I was born in St. Louis, Mo. on April 16th, 1959. Growing up just after the birth of rock, I was especially influenced by the 'album rock' era - the music played in 60's and 70's by local stations KSHE-95 and the old KADI-96. I found the FM dial by accident one night, and my life changed to stereo....
I wanted to be a rock star, and at age 9 formed "The Mountain Lions" with my brothers Dan, Mike, and Dave. We were awful, but nobody would tell us because we played in front of encouraging family and neighbors. We even unscrewed the lid from our big toy box and found some of dad's spray paint to make our stage sign.
At age 13, I got more serious and started taking private lessons. The best advice my first teacher gave me was to learn to sing. Guitar players can find work, but singing guitar players get twice as much work (and chicks)! At least he was right about the work. But he also taught me to love the guitar.
In 1976, while at Bishop Du Bourg High School, I helped found Quintessence, an 8-piece horn band that is still together and working some 31 years later!. Yet there were many songs I wanted to play that just weren't right for the band, and I began compiling and rehearsing my favorites. The result is EvenSteven, a stage name I picked so people would remember me and the tax man would not!
When the band is not working, you'll find EvenSteven playing solo acoustic guitar and singing all those songs I love and you know by heart, with whacky props and corny jokes sprinkled in for fun. I've played bars, happy hours, birthday parties, and EvenSteven does weddings! |
