A Birthday Present for My Fans...New Music Posted!

Well, it's been a crazy few weeks. I finished recording the "demo" versions of the new songs, and then took a couple of days off work to go help out with the Obama campaign in NV over election day. A couple days later, I traveled down to LA for the TAXI Road Rally, a music conference where I shared my new music and sought critiques from some of the top industry professionals. I got some great suggestions for improvements, and all the feedback I got was very positive, so I was very happy about that. I also got some great advice on how to update my web presence and improve my communication with my fans, and I intend to slowly put those lessons into practice!

It's my birthday today - I can't believe I'm 39 - and to celebrate, I'm posting two NEW songs on my Facebook fan page for my fans to listen to (and hopefully enjoy). The first, called "Run to Daylight", isn't really so new -- I wrote it in 2005 to honor my friend Mark Bingham, who died on United flight 93 on September 11th. My friend Joe Salama was organizing a charity run in Mark's honor, and asked if I would write a song that he could play at the event. I'm convinced that Mark was there inspiring me, since I wound up writing a song like no other that I'd written before (or written since). This is a power pop track, no question, with my voice pretty much pushed to my current limit.

The second song is a cover of a Chuck Brodsky tune, called "Blow 'Em Away". I used to live in Los Angeles, and got my fill of traffic jams; that's why, when I first heard David Wilcox's version of this hilarious rant against bad traffic, I laughed so hard I cried a little. It's since become one of my favorite covers to perform at shows (and folks seem to ask for it again and again). This version was knocked off in one take at the studio.

Please share and enjoy. I'll be posting more music over the course of the coming months, and I'll keep you posted on upcoming shows. In the meantime, I've crossed the first of my FB thresholds - 100 FANS! That's great! Now I'm looking to each of you to help me to the next tier. If each of you will encourage 3 friends to sign up to my fan page and take a listen to some good music, I'll be at 500 fans before you know it. The more fans, the more exposure...and the closer I get to a record label picking me up and letting me do a duet with James Taylor. So please, tell 3 friends about me!

Until next time, have a great week...

Steve

Great show, and Into the Studio...

Well, the Santana Row show was great -- thanks to everyone who made it out on a beautiful Thursday evening. I played almost exclusively new songs - it was good to get some practice behind the microphone again, and the audience provided a lot of positive feedback. I had been hoping to videotape the show, but it didn't happen for a variety of reasons...next time.

This coming Monday, I'll be going back into the studio to record "demo" versions of most of the new songs. The demos will be very straightforward - just guitar and vocals. I'll be using them to pitch the tunes at next month's TAXI convention (www.taxi.com) in LA. I'll probably post one or two of the demos on my FB page, for my fans to get advance access to!

Finally, I desperately need to update my website. I'm thinking that I'll be hiring someone to renovate it completely...and referrals are welcome.

Until next time,

Steve

Testing the new blog

I'm new to the whole blogging thing, but I thought it would be fun to try to have a blog on my Facebook fan page that shares my process in getting ready to produce the second CD! Let's see if I set up the blog correctly, and this actually posts on FB...