will Lucio still be making an appearance in an acoustic setting?


SLG: We wanted to do a show but have also been excited to diversify our set and play with some new musicians. So when our buddy B. Francis was releasing a tape with Connor through Mearns, we thought why not have a nice autumnal acoustic evening? We typically played with other bands that plug in and crank it, but we saw this as a cool opportunity to get the crew together and have a chill evening. We always wanted to use a field recorder to record one of our sets so we thought why not do it for the acoustic show? It wound up being an absolutely beautiful evening so it all just kind of fell into place as it happened. Lucio could make an appearance for an acoustic setting! It was kind of nice to have less limitations on the flow and tempo of the songs but Lucio could also add an extra layer of dynamics - the nice thing is that we always have the option to include him or not.


With the live album dropping next month, what are the goals for The Veggies for the rest of 2026? Are there specific venues or festivals in the New York area that are currently on your bucket list?


SLG: The live album is a great way to kick off the new year - especially because it’s dropping on my favorite holiday, Groundhogs Day. We’ve started the process of writing our first LP. We have a few songs already written and some in the development phase which we’re very excited about. We’re really taking our time and allowing ourselves the opportunity to work out the tunes using everything we’ve learned over the past few years. We’d love to be more involved in local festivals like the Sleepy Hollow Music Festival and the Beacon Bonfire again, but we would also love to be part of Punk Island on Randall’s island which we’ve already applied to be part of. Growing up I went to Warped Tour every summer from 2004-2008 and have this dream of playing Warped Tour one day. Fingers crossed. Overall we’re excited to keep playing shows and meeting new people.

CC: Over the summer I would like to get a slurpee on a hot day.

Raph
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