User:Bannij/sandbox

Steve Arvey was born and, for the most part, raised in Chicago, Illinois. In 1958 the Arvey family re-located to Havana Cuba, where Steve's father,Erwin B Arvey owned and operated a small business.There they remained until 1961 when, Erwin having fallen foul of the Castro regime, the Arvey's were forced to to leave the country, returning to Chicago. Steve's mother, Celeste Ravel,was a former jazz singer in the Wayne King Orchestra and a dedicated music lover.As a result, Arvey's developmental years were spent surrounded by and immersed in a wide range of music of many different genres. Steve's first exposure to live music was the Blues played on Maxwell Street. Moving to Florida in 1978, he first met and teamed up with well known Delta Blues Guitar Player Ben Andrews. It was during this period that Arvey's career as a professional musician really blossomed - joining the world renown Bo Diddley, as his bass player. When time permitted, Steve also worked around the Gainesville area of Florida providing both lead guitar and vocals for Saxophonist Robert Hunter's band. However, the call of the Chicago Blues scene remained a strong pull for Arvey and he would return to Chicago as often as possible,.Seeking every opportunity to build upon his Bo Diddly credentials, Steve would play anywhere, anytime. His dedication to his craft soon got him noticed in the Windy City and, before long, he found himself playing bass behind such notable bluesmen as Jr Wells, Jimmy Rogers, Hubert Sumlin, Big Smokey Smothers, Homesick James, Sammy Fender, Detroit Jr, Lucky Lopez and many others. After several years Arvey was a familiar face on the Chicago Blues scene. Eager to unleash his talent as a lead guitarist, he formed his own band, West Side Heat, in 1981. After several years of live shows, the first album, "Crazy Mixed Up World", was released in 1984. Subsequently, Steve toured with the band both nationally and internationally. By 1990 West Side Heat had toured throughout the world, backing many notable blues artists and as a headliner in their own right. Arvey considers the band's performance on the Crossroads stage at the 1990 Chicago Blues festival to possibly be the most outstanding and satisfying of its existence. For this very reason, perhaps, West Side Heat disbanded shortly thereafter. Never one to sit around and wait for opportunity come to him, Steve immediately threw himself into a number of solo projects, simultaneously. From joining the Chicago based Irish Folk group The Celtic Rovers, forming a rock cover band named Monkey Chow, and recording and playing with Kraig Kenning, Arvey barely had time to catch his breath before the next show. In 1997 he recorded a CD with Kenning entitled Pass The Hat. The same year was also notable, as it marked the tenth occasion on which Steve played The Chicago Blues Fest and saw West Side Heat reformed, in order to satisfy demand from the reunion gig scene. By 2001, Arvey was still playing throughout the world and released his album "Fine Line", receiving great reviews great reviews and garnering major airplay in both the U.K. and Australia. In 2005, Steve's popularity and well earned recognition in Australia was rewarded by an appearance on the Byron Bay Blues and Roots Festival and a recording contract with Warner International. In 2012 Arvey formed 3 piece group - The Delta Swamp Rats - featuring himself on Cigar Box guitar and Vocals, together with a harmonica player and drummer.