User:MRSTEVE16/sandbox

Mister Steve is the stage name of Stevie Balthrop, the lead singer and guitarist of the band Mister Steve & the StarrDoggs. Stevie began playing guitar at the age of 11. His introduction to rock, pop, heavy metal, jazz, & fusion were inspired by his older brother, Tony who plays drums; other influences to Latin, afro jazz, & soul music were inspired by his parents Barry & Lynda. Stevie is primarily a self taught musician learning his craft by listening to old records of great guitarists’ like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Prince, Santana, Eric Clapton, as well as John McLaughlin & Eddie Van Halen. At the age of 14 he began taking lessons from the famed DC guitarist Bill Harris who specialized in blending jazz & classical guitar and in the '70s operated Pigfoot, a Washington, D.C., restaurant, nightclub, and art gallery. It was through this experience that Stevie B cultivated his love of guitar improvisation and mixing different styles of music. At the age of 18 he attended the historic Berklee College of Music in Boston and it was there that he made great strides in his playing, tightening his chops late at night in the hallways by jamming with other talented musicians. When Stevie return to DC he started the band Rasputin with his brother Tony, Jim Stewartson, and Derrick Decker, the former drummer of the band Emmet Swimming. Rasputin mixed heavy funk/rock with metal inspired guitar riffs and Stevie began to catch the attention of other local area musicians. He was then approached by DC hardcore legend Dave Byers, the late guitarist from Static Disruptors and Human Rights, to erect his punk/metal infused assault on DC with the band Chucky Sluggo featuring the lighting fast, thunderous beats of drummer and co-founder, Grant "OG" Garrison, the iconic DOC Night on sax, and kid genius, Mariano on bass. This partnership and brotherhood would lead him to play with HR, the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Bad Brains and Human Rights Band.