10/29/03
Kim: Hi Steve. How's it going?
Steve: Hi Kim. Great. These G3 tours just get better and better. The communication between the musicians just becomes more and more open. They're always like a little breath of fresh air for me because I never have to really do a full show. I do only 45 minutes. There's always a tremendous crew and the venues are just beautiful. Besides that, I get to jam with these great guitar players so it's always a thrill for me to do a G3 tour.
Kim: The show was awesome!
Steve: Thank you.
Kim: I think my husband just about lost his mind when you came out on stage with the three-necked guitar and started nice and easy.
Steve: (laughs) I think it's the best G3 tour ever. It's matured through the years and it's actually gathering its own momentum as far as a brand.
Kim: I know that you're pushed for time and I appreciate you taking out this time to talk with me. I'm doing this interview for a friend and co-worker, Dan Cross, who is our Guitar Guide at About. He sent me a list of questions that he'd put together so let's get to them.
Steve: All right. Cool.
Kim: Are there any unknown guitarists out there that you're excited about?
Steve: Yeah. I have a small label called Favored Nations and basically the music we release has turned out to be guitar players. I get tapes all of the time. Some of them are spectacular. There's still a very strong underground movement of people who want to do great things on the guitar. Because of this label that I have, I get to hear a lot of them. I've released a couple of records from phenomenal players. This one guy, Johnny A, from Boston, plays music that is so accessible and warm and melodic. Then there's Eric Sardinas, who is like this devil, slide, dobro player. I've taken him on tour with me three times. He's the most charismatic performer I think I've ever seen. I've got this one kid from Tennessee, from Nashville, Johnny Hiland, and you just can't even believe the way this guy can play the guitar. It's freakish. So there are still, even though with pop music and what's on the radio these days, it's not very guitar virtuostic driven, a lot of people out there who are playing the hell out of the instrument. The testimony to that is that the G3 tour continues to do very well.
Kim: The guitar can speak to people. Some of the music that my husband composes for our band are so moving on their own that lyrics would actually take away from the music.
Steve: You're in a band too? Cool! You know, the guitar is such a dynamic instrument. It's so emotional and it's just speaks so beautifully.
Kim: When you're composing, do you do that exclusively on guitar?
Steve: No, not at all. I use anything, but basically I use my head. You know, I always wanted to be a composer and when I was young I studied all of the instruments in the orchestra. For some reason it just all makes sense to me. I understand composition very well and when I compose, if I'm making a rock song that's riff oriented, yes obviously I use the guitar. But if it's a melody song or something a lot of times I just reach in my inner self and listen for a melody.
