March 15, 2006
Interviewed by Bonnie Schendell
With the release of his fourth CD, Radiant,
Steve Oliver has definitely earned a spot as one of the major
players in the smooth jazz arena. His high energy performance
and electric personality have caught the attention of everyone. His
music is heard non-stop on radio now and he has garnered some
of the top spots at festivals around the country. Steve
has come a long way since the first time I saw him at America’s
Jazz Festival in Columbia, MD – all alone because his band
missed their flight! But then and now, Steve can hold his
own.
SmoothViews (SV): Welcome, Steve.
Steve Oliver (SO): Thank you. I
am so thrilled to talk with you again.
SV: First, I want to congratulate you on your
recent nomination for International Smooth Jazz Artist of
the Year from Smooth Jazz Canada. Congratulations!
SO: Yeah, well, thank you. It’s
kind of exciting. April 7th we are flying to Toronto
for the awards show. I’ll be performing a song
at the show, too. It’s going to be really nice.
SV: You have just released Radiant, your fourth
CD. Radiant has a completely different feel from
your two previous CDs (Positive Energy & 3D). It
seems more of an introspective vibe. Do you see it
that way?
SO: Absolutely. You mature as
an artist and want to grow musically and songwriting-wise. I
always want to explore different aspects of music, because
I love everything music from electronica to world music to
classical to folk and all the new stuff, like John Mayer and
Jack Johnson. I love it all. I love Pat Metheny
and Wes Montgomery. It all moves me…the whole
spectrum. I guess from listening to so many different
things, it influences a little bit of your own writing, but
yet turns into yourself. I have really gotten into writing
lyrics. I get really excited about writing vocal songs
and dug really deep on the lyric department and tried to convey
messages.
SV: Fans love your vocalese, but you are also
very comfortable as a singer. Is that something you
always envisioned doing?
SO: Oh, yeah…well,
I was a singer before I was doing the instrumental thing. I
was a lead vocalist in everything I was in. I was in
a progressive rock band and doing odd-metered ten-minute long
songs. I was the lead singer. Then I would sing
R&B. I was always singing lyrical tunes before
doing contemporary/smooth jazz. I just love singing. It’s
fun and it’s a whole other side of what I do, which is
different from the instrumental side. It’s nice
to convey the two and make it cohesive. When I first
got into this music, they were combining the new age music,
back in the 80s when the format started growing. They
were playing great stuff. It was creative and it was
cool. That’s why people started coming to this
genre. I hope they go back to that again and bring in
that creative element instead of everyone trying to have everyone
sound the same. That’s what I try to do…to
be a little different and creative.
SV: You do an amazing cover of the old Buffalo
Springfield hit “For What It’s Worth.” What
drew you to that song?
SO: The message. I think the
message, when it was written in the 60s, it was kind of an
anthem of the times, with the shooting in Ohio and the Vietnam
War. That’s what it was about and it still holds
up today. I was sitting there remembering that tune and
always loved that song as a kid growing up. With the
war now and the way the world is, it was like a no brainer. It
just seemed to stick out to me and I wanted to do a real organic,
stripped down version of it and slow it down. The original
version is kind of upbeat and I wanted to be able to get into
the lyrics of it. I wanted it to be cohesive with the
rest of the album and have this organic, acoustic approach,
but yet a pop approach. I just love the message of the
song and think it speaks volumes today. I think it will
be released as the first single in Canada. In fact, in
Canada they have been playing a lot of my vocals.
SV: What do you see as the major difference
between Canadian and U.S. radio?
SO: I think they have a little more
free rein. It is not as corporate controlled. They
do, by law though, have to play 70% Canadian artists and then
they can throw in 30% of artists from all over the world. The
fact that we snuck in and that radio really loved my music
was really cool. We really lucked out. When I go
there to do interviews, they tell me they love all my vocals
and are playing them. I was floored.
SV: How did you come about working with Michael
Broening on this CD? I understand there is a history
there.
SO: Michael Broening is a great friend
and I have known him for about ten years. He lives out
in Phoenix, Arizona. When I was playing with Steve Reid
and Bamboo Forest, we went out to Arizona to do a show. Marion
Meadows was also on the bill. I met this keyboard player
in Marion’s band and we just really hit it off. At
the time, I was working on my first album, First
View, and I asked him if he wanted to play keyboards
on one of the tunes. He did and did some programming,
too. So Michael is on that first album and since then
he has become a great producer, which I knew would happen way
back then. He has a really good ear and is real hip to
sounds. Between 2000 and now he has been Marion Meadows’ producer
and has had great success. So I approached him to do 3D with
me, but he was in the midst of Marion’s new project and
it was such a bummer! So I contacted him way in advance
this time for Radiant. I had
all the tunes done and written and wanted him to add his color
and sounds. So, I called him up about a year ago and
asked him when he would be available because I didn’t
want anyone else. So we worked it out. He ended
up still doing two albums at once…mine and Marion’s. He
is so incredibly talented and in high demand. He is so
great to work with.
SV: These days, technology is moving at the
speed of light. You embrace it with your guitar and
programming on your CDs. Do you ever miss the old fashioned
ways?
SO: You know, it’s funny. Now
I am writing music in that organic approach. I thought,
it’s gotta be great to get together the band like in
the old days, rehearse and go in and record. I like both
ways. With the technology you are really able to dive
into the sound and nurture the sound of the song. Yet,
at the same time, there is something really beautiful about
going in with musicians and recording the magic live. You
can’t duplicate that. There is something so special
about the spontaneity of it. So there are both sides
and I love both sides of the coin.
SV: You have played on the same bill and with
some of the best in the business. That exposure and
your success have put you in the forefront. It’s
something you always strive for, but how has it affected
you?
SO: You can’t help but learn from
it, you know. It’s like being thrown into the lion’s
cage. You suddenly realize here you are! And then
you look around and think “Okay…now what? Guess
I’ll do what I do best!” I love the fans
and I love to talk. I have a lot of love in me as a person
and I love what I do, so that hopefully comes across to the
fans. I want to make people feel good. I really
care about people, especially when I get to see them at shows. And
this music has such a vibe to it that has a really good feeling. It
goes hand-in-hand with me as an artist. It can put a
smile on someone’s face and that’s my goal…my
mission.
SV: You are always so happy on stage. How
do you stay “up” all the time?
SO: The touring, airports and not being
in your regular domain…I love it because we are going
somewhere and will make people feel good…even if it’s
just two people in the audience! It doesn’t matter
to me just as long as those two people are getting it and feeling
the vibe. It’s almost like I am having an out
of body experience when I play. I don’t feel like
I am in my body, but then after the show you come down…it’s
like whoooooaaaa. Very trippy. An amazing feeling. When
I am playing I am feeling so high from the music and being
able to project it, it’s just really natural to do. It’s
worth all the traveling to have such a blast.
SV: You are now touring as part of TRIAD with
Michael Paulo and Gerald Veasley. How did that come
about?
SO: My manager and I were talking about
putting together a package tour with some artists and I have
always been a fan of Gerald Veasley’s and Michael Paulo’s. I
thought it would be a really cool mix of musicians from Philly,
Hawaii, and me. We all have totally different backgrounds
and it’s kind of cool. It just formed over the
phone and they were really excited. We haven’t
done that many shows together yet. We’ll each be
doing about 25 minutes of our own music, but playing together
on stage as the band for each other. We’ll be on
stage together the whole time. It was debuted at the
Catalina Jazz Festival.
SV: Well, it’s great at festivals or
on the cruises where artists all have the opportunity to
play with each other…to just join in.
SO: Oh, absolutely. On the cruise
I was able to sing with Bobby Caldwell and Brenda Russell,
and had Warren Hill on sax. We were all up there together. A
lot of times at festivals, people are on different travel schedules
and have to leave right away to catch a flight. There
never is that hang time. Everyone is so busy. We
are all doing this to keep this music alive. On the cruise
ship I was thinking that here we all are doing this music and
have the same motivation.
SV: Do you ever get star stuck seeing the
artists that you have admired for so long?
SO: Oh, gee…yeah. I am
like the number one fan! I go to every show I can whenever
I can. On the cruise, I went to every show because I
am a fan. I love the presentation of everything. I
wanted to sit in the audience and get the vibe…not from
backstage or on the sidelines. You don’t get the
same feeling.
SV: In the rare instances that you have some
down time, where would we find you?
SO: Gardening…love to get in
the garden. I love to be outside really. Music,
movies…the normal stuff.
SV: Well, Steve…thanks for taking the
time tonight. It’s been great talking to you
and I look forward to seeing you a few more times this year.
SO: Oh, my pleasure. I thank you
for having me here. See you out on the road!
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