Steve Carlson makes what can only be described as adult music. It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll – to quote the Donny and Marie Osmond song – with a bit of funk, some R&B, and a lot of soul. His music is a fabulously crafted tapestry of genres, knitted together with Steve’s honeyed, passionately emotive, deeply textured voice and phenomenal musicianship.
His new album Groovin’ On The Inside has a country feel to it, although anyone who isn’t a fan of country music – like me – won’t feel it overpowering them. It’s a funky twist of rock with a dash of country smothered in soul.
Steve is a native of the OC, he grew up surrounded by the sounds of soul, folk and the blues and began playing guitar at the tender age of 10. However when it came time to go to college he was distracted by his passion for food and attended the Western Culinary Institute and now has a degree in culinary arts. Food, however doesn’t seem to have been enough for this talented and creative man and in the late 90s he began to work on his musical career.
Steve has lived in Portland, Oregon and on the island of Maui in Hawaii, but eventually decided to make L.A. his home, where in 1998 he formed the band Kane with good friend Christian Kane. In 2004 he formed The Steve Carlson Band which has quickly garnered a reputation in L.A. for easily wowing audiences and selling out any venue they play. It’s Steve solo material however, that I was most interested in when I approached him for an interivew.
His fascinating ability to mix genres, that mellow, resonant, melt-in-your-shoes voice and his awe inspiring instrumental talents combine to make his new album Groovin’ On The Inside a must listen. An intelligent, witty and charismatic man, Steve began by telling me that, at the moment, he was a real media whore. We went on to talk about psychology, anthropology and of course his music.
Groovin’ On The Inside is your third solo album correct? Tell us about this album.
The album took about three months to record. Writing it… some of the songs are actually old songs that I wrote years ago. I basically put together what I thought were my best songs on this record. And I took one song from each of my previous albums and reworked them, produced them in a different way. All the rest of the songs are new to everybody. I basically chose from what I thought were my strongest songs and I wrote a few new ones specifically for the record as well.
Your lyrics all appear to be very personal, very emotional. And it sounds like you went through a terrible heartbreak at one time.
I’ve definitely had my heart broken more than once. I sing a lot about love. I guess it’s
what I do, I’m kind of a balladeer I guess. I think that love is what we all strive to find in our lives, and when you lose it or gain it, it’s worth singing about. If you’re a songwriter it is inevitable that love is going to inspire you to write either about the great things, and the beauty of it or the sadness of losing it.
Does anything other than love inspire you?
People. Everything beautiful. Meaning the beauty in nature, the beauty of the world, the beauty in women, the beauty in kindness, the beauty in generous souls. I think there is beauty in general. You can be standing at the edge of a mountain and look up at it and become inspired whether or not you’re a painter or a songwriter. Situations also inspire me a lot. I love the drama of life; I think that life is one big drama. I think that, like love triangles can be very inspiring. Betrayal can be very inspiring. Perils of betrayal, I’ll say that not betrayal itself. Although betrayal can inspire things too, probably not going to be uplifting, probably a little on the darker side but… (laughs)
Usually people use the word inspired in a positive way, but here you are suggesting that people can be inspired in a negative way.
Oh absolutely! I think you can be inspired in a negative way. I think that… If I fall in love with a woman and I’m with her for two years and she breaks my heart, that’s a totally negative thing but I find inspiration in it. And in a way, the inspiration inspires growth. So if I’m inspired in a negative way, and I sing about it, it actually helps me to grow, to learn about myself so I can overcome the heartbreak.
We talked earlier about what genre you think your music would fall into and you said you were reluctant to put a genre on it. But could you please try for us?
Yes. I think that it’s a brand of rock.
It’s very country though. Maybe country inspired rock?
All lot of it has got electric guitar in it, blaring electric guitar. Some of it is very funky electric guitar that we used tones from the 70s on. I don’t feel like it’s the production, if anything it is the songwriting has a country element to it but I don’t think that the production has the country element to it.
So drop it into a genre for me.
Okay. Do I have to drop it into one genre?
No. Drop it into 12 if you want.
I say it’s a funky blend of rock, country, blues and soul.
What do you want from your music career?
I want to leave a legacy of my experiences, of things that I am passionate about, in hopes that it will evoke emotions in people and inspire them in some positive way.
That and I want to be a billionaire. (laughs)
You can hear Steve's unique, addictive, completely adult sounds at his MySpace space or his own website. His new album is available from CDBaby and of course iTunes.
The video for Steve’s new single, “I’ll Remember You”, is below.
