User:Stevewhiteblues/sandbox

 Steve White  (March 14, 1950 – April 22, 2011) was an American singer, songwriter, one-man band, acoustic guitar player, slide player, harp player, foot percussionist. His repertoire included originals, show tunes, blues/roots music, Americana, blue-grass and country. He performed in the U.S.A., Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. White died at the age of 61 in Leucadia, California on April 22, 2011 from cancer.

Early Life
Steve White was born on March 14, 1950 in Brooklyn, New York and he grew up in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. White’s grandmother was a classical violinist; his father, who worked for the US State Department, was also a writer and loved vaudeville and show tunes. “At the age of seven I resolved to devote myself to life, and to reflect it through music, writing and painting,” White explains in his Concerto Magazine interview. This many-sidedness, no doubt influenced by the various cultural factors [of his upbringing], is one of the most fascinating aspects of the artist Steve White. “I just listened to everything—from classical Chinese music to Indian ragas to crossed radio signals. But basically I was more affected by how similar people are, rather than by their differences. Impressed by a long list of singers—from Jimmy Rushing [|Jimmy Rushing] to Delbert McClinton [|Delbert McClinton] or Perry Como [|Perry Como], White especially values the ability to uncover the truth and timeless quality of a song. Songwriting thus has special significance. “Woody Guthrie [|Woody Guthrie] once remarked that you can only write about what you know and can only sing about what you’ve experienced. “I think that’s the essence of a songwriter’s work. But aside from that, I also enjoy covering songs I like personally.” As is so often the case in the history of popular music, the guitar is the most fitting instrument (in both meanings) for the singer/songwriter. “The guitar and the music possibilities with it were always very personal for me. I always try to find my own individual way into it. I never took lessons, but was inspired by all the great contemporary guitar style —flamenco, classical, jazz, blues, and folk. The guitar is a lifelong journey of discovery.” - Concert Magazine/Austria

When Steve returned from overseas at the age of 17, he studied painting at the Philadelphia School of Art and in Nova Scotia, Canada. Steve painted and made art his entire life. His mediums were oil, pastels, pen and ink, wood and collage. But painting for him was very private and a meditation aside from his music.

Early Career
“I went to Canada for a semester and won a talent contest there. After that, some musicians in the area became aware of me, and I joined their band. I took a break from school and toured Canada with this combo as a slide guitarist. The repertoire of my Canadian band consisted solely of originals. It was very honed; we rehearsed 10 hours a day sometimes and had a repertoire of 300 songs. It was a great time, but my private life was difficult. My 1st wife left me, and I had a tough time emotionally. Three years later I went back to the US and started playing solo; I was 23 years old. It was a tough time—I had no money and no decent guitar. I hitchhiked to gigs and tried to survive. I was a street musician. When we didn’t have enough gigs, we took jobs as gardeners, practically anything we could get, any lousy jobs.

Steve moved to Berkeley, California after this where he continuously did odd jobs so he could write and play music. He lived briefly in Lake Tahoe then move to Southern California, 57 Miles from Mexico, Leucadia, California to make his home with his wife Maia.

For Steve, music was still the dream, but it couldn’t support him. “I traveled the entire west coast, looking for work and playing small clubs for any imaginable occasion. My wife died in 1995, and I decided to drop all the day jobs and just do music. It was time to do that: music or nothing. And I had luck, I earned enough to live on.” Acoustik Guitar/Germany

One Man Band
Steve developed his own approach to play. He played a baritone guitar, double-dropped D, but sometimes tuned down to a low C or A. He used a percussive hand technique to keep the beat, and play the bass notes against the treble. On top of that, he was a killer blues harp player. With the harp in a rack, his unique right-hand groove and a slide on his pinky, you'd think you were hearing enough music. But that wasn't all. He built an amplfied footboard and turned his feet into his traveling percussionist. “It was surprisingly easy. I always tapped my foot in rhythm. When I started to amplify it, I quickly saw the various possibilities and sounds and developed them further. It was much more difficult to coordinate the guitar and harmonica.

When Steve got going, you just wouldn't believe all that sound was coming out of one person.

Steve never signed a record deal.He walked away from a few though.

Career
Every year I made a cassette of new material, which I sold at my concerts. It was always a run of 300 copies—small potatoes—but I always sold out. It kept my dream alive. After 10 tapes I decided on my first CD production, which I completely financed myself. Later I was playing at an exhibition and record producer Dan Milner heard me. He said, “I’d like to work with you and make a recording in a large studio. Don’t worry about the money--just be on time and bring your guitar.”

And that CD was “House of Bones” which was recorded as an acoustic solo record at Studio West in Rancho Bernardo, California and was then finished up with session musicians from L.A. and Nashville,” Steve said “It was originally planned as a double album, with solo as well as band tracks.” House of Bones" perfectly reflects the sound cosmos of Steve White. The work starts with the intensively bluesy “Drop Down Mama,” establishing the unmistakable Steve White trademark sound. The session musicians come in on the next track, Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61,” an unusually aggressive version with cutting slide and pumping bass. The title song combines rock with Who-like staccato synths and soulful background vocals; “Hurry Evening” offers relaxed acoustic blues with piano underpinning, “Down with the Blues” a kind of jazz-infused, soulful blues-pop; “Delta Down” drifts deeply and earthly into the delta and is one of Steve White’s signature songs; “Old Friend” conjures New Orleans, while “Move on Down” brings Gospel into play.

Songwrting
"I play almost all originals. I also do traditionals, but I’m not a jukebox. It’s not my job to play other people’s songs. My job is to write my own songs. It’s not about the money, it’s about my dream. I don’t chase the newest trends or copy people. I want to do my own thing, something recognizable. People who hear my music should say: “That’s Steve White. Nobody else can do that.” I want to do original and unmistakable work and not be a slave to supposedly new musical developments. If it sells, great—if not, I’ll still keep going. It’s real, it’s pure—no tricks, not even in the studio. As far as lyrics are concerned I’m a big fan of Leonard Cohen. He has a way of putting words together that’s unrivaled. He definitely influenced me—Bob Dylan and Jimmy Reed also. Many blues songs are about things that happened a long time ago. I want to bring the blues into the present. I talk about modern technology, the internet, current events; but my soul’s in it, of course, and the spirit of the blues. The blues is a living music. It should continue growing, rather than be limited and just look backward. Most real blues artists had a broad repertoire and were more concerned with developing their music than with preserving the past. We’re always influenced by the culture of our times, and that should come into the music as well. Too many people are busy trying to recreate a worn out history. It’s almost a mummification. I’ve written many songs that aren’t blues, but are associated with them by the audience. That’s the essence of the blues. I’ve never seen myself as a pure blues man. And yet I’ve had almost the archetypical biography. I’ve done the dirtiest jobs you can imagine. You talk about hard times--I’ve lived them. That’s the foundation of what I am today, what I play and what I sing. And I’m always interested in further growth. I’m happy that I didn’t give up. Now my dream has been fulfilled: I can make a living from music."

Steve, Andreas Helgason and Udo Röesner produced Steve White’s last CD in Iceland with a quartet of great musicians. One of the remarkable things about Steve was that music was simply something he breathed Some of his album covers are from his paintings, but Home Away From Home is a treasure because it comes with a lyric booklet that’s full of his artwork

Cancer
In August 2009 Steve was diagnosed with advanced laryngeal cancer. In September they removed his vocal chords. Since he couldn’t sing and play harmonica any more he began writing and playing instrumentals using his signature footboard and signature baritone acoustic guitar.

Documentary
In the last few months of Steve’s life he met filmmaker Clint Burkett who agreed with Steve to do a documentary on his life. The documentary called “Steve White Painting the World with Music” was completed in 2015. In April of 2016 it was awarded Best Documentary Feature Film at the San Diego Film Awards. It was a special selection at the Point Music Film Festival. In May of 2016 it became available on DVD, Blu Ray or to stream on Amazon and ITunes.

Discography
The Works

Delta Down

Recycling Man

Better Days - 1998

House of Bones - 2000

57 Miles from Mexico - 2001

Brand New World - 2003

Live in Budapest (Live) - 2005

After the Holidays - 2008

Home Away From Home - 2010

Equipment
National Guitars

Baritone Martin D28

Baritone Streibel Guitar

Taylor Guitars

Lee Oskar Harmonicas

AER Amplifiers

Steve Whites Favorite Baritone Strings

Neumann Microphone