I started playing music when I was really young. I was born number three out of four boys that would later become known as Chicago's notorious Stepe Brothers (it's pronounced steppy, by the way). I got exposed to punk very early on, and never looked back. I spent my formative years learning the punk rock doctrine; think for yourself, don't worry about what others think about you, do it yourself, and question everything that you're told, and it's served me well over the years. I started playing punk clubs around Chicago by age 12 or 13. My first record was released as I was turning 15 years old. As a teenager, I was lucky enough to have shared the stage with punk icons like Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, JFA, Toxic Reasons, etc. But, like most teenage punks, at some point you learn how to play your instrument and start to branch off musically. But, for me, it's always been about the songwriting. It doesn't matter what genre it is, the song needs to be solid.
My songwriting comes in spurts, and I never try to pigeon hole it into any specific style. Sometimes they come out as punk, sometimes rock, sometimes folk. Sometimes it's just half insane experimentation. But whenever a batch of new songs emerged that were really good, a new project or band would be formed to perform them. As my musical tastes tend to run the gamut, so have my musical projects. I've played everything from hardcore punk, to post glam, to alt country, to power pop, to folk, and on and on. Every form of music has something to offer and explore, and I've learned a lot from all of the great people that I've been lucky enough to have played with and recorded with over the years.
This website serves as a tool to gather all these odds and ends together into some semblance of order. Not necessarily for you people out there online, but for me, personally. My live-fast-die-young-nihilistic approach to life has made for some great memories, but lousy planning habits. I never saved anything along the way, so I'm missing most of what I've put out there over the years. This site is an attempt to reclaim it all and gather it into one place. So, if you know of, or have any recordings, pics, or videos that would add to the collection, or if you spot any obvious omissions in the Discography, please use the Contact page to let me know.
Otherwise, poke around, pick a style of music, and give a listen.
I hope you like my songs.
My songwriting comes in spurts, and I never try to pigeon hole it into any specific style. Sometimes they come out as punk, sometimes rock, sometimes folk. Sometimes it's just half insane experimentation. But whenever a batch of new songs emerged that were really good, a new project or band would be formed to perform them. As my musical tastes tend to run the gamut, so have my musical projects. I've played everything from hardcore punk, to post glam, to alt country, to power pop, to folk, and on and on. Every form of music has something to offer and explore, and I've learned a lot from all of the great people that I've been lucky enough to have played with and recorded with over the years.
This website serves as a tool to gather all these odds and ends together into some semblance of order. Not necessarily for you people out there online, but for me, personally. My live-fast-die-young-nihilistic approach to life has made for some great memories, but lousy planning habits. I never saved anything along the way, so I'm missing most of what I've put out there over the years. This site is an attempt to reclaim it all and gather it into one place. So, if you know of, or have any recordings, pics, or videos that would add to the collection, or if you spot any obvious omissions in the Discography, please use the Contact page to let me know.
Otherwise, poke around, pick a style of music, and give a listen.
I hope you like my songs.