Album Notes

Inspired by the British Invasion of the 1960's, Steve took up the electric guitar in 1966 and spent the next 33 years playing in all types of bands. Burnt out on bands and cover tunes in 1999, his guitars were spending most of their time in a bedroom closet when inspiration struck again.

Channel surfing the TV from the couch in the spring of 1999, Steve hit the local PBS station and heard the most wonderful music being played on an acoustic guitar. He watched the show and waited for the credits to tell him who the player was. Turns out it was a soon to be, Grammy winning, local musician named Doug Smith and Doug had an opening for a student. So at the young age of 45 Steve took his first guitar lesson with Doug to learn how to play solo fingerstyle guitar after many years of being a flat picker in a band.

In the midst of working with Doug, Steve's creative muse awakened and he started writing his own tunes. Much to his surprise and delight, people liked them and started asking for a CD. Finger Painting is his first release and contains a wide ranging collection of original tunes played on several different guitars including a Baritone guitar. The guitars were made by Kathy Wingert, Hank Mauel and the late Lance McCollum.

Melody is important to Steve and his music has been complimented for it. A passionate and energetic player he draws the audience into the music with a "go for broke" performance style. As the titles imply, his tunes each come with an interesting story that inspired them.

Steve has played the Healdsburg, Newport and Portland, OR Guitar Festivals. He travels around the USA and England gigging and joining fellow musicians at Gatherings. He's on the Board of the Portland Guitar Society and supports the Craft of Guitar Building in any way he can. He also does Live Sound for acoustic concerts in the Portland Metro area.

Born in Memphis, TN, Steve has lived in many parts of the USA and a couple of years in the Philippines before settling down outside of Portland, OR. An avid hiker and photographer Steve fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and the CD artwork contains his photos from various hiking expeditions in Oregon. Music has played an important role thoughout his entire life.