If you would like to be kept abreast of my
musical activities, send a blank
e-mail
(say Hi if you wish) and put 'Newsletter' in
the subject heading. You'll get a full
newsletter 2-4 times a year and if something
really important happens, you'll get a quick
update about that.
Winter 09 Newsletter
Hello and Happy New Year to all of my listeners.
It has now been just over a year since the release of With Or Without – an interesting and challenging year it has been. Much has changed since I unleashed The Purest of Designs in 1998. It seems that every man and his dog has a CD out these days and it takes a lot of perserverance to gain even a shred of publicity. At one point, I considered going into rehab to get some media attention. Maybe I’d get on one of those celebrity-gawking TV shows and end up winning a fistful of Grammy awards. Unfortunately, I have nothing to rehabiliate from - woe is me. So I’ve carried on with the pride in my creative output and bit by bit, the word has been getting out.
Here are some quotes:
"Dramatic, melodic, rocking, soothing, gentle yet powerful.. who says rock has to be all screaming guitars and thunderous drums.. this album certainly blows that theory to oblivion, this rocks but it challenges, rock for grown ups?" - Soundscapes@ARfm
"The songs ebb and flow, building in intensity and then relaxing, the acoustic guitar providing lots of room for the music to breathe as well as forming the connective tissue between many of the other songs, lending the recording a more epic sounding pallet than actually exists. " - Jerry Lucky.com
"Amid some songs that are whimsical (but in no way dull, easy listening pieces), we find calm, reflective images. The album is a balance of intensity and quiet created by acoustic guitar."
- Progressive Newsletter (Germany)
"Steve has clearly not tried to record a prototypical progressive rock album or get caught up in the prog cliches but instead has created an honest sounding and more natural album that clearly shows a more mature and other side of his creativity. " - Unger's Wonderful World of Progressive Rock
“I can't help but love this one. It reminds me of why I love prog music so much in the first place.” - Doug Leblanc/Canadian Progressive Music Society
Deals! Deals! Deals!
If you have one or two of my CDs and want to complete the set, there’s no better time than now to do so. The following applies to purchases from SpiritCompass.com only. First, I have reduced the prices on my first three releases. Admittedly, they are quite old now and probably shouldn’t be selling at the same price as newer CDs. There’s also a package deal if you want to buy the first three together. I've also set a flat shipping fee of $2 per CD to anywhere in the world. If you live in the US or elsewhere in the world, that’s an amazing deal, as the Canadian dollar is once again going down against it’s US counterpart.
On stage
Those who live in my corner of the world have had the opportunity to see me play live with a band, something I hadn’t done for several years. We did a handful of shows during the summer, but are now taking a break as busy lives take over. (Our drummer, Richard Rizzo is now a proud father for the first time. My congratulations to him and his wife Carol.) We expect to be out playing again before spring arrives.
Aside from the local shows, my wife Rebecca and I travelled to Quebec City in May, where I performed a solo set at the Terra Incognita convention. The show was put on by Ipso Facto, my distributor there. It featured Quebec prog rock bands D Project and Leitmotif as well as the veteran UK group Galahad. My acoustic set was warmly received by an audience who had little prior knowledge of me. It was definitely a highlight for me and I hope to return.
Check out photos from the above shows.
In the studio
I’m currently working on some new music and some old music. The new stuff continues to feature my acoustic guitar (with me playing it), but expands into a more epic style with some very long prog pieces. I will be involving the band in aspects of arranging and recording for this one. The old stuff is essentially a concept that I had been working on as a follow-up to The Purest of Designs – an hour-long suite flowing from a few main themes. Without Or Without emerged out of a need to give this particular project a break and focus on something a little simpler. Though many of the parts were complete, I guess I wasn’t quite ready to put it all together. (That’s my excuse for taking 10 years between albums and I’m sticking to it.) Applying production lessons I’ve learned from my latest album has been very helpful and it’s now much further on the road to completion. Which of these two projects sees the light of day first remains to be seen.
Checking in on Friends
Ken Baird has released his fifth album, called ‘Further Out’. I played a minor role on one song with guitar chords, but I also lent my production advice as he did for me. It’s an amazing album and one that I highly recommend.
Another friend who I hope you will hear from soon is keyboardist Rob Adlers. He played in the turn-of-the-century version of my band and is now gearing up to do live solo shows. We are already planning to do some shows together.
Wilton Said... has continued to organize his NUANCE festival (I performed at the Fall 07 edition) and offered up a fine assortment of artists in October. I was in attendance to see Lorne Hind 360, Wilton and his band, Counterpoint and The Rebel Wheel. I’d never heard of the latter and was completely blown away by their set. They hail from Ottawa and have an amazing CD called Diagramma.
From Russia With Or Without Love
On a negative note, I have discovered that my latest release is being offered on some MP3 download sites without my authorization. Unfortunately, it is being done in countries that have lax copyright laws. I have contacted the offenders and asked that they remove the material, but have received no response. I am looking into my options, but in the meantime, I would ask that you please not encourage these companies. If you like the music and want to have it in your collection to enjoy whenever you want, I ask that you purchase it from a legitimate source. Currently, none of my music is available to purchase in the MP3 download format, but I intend to make it available on iTunes and some other sites shortly.
WWW.mygosh.com
Earlier this year, I undertook the task of redesigning my web site all by my lonesome. Since the earlier incarnations were the work of more techno-savvy others, I had some larnin’ to do. Admittedly, the site is not cutting edge, but my goal is to make it the definitive source for all information regarding my music. Perhaps I'll add some techno-frills after I've achieved that initial goal. I’m also going a little further by adding things such as movie recommendations and a link to my Kodak Gallery of photos I have taken either in my travels or in the area that I call home.
I leave you with that. I wish you all the best. Till next time...
Winter 09 Newsletter
Hello and Happy New Year to all of my listeners.
It has now been just over a year since the release of With Or Without – an interesting and challenging year it has been. Much has changed since I unleashed The Purest of Designs in 1998. It seems that every man and his dog has a CD out these days and it takes a lot of perserverance to gain even a shred of publicity. At one point, I considered going into rehab to get some media attention. Maybe I’d get on one of those celebrity-gawking TV shows and end up winning a fistful of Grammy awards. Unfortunately, I have nothing to rehabiliate from - woe is me. So I’ve carried on with the pride in my creative output and bit by bit, the word has been getting out.
Here are some quotes:
"Dramatic, melodic, rocking, soothing, gentle yet powerful.. who says rock has to be all screaming guitars and thunderous drums.. this album certainly blows that theory to oblivion, this rocks but it challenges, rock for grown ups?" - Soundscapes@ARfm
"The songs ebb and flow, building in intensity and then relaxing, the acoustic guitar providing lots of room for the music to breathe as well as forming the connective tissue between many of the other songs, lending the recording a more epic sounding pallet than actually exists. " - Jerry Lucky.com
"Amid some songs that are whimsical (but in no way dull, easy listening pieces), we find calm, reflective images. The album is a balance of intensity and quiet created by acoustic guitar."
- Progressive Newsletter (Germany)
"Steve has clearly not tried to record a prototypical progressive rock album or get caught up in the prog cliches but instead has created an honest sounding and more natural album that clearly shows a more mature and other side of his creativity. " - Unger's Wonderful World of Progressive Rock
“I can't help but love this one. It reminds me of why I love prog music so much in the first place.” - Doug Leblanc/Canadian Progressive Music Society
Deals! Deals! Deals!
If you have one or two of my CDs and want to complete the set, there’s no better time than now to do so. The following applies to purchases from SpiritCompass.com only. First, I have reduced the prices on my first three releases. Admittedly, they are quite old now and probably shouldn’t be selling at the same price as newer CDs. There’s also a package deal if you want to buy the first three together. I've also set a flat shipping fee of $2 per CD to anywhere in the world. If you live in the US or elsewhere in the world, that’s an amazing deal, as the Canadian dollar is once again going down against it’s US counterpart.
On stage
Those who live in my corner of the world have had the opportunity to see me play live with a band, something I hadn’t done for several years. We did a handful of shows during the summer, but are now taking a break as busy lives take over. (Our drummer, Richard Rizzo is now a proud father for the first time. My congratulations to him and his wife Carol.) We expect to be out playing again before spring arrives.
Aside from the local shows, my wife Rebecca and I travelled to Quebec City in May, where I performed a solo set at the Terra Incognita convention. The show was put on by Ipso Facto, my distributor there. It featured Quebec prog rock bands D Project and Leitmotif as well as the veteran UK group Galahad. My acoustic set was warmly received by an audience who had little prior knowledge of me. It was definitely a highlight for me and I hope to return.
Check out photos from the above shows.
In the studio
I’m currently working on some new music and some old music. The new stuff continues to feature my acoustic guitar (with me playing it), but expands into a more epic style with some very long prog pieces. I will be involving the band in aspects of arranging and recording for this one. The old stuff is essentially a concept that I had been working on as a follow-up to The Purest of Designs – an hour-long suite flowing from a few main themes. Without Or Without emerged out of a need to give this particular project a break and focus on something a little simpler. Though many of the parts were complete, I guess I wasn’t quite ready to put it all together. (That’s my excuse for taking 10 years between albums and I’m sticking to it.) Applying production lessons I’ve learned from my latest album has been very helpful and it’s now much further on the road to completion. Which of these two projects sees the light of day first remains to be seen.
Checking in on Friends
Ken Baird has released his fifth album, called ‘Further Out’. I played a minor role on one song with guitar chords, but I also lent my production advice as he did for me. It’s an amazing album and one that I highly recommend.
Another friend who I hope you will hear from soon is keyboardist Rob Adlers. He played in the turn-of-the-century version of my band and is now gearing up to do live solo shows. We are already planning to do some shows together.
Wilton Said... has continued to organize his NUANCE festival (I performed at the Fall 07 edition) and offered up a fine assortment of artists in October. I was in attendance to see Lorne Hind 360, Wilton and his band, Counterpoint and The Rebel Wheel. I’d never heard of the latter and was completely blown away by their set. They hail from Ottawa and have an amazing CD called Diagramma.
From Russia With Or Without Love
On a negative note, I have discovered that my latest release is being offered on some MP3 download sites without my authorization. Unfortunately, it is being done in countries that have lax copyright laws. I have contacted the offenders and asked that they remove the material, but have received no response. I am looking into my options, but in the meantime, I would ask that you please not encourage these companies. If you like the music and want to have it in your collection to enjoy whenever you want, I ask that you purchase it from a legitimate source. Currently, none of my music is available to purchase in the MP3 download format, but I intend to make it available on iTunes and some other sites shortly.
WWW.mygosh.com
Earlier this year, I undertook the task of redesigning my web site all by my lonesome. Since the earlier incarnations were the work of more techno-savvy others, I had some larnin’ to do. Admittedly, the site is not cutting edge, but my goal is to make it the definitive source for all information regarding my music. Perhaps I'll add some techno-frills after I've achieved that initial goal. I’m also going a little further by adding things such as movie recommendations and a link to my Kodak Gallery of photos I have taken either in my travels or in the area that I call home.
I leave you with that. I wish you all the best. Till next time...