PERSONAL BIO
I was born on October the 7th, 1980 in Lexington, Kentucky, but spent a good part of my childhood in the smaller towns of the state. Midway through my school years, I moved to Richmond, KY where I finished my middle and high school years. It was late in my freshman year where I first took an interest in playing guitar. From the very first note, I knew what I was going to do the rest of my life.
Probably my biggest influence comes from James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. Those guys arranged some of the best guitar riffs and solos that has ever been written. When I first started playing though I was into bands such as Lynrd Skynrd, CCR, Areosmith, and even Nirvana. Bands like these help make guitar interesting and keep it fun at the same time.
-Peavey EVH Wolfgang Guitar (Gold)
I sometimes think of all the people in the world, past and present, who search their entire lives for some kind of answer. An explanation, if you will, to a universal question that I believe (whether conscience or not) everyone asks themselves at some point and time in their natural lives. Many people throw an alternate life away (in most cases an ultimately better life) they never knew existed, simply because they never conducted an honest search for it. I believe that God gives every human being a special and unique gift. A �talent� of some sort that He has purposely hidden inside each individual person, but whether he or she ever finds this �talent� and to what level they will work to reach is solely left up to that specific person. I feel very privileged and extremely lucky that I never had to endure a long and tiresome quest for an answer to such a simple question. I am supremely confident that I know the answer. I�ve known it since I was sixteen years old.
STEVE'S WEB LINKS
MEET THE BAND
I actually became interested in playing guitar while riding back and forth to school on the school bus. The guy I sat next to for years listened to a lot of heavy metal music (something that I was restricted from doing as a child) and really introduced me to a whole new side of the music world. Everyday he and I would bring our �walkmans� and occasionally we would switch tapes. Although a lot of the artists/bands I was hearing for the first time had been around for years, the music was so fresh and so intriguing that I couldn�t get enough. I had grown to love this �newly found music� that everyone called rock and roll.
It wasn�t long after that I started to ask my dad to teach my how to play guitar. He�s an accomplished guitarist and has played with some of the best musicians, many of them going on and making the �big time� in the music business. Needless to say he was absolutely thrilled to pass on to his only son the wisdom of playing guitar. I started out learning how to change chords but that became very boring, very quickly. Then I began reading tab literature and learning how to copy some of my favorite guitar players licks. For years I sat in my bedroom and did nothing but play and practice. Starting out with CCR and Lynrd Skynrd, then eventually moving on to bands like AC/DC and Metallica. About two years into it I thought I knew everything I needed to know about guitar. My first run with Hasty Street proved me more wrong than I could have ever imagined. I hadn�t even scratched the surface of true guitar playing.
I first learned of Hasty Street from my boss at work Wess Mills, who just happens to be part owner and drummer of the band. He found out that I played and began to harass and persuade me (in a way that only Wess can do) to join a band. Wess and I became good friends and eventually an opening for a guitarist came up in his band. I didn�t want anything to do with country music at the time but still decided to audition. My audition took place at Felts Music Place in Corbin, KY. It seemed to be the worst nights of my life. Nothing went right. I didn�t know any of the songs. Their bass player had to stay on my side of the stage and scream all the chords and chord changes to me. I had no idea how to improvise, so all of my solos were horrible. It was two of the most humiliating nights of my life. Obviously I didn�t get the job. So I returned home to my bedroom and started getting really serious about my guitar playing.
Determined not to let anything like that happen again I practiced and corrected every single mistake that I had made. For a solid year I worked very hard and finally, after only three years of playing guitar, I auditioned and got hired as lead guitarist of the Southern Yankees. It was, for me, the ultimate learning experience. I played with drummer and owner of the band Bob Dooley for almost two years. I really got the feel for playing live and my personal playing seemed to rapidly advance. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of close friends but it finally got to a point where I felt I needed a change. So I started back on square one. I went to Hasty Street for a job.
I have been part of this band for about two years and I can�t even put into words how exiting it has been. The standard for this band has been and always will be on a professional level. Every single goal has been reached and every obstacle overcome. There is no doubt in my mind that if we continue doing what we�re doing this group of guys is destined succeed. Two years ago we set out to have the best band in all the different clubs we traveled to. We did it. Then we set out to have the most original sound and song list that has ever been heard around the Kentucky club scene. We wanted to stun the crowd by doing songs that they enjoyed listening to on the radio but never in their wildest dreams thought they would hear in a country bar. We did it. Finally one of our biggest goals was reached in February of 2003 when we got a house job in Lexington, KY at The Horseshoes' Saloon.
Right now this band seems stronger than it ever has been and personally, I could not be happier. Not long ago we finished recording a cover song cd and now there is talk about an original cd. If any more of our goals are reached you probably won�t have to read about them on my web page. Hopefully you�ll be right there with us, experiencing it live and in person on a more grand scale than you and I can even start to comprehend until we get there.
HEROES & INFLUENCES
On the country side of my playing I study guitar wizards such as Brent Mason, Pete Anderson, and of course the greatest guitar player of all time, the late Chet Atkins. In my opinion Chet had forgotten more about guitar then most players will ever discover.
From Stevie Ray Vaughn I learned to put your heart and soul into playing and try to make every note count. Lately I have been studying the wonderful tones and obscure phrasing ability of Eric Johnson and the one and only style of Eddie Van Halen. I�ve also worked on the speed of my playing by trying to duplicate the lightening fast licks of Yngwie Malmsteen and the super fast picking style of Kerry King from Slayer. Just recently I discovered Steve Vai and realized just how much I love playing guitar all over again.
To read this you�re probably wondering �why�s he in a country band?� First off, this ain�t no country band, this is hands down a variety band. We get our kicks out of playing music and if it�s good we don�t care what society labels it as.
It�s rare to find a guitarist that isn�t stuck on one type of music. I listen to every kind of music and pay close attention to every kind of musician that I come across. I can honestly say that I�ve never met or heard anyone in the music world that I haven�t learned something from, whether it�s learning what to do or what not to do. Music is supposed to be fun, so I try and let it be.
I�ve combined so many styles and so many techniques from different artists, along with my own style and technique and created something that is very interesting and unique. An unselfish guitarist who doesn�t care if all eyes are on him, or if the guitar is loud enough, or if his solo time is long enough, or if the spot light is on him at all times. I care about what�s right for that particular song at that particular time. That, my friends is what I think to be rare and original about me and that alone separates my playing from a lot of other guitarists that I've seen or heard.
CURRENT GEAR
-Peavey EVH Wolfgang Guitar (Cherry Sunburst)
-Brian Moore iGuitar 21.13 (Emerald Green)
-Mesa/Boogie 4 X 12 Recto Cabinet
-Digitech 2120 Artist Preamp
-Digitech Control One
-Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
-Roland VG-88
-QSC RMX 850 Power Amplifier
-ART 351 31-Band Equalizer
-Furman PLPLUS Power Conditioner
-Shure 57 Microphone
-Peavey EVH Guitar Strings
-Clayton 1.5mm �Tear Drop� Picks
PHOTOS
DEDICATION
What was I born to do?
I was born to play guitar. Not just to play for people but to reach out to them with a large variety of different sounds. To touch their emotions in a way that only music can do. I can only hope to succeed.
I dedicate everything I have accomplished or ever will accomplish to my mother, Hermetta McQueen Smith, who on her way to the hospital spoke her last words to me. She said �I am so proud of you and your music Steven, don�t ever give up. Mommy loves you.�
I would like to thank everyone else that has helped me out in any way or supported my sometimes �hasty� decisions over the years. You know who you are.
MEET THE BAND