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Biography
Born in Leeds, England in 1969, Steve began playing guitar when he was 14 years old. His first major influence was actually his Dad, who played in bands through the mid sixties and into the early seventies. Steve was weaned on the rock bands of the era, such as the greats Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles.
His earliest gig was in Allerton Grange High school’s assembly hall with his first band High & Mighty – commonly nicknamed High & Shitey! Steve states that two aspects shaped him into becoming a competent guitarist. The first one was when High & Mighty actually sacked him; and the second was the moment he heard Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Jake E Lee play the guitar solo in “Bark At The Moon”. He heard the song and was awestruck. Lee’s playing struck a chord in Steve and he decided it was time to get good.
For nine solid months, Steve’s spare time was spent either locked in his bedroom practicing, or in guitar lessons with a local guitar teacher: Lawrence Levin. Levin taught Steve some techniques that although at the time seemed inconsequential, looking back they still hold true for him today. Steve states though he hasn’t seen his old guitar tutor for almost twenty years: “If you’re reading this, Lawrence, thanks!”
After months of dedicated guitar practice and jamming along to records, Steve surged ahead of his years in terms of playing ability, confident enough to play in bands with older musicians, undeterred that they might have more experience in the gig circuit than him. Most days he was literally arriving home from school and loading his amp into his Dad’s car and was back out the door, guitar in hand, heading off to a practice session or a gig. After leaving school, though the gigs continued unabated, Steve’s days were spent at the City of Leeds College of Music. He studied guitar making and repair, along with music theory and techniques for three years.
After drifting in and out of various groups, Steve and old school friend / bass player Warren Freeman were introduced by a mutual friend to a number of other musicians. After jamming sessions – and beer sessions – the five found that they connected. The unit took the name Avarice and soon became a well-known band on the Leeds and Bradford gig circuit, making a name for themselves with extraordinary indoor and outdoor live shows and raising hundreds of pounds for Charities such as the Yorkshire Evening Post’s “Have a Heart Appeal”. Avarice found supports slots on the concert dates of such stars as Rodger Taylor (Queen, The Cross) and the Bernie Tormé Band (Gillan, Ozzy Osbourne, Twisted Sister) as well as completing a variety of radio sessions and appearing on a rock compilation album.
At seventeen, his first recording session with Avarice sparked Steve’s obsession with sound engineering and sound production. When the band finally called it a day in 1989, Steve went back into the studio to record some of his own material. This lead to the formation of his second group, rock band Brigantè. The band gained a huge following due to their pyrotechnic-laced shows and would often arrive at gigs with coach loads of fans accompanying them. His time with the four-piece unit helped him amass a wealth of experience in the recording studio, a place he felt at home in. In 1991 his second group parted ways. While employed in music retail, Steve was offered the chance to join the highly praised pro-cabaret band: Infatuation – the band was actually one of his customers! He took up the challenge and the post of lead guitarist with the group and completed a tour of Ireland with Infatuation. Though a competent player, Steve had remained loyal to his love of rock music initially. After joining Infatuation he was thrust into a group with a much broader scope of musical playing styles: rock, pop, disco, funk and even jazz were on the nightly play list and this helped Steve improve his playing and his musical ability in general.
Steve played all four corners of the UK with Infatuation, with various European tours mixed in. Though gigs were plentiful filling up his evenings, Steve’s days were free and he used this spare time to study both music theory, playing techniques and began teaching guitar. As a result his playing, arranging and song writing abilities really started to mature. Though he’s the first to admit he’s “a long way from being the world’s greatest guitarist” he’s happy to state he knows when a guitar part will both help or hinder a song. It is this unique ability that makes him enjoy arranging songs more than writing them.
After three years as a pro-musician, Steve again began yearning for the inspiration of an original band again. The embers of the defunct Brigantè were still smoldering and eventually the band was reformed, throwing out the old sounding eighties rock tracks and changing direction. After suffering a Spinal Tap epidemic of drummer problems, the group found Darren Rosamond. Once again the group gained a solid following on the gig circuit, as well as spending time in the recording studio, this time with Steve as the primary engineer.
Darren’s brother Carl Rosamond, owner of one the most successful and long running recording studios in Leeds, The Billiard Room Studio, was generous enough to allow the group to use the studio between bookings and during bouts of external production jobs.
In the Billiard Room Steve really hooked into the trade of a studio sound engineer and music producer. He says: “Carl was a real mentor to me in this field and gave me an opportunity to learn the ropes of studio engineering.” In the era before digital recording became the norm, the original studio was one hundred percent analogue. This is a point that Steve feels helped him enormously because he learnt vital skills and worked hard to achieve results – skills most computer-based engineers never learn these days. With Carl heavily involved in external projects, Steve was given a great opportunity by the studio’s owner, when Carl asked if he would run the studio for some weekend sessions.
After losing two members of Brigantè to “musical differences”, Steve and Darren decided to keep the name and revolutionise their sound with an injection of funk and rock-orientated songs, as well as increasing the size of the unit to a five-piece outfit with the introduction of a keyboard player. With a new lead vocalist, the position of bass player went to Steve’s old school mate Warren Freeman, who had just arrived back in England from his birthplace of Canada, this completed the new line-up.
The combination of talent and experience within the new group produced a phenomenally skilled band, capable of some killer grooves, yet who retained a commercial edge. It was by far the best original band Steve had ever performed in.
By this time Steve was back working in music retail and moving through a period of self study. He attended several courses and seminars on sound engineering with the A.P.R.S. Peavey Electronics as well as many other organisations. Steve’s aim was to really understand the science of sound and electronics and this is a road he has continued down as the original band petered out.
After selling a PA system to a local group, Steve agreed to help out the covers band with their live sound and was soon embroiled in playing guitar for the guys. Known as the “perfectionist” by the group members, Steve takes this in great humour. With the addition of a new bass player to the band two years previously, they stepped up a level in performance and musical ability, but Steve state’s that this current unit is not about those aspects: “I’ve been lucky enough to play with some great musicians over the years, but this band isn’t about that. They are my best mates now and we have a great laugh doing what we do.”
With a combination of good songs and humour, the gigs are an enjoyable experience. Having both a male and female singer means that the scope of songs is varied. And from time to time ex-Infatuation/Brigantè member Darren Rosamond fills in on drums, a solid drummer and musician Steve knows so well he can cut back and simply groove to. With Steve’s experience in the music retail trade, the group now have a PA system the envy of many signed acts: a full Logic Systems concert rig which is more than enough for most venues and outdoor shows. (See Book a Live Band section)
The current, but not the final chapter in Steve’s musical career, is the building of his own home studio where he is currently completing his solo projects in this very well equipped digital recording studio. Several years prior to building his studio Steve's hunger for knowledge extended to computers, a vital component in today's digital studios. Once again though Steve was not happy just knowing how to use a PC and he started to study for his A+ qualification as a computer technician.
After hundreds of live gigs, hours of studio time and a wealth of session playing for other artists, Steve’s ambition is to return to his roots, hoping to perhaps form another original band that not only has great musicians in it but musicians that enjoy simply playing their instrument to the best of their ability.
For more details or if you have any questions for Steve, e-mail via the contacts page
Biography written by S. H. Hughes (Published author of “Tear drop”)
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