Steve was born in Lubbock, Texas but raised in central Arkansas. His father, a fan of Flatt & Scruggs, began teaching him guitar as a youth. His performing debut was a fingerstyle version of 'Freight Train' at a bluegrass festival when he was only twelve. For the next year or so he played upright bass in 'Lil Bit of Bluegrass', a band comprised solely of teenagers. During his high school years he branched out into rock and roll, but his influences remained fingerstyle guitarists, people like Jimmy Page, Cat Stevens and Paul Simon.
In college while studying for his German Literature degree, he spent his spare time listening to progressive rock bands like Van Der Graaf Generator and King Crimson. During this time he heard his first classical guitar performance and sold all of his guitars in order to buy a nice classical model. After graduating, he spent the next four years living in Germany pursuing a master’s degree in Philosophy and Linguistics. Upon returning to the States he discovered his father’s old banjo along with the Scruggs book and record that had been gathering dust since his teenage years and started teaching himself the basics. Several years and three albums later (two with Runaway Planet and one solo album) show his transition to banjo player as being well underway.
Read more...