User:Steve missal

Steves performing career began in Chicago, Ill. Performing at the Saint Peter and Paul grammar school stage productions brought the attention of Loretta Rozak, an internationally acclaimed ballet instructor. She sponsored Steve for many years including performances with the Bolshoi Ballet at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. As an altar boy, Steve began singing in the choir and received professional training from local Chicago pop and church performers. The 60s came to South Chicago in the form of civil unrest, and a pop musical explosion ..and a way out of the steel mill mentality. Steves brother Bill gave Steve his first drum kit. All the dance and stage moves were morphed into a unique style of rhythm and visual excitement. Rhythm and blues, pop, rock, jazz, soul and hymns formed the basis of a style Steve developed through the lens of another Chicago south side icon, Gene Krupa.

As a singing drummer with stage and recording experience, Steve became an in-demand pioneer on the city circuit. He developed a local Chicago band, the Tellstars, that became a midwest touring staple. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Steve hit the road with a number of touring bands, gettng a glimpse of where the power in music was based....NYC or LA. NYC, as music mecca for a midwest kid, provided Steve with his first taste of national success. Leber-Krebs Mgt. signed Steve on as a touring and session artist. Steve toured and recorded with the top names in rock and countless bands and recording sessions and TV appearances, later signing to Bill Aucoin Mgt. Steve studied with and became a protege of Bernard Purdie (for feel) Jim Chapin (for charts and the Moeller Method) and Stanley Spector (for theory).

Steve has endorsed and sponsored a number of products including Sonor Drums, Meinl Cymbals, Roc N Soc Hardware, Regal Sticks, Vic Firth Sticks and various recording materials.The MD ads were frequent in the 80s as Steve toured extensively as a clinician.

Maintaining a NYC lifestyle and the need for a personal performing - rehearsal - storage space led Steve to establish a mainstay on the NYC studio scene. He opened Shelter Recording Studios in 1982 and developed a special relationship with the music scene in NYC. Artist affiliation included KISS, Madonna, Billy Idol, and countless aspiring musician, writers and producers, dancers and photographers (Chip Simons). The studio offered the opportunity for musicians to connect with musicians, support their efforts through a performing club opened in 1988, and as a product development site for Steves projects, which led to the launching of MISSILE records in 1992.

Artist on the label included a unique 12 piece rock orchestra, the Rhythm Team, featuring 3 drummers, one of the first rock-rappers, Cold Rock, and a punk girl ensemble, the Mystery Girls.

Steve joined Billy Idol in 1982 and recorded some of the most influential drum tracks of the 80s on the Billy Idol album, which went gold. Steves classic tom fill on White Wedding and Bernard Purdies influenced R&B rock grooves could be heard on numerous rock tracks throughout the era.

fter many years on the rock circuit, Steve was drawn to the roots folk scene and began a 11 year stint with a number of artists, including the Green-Linnet Record label. As a member of the Kips Bay Ceili Band, Steve toured the US and abroad performing at numerous international festivals. The band has been credited as a pioneer in the development of cross-cultural music. World renowned bassist, Richard Lindsey from California partnered with Steve in a rhythm section that transformed Irish-roots-folk music.

Steve married in 1988 and started a family that now consists of 5 daughters and a son. Moving to New Jersey, Shelter was relocated to Westfield and Steve began free-lance film, touring and recording projects. (see the film Fast Food.) In the interim, Steve began a relationship with education that continues today. He fused his passion for music with his newly acquired passion for teaching and learning. The result is American Stories Through Song, and as a renowned educator.Steve continues to write, produce and perform. A recent session for Jennifer Cutting produced a grammy award winning production Ocean Songs for the Night Journey.