L'Rueticulus Interview 5/99

The Adams family settled in a small community named Saratoga, nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains, known for its excellent restaurants, antique shops, and wine, and home of the legendary music store, Torres Guitars, located just behind Big Basin and the Country Store Cafe and Restaurant and Canselari Creamery. It was in this plaza where Steven really discovered music. Up until 1989, Steven had taken lessons on the piano, the violin, and the saxophone, and felt comfortable playing a tune from his head on these instruments, but was still searching for the weapon, the instrument, the sound...

It was Spring 1989... "I stepped outside of my house and walked down Fourth St. one block, cut across the back parking lot to the Saratoga Plaza, and hiked up the steps to Torres Guitars. I flipped through some catalogs with Ron Pucetti, the store owner at the time, and with the earnings I had saved up from yardwork and umpiring little league baseball, we picked out and ordered a 3/4 scale, black-colored, electric bass guitar made by a Japanese company called Tanara. A week later it came. I picked it up and took it home. We worked out a deal that included a strap, an instrument cable, and a battery-powered, clip-on, mini-Fender amplifier. After a couple of lessons from Ron, I was playing the twelve-bar blues, practicing my major scale and modes, and making my fingers stretch out on the bass line to "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by The Animals."

Encouraged to practice by his parents, siblings, friends, parents' friends, friends' siblings, and friends' parents, he dove into the world of bass... Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Noel Redding, "Family Man", James Jamerson, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Graham Maby, Chuck Rainey. As this personal world started opening up, some friends and classmates at school started to talk about forming a band, "One Percent Away".

"It happened and there I was, the bass player. It was a great experience. We were all basically starting from the beginning on our instruments, all at the same level. We all had our own personal tastes in music so we would each bring our favorite songs to pratice and try to learn them by ear usually."

Experiencing music with four other enthusiastic young musicians expanded Steven's knowledge and repetoire. Pop music became his main focus of study, classic radio rock to the latest rock and pop bands. "One Percent Away" tightened up and worked hard all through their high school years and along the way changed their name to "Django". Through his gained musical experiences, Steven also worked with various other projects toward the end of his high school years... "A Tree Called Simon", a creative, quirky-loving, folk rock group; "The SHS Jazz Choir", directed by Elien Doctorow and later, Ms. Gina Argenti, including "Django" bandmates Zach Gill and Dan Lebowitz, and also future "BLAG Buffet" percussionst Robert Binkley; "Working: the Musical", put on by SHS and Linbrook HS in San Jose; and "Full-Circle Ministry", a Baptist church worship band that included "Django" drummer Matt West.

In the fall of 1993, with the highly-motivated brotherhood of "Django", Steven packed up and moved to Santa Barbara to study music at the UCSB Music Department. The band continued for two more years with great success and gained experiences, playing parties, benefits, and various events for the Isla Vista community, as well as organizing small West Coast tours up through Northern California and parts of Oregon. The variety of musical contexts and the music that was accordingly produced, sometimes improvised, sometimes by the band, fascinated Steven's interest in the sociological interaction between a group of musicians and their audiences and surroundings, an interest that would later reveal itself. Meanwhile, Steven studied and practiced the theories, analyses, and music of Western Classical music, 20th Century composition, world musics, jazz, middle eastern musics, piano and double bass.

"My education was very wide-ranging at UCSB. I took several years to decide what my emphasis was going to be, so until then, I would take as much as everything that interested me, which happened to be a lot! The modern 20th Century composers we studied were fascinating in what they were able to get their players to do. And a lot of that music incorporated all kinds of influences, from music to culture to architecture to art to math and science and ancient civilizations.

"The double bass instructor, Nico Abondolo, was also a major influence during my time at UCSB. His amazing playing, feeling, and insight inspired me to take up the double bass. In order to take one out on loan through the Department, you had to be registered with an ensemble or a declared double bass major. The UCSB Symphony was a little intimidating since I was just beginning. The UCSB Jazz Band was my first choice but already had a great stand-up bass player, Nathan Freitis. The only orchestra really left was this unusual group called the UCSB Middle East Ensemble which I hardly knew anything about. But there just happened to be an opening. John Graves was withdrawing from the ensemble. During his last term, I joined the ensemble on beginning 'ud. I waited one term for John to pass the bass role over to me, and it all worked out! I had a UCSB-owned double bass, a reason to sign up for double bass lessons with Nico, and I was in an ensemble, falling in love with a new music and culture."

Steve continued with the UCSB Middle East Ensemble for the rest of his stay at UCSB. And that door opened many more to follow. He continued to work on his stand-up bass playing with Nico, joining the UCSB Symphony for one term, and eventually joining up with the UCSB Jazz Band. He also was part of several Jazz Combos including the successful "Magnum Jazz Combo" that formed in 1995 with long-time musical partners Dan Lebowitz and Zach Gill, and also newer associates Josh Yafa, Bill Barrett, and Alex Pauley. From that came the "I.V. Dogs" featuring more UCSB Music Department classmates. Jack Beddows, Tak Nakamura, Brian "Turkey" Priest, Brian Herritt, Tor Hargens, Dave Fortsen, and Sam.

Throughout his time at the University, Steve found himself surrounded by an improving circle of musicians that were initiating a support system, enabling each other to realize each others' dreams and goals. Many projects were set, many languages were spoken, many notes were played.

By 1996, "Django" was transforming into the next phase. Matt West left Isla Vista and returned to the Bay Area. Headmaster David Brogan, UCSB graduate in percussion and composition and former member of 1990's I.V. heroes "Evil Farmer", came in.

"Dave was a musical guru to me. I remember heading out into Isla Vista on weekend nights with the "Django" bandmates, looking for the party where Evil Farmer was playing. Dave and the bass player, Ari Gorman, had an amazing groove that would fall somewhere inbetween old classic funk and odd-metered Black Sabbath with Paul and Dan layering crazy stuff on top, stretching for the most out stuff. Dave taught me a lot about laying down a James Brown-type groove. I also admired his skills in arranging, composing, and improvising."

"Django#2" spent the Summer of 1996 in Augusta, GA, practicing in the shack, Steve working at the neighborhood BK, touring the Southeast coastal towns. Dave Brogan left the band upon the return of their summer tour to pursue music-related work in Seattle, WA. Steve and Dan and Zach found refugue in the "I.V. Dogs" experiment that followed that Fall. And that Winter, old friend and "Magnum Jazz Combo" drummer Josh Yafa returned form Austrailla and the next band, "Magnum Family", took shape.

"The 'Magnum Family' recording session from Los Osos was a great learning experience in self-recording, trying to get those sweet sounds. It was a bit rushed, however, since we had rented the recording equiptment for only two days. The mix was done through a set of headphones. Playing-wise, it was raw and funky and we put a lot of soul behind the songs."

Steve's last year in Santa Barbara brought about a lot of surprises and revelations. "L.A.G." was the first revelation, an acronym for Lebowitz, Adams, and Gill. Through their musical adventures together, starting at Redwood Jr. High School in Saratoga and running through their college years in Santa Barbara, the trio realized that they were definitely taking their time, nurturing their musical relationship and building on their shared experiences. Their repetoire together had grown to include nearly 100 original songs. A lot of these songs were recorded in professional studios and can be found on their released albums, some songs only exist on bootlegged live shows, and still others have escaped any documentation and exist only on scratch pieces of paper and with those who remember. The "lag double-discovery" was also a suitable description of life in I.V. throughout these years. Without a drummer, Steve, Dan, and Zach put together a trans-portable acoustic buffet using a doghouse bass, accordion, and acoustic guitar. Through this mode, they found themselves immersed in the art of street-performing and acoustic showcasing. Steve adapted new techniques on the stand-up bass to fill out the rhythm that the drums usually created.

Another surprise in 1998 was the birth of the "Animal Liberation Orchestra and the Free Range Horns", a L.A.G. music project that included UCSB Jazz Band director Jon Nathan on drums and a five-piece horn section.

"A.L.O. was an amazing feat. Jon was a lot of the inspiration behind the horns. Being the director of the Jazz Band and having the experience he had, he was quick and proficient arranging the horn ideas for the five-piece. He was also another drummer that I admired early on. His jazz playing was incredible and he also loved the wide range of styles that L.A.G. was getting into. His versatility was great for the band."

Steve got the mix... stand-up bass with the Middle East Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combos, Student Composition Recitals, and the L.A.G. Acoutic Buffet and electric bass with the Animal Liberation Orchestra and various Soundtrack Recordings (4'18" and other UCSB student films). Another interest came about in 1998 through his decision to emphasize in Ethnomusicology within the Music Department... that being, the world of Mariachi music from Mexico. Seeing this tradition at times in downtown Santa Barbara but also scattered within American pop culture, Steve decided to pursue a study of Mariachi music. Steve finished the infamous thesis paper needed to complete his B.A. Music degree in Winter 1999 and the paper is on file. The introduction to mariachi consquentially sparked an interest in the "bass instrument of the mariachi: la guitarron", which has become one of Steve's more recent beginnings. The bass sounds of other world musics have also generated thoughts and philosophies about the role of music in the world today.

On the search for an American culture and to learn more about the country's community, L.A.G. picked up old friend and compadre Roberto T. Binkley, along with his faithful conga drum, and headed east in the Summer of 1998. The "BLAG Acoustic Buffet" formed whimsically. The First stop was a Danish wedding for Middle East Ensemble friends Brad and Heidi, on a lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"The 'BLAG Across America'* tour was crazy, nostalgic, mind-expanding, and fun. A nice moment for me was our stop in Billings, MT where my father's parents live. My grandfather handed down his banjo to me, which he had played most of his life. I also acquired my father's oboe which he had played throughout high school and college. The tour was great practice for my stand-up bass playing. We played every day. I had just bought my own stand-up bass also, the Nathan Freitis 'Cosmo' bass, so I was enjoying that. Hearing the regional musics from around the country was another exciting experience... New Orleans, New York, Cleveland... In some areas, the music seemed to be so much more integrated into the culture, and in other areas, not as much. The BLAG Spirit sailed high."

(*See the "BLAG Journals" for day-by-day details)

After the Summer of 1998, the "Montesito Mystique" musical debut in Santa Barbara, the Mendocino Middle Eastern Music and Dance Camp, the "BLAG Across America" tour, Steve returned home to Saratoga. Since then, much has happened and continues to happen to both Steve and his musical cahorts. Both the "Animal Liberation Orchestra" and the "L.A.G. Acoustic Buffet" are under exciting new developments. With the addition of San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist Shree Shyam Das on drums, the bands continue to redefine the direction of music, while keeping the same name.

In addition to resettling in San Fransisco and gigging with the new A.L.O., Steve has also been working with other musicians in town in the little time inbetween... From Kansas City, Zach Ross and "Louis' Moondance", a multi-cultural set of songs and improvisations. In this trio, Steve is playing stand-up and electric basses with Zach on guitars and Thomas Greene on drums . Steve has also joined up with local San Franciscans and former UCSB classmates, "The Court and Spark", for various Spring and Summertime shows around the Bay Area. This Fall also marks the beginning of the "Philboyd Studge" bluegrass Wednesday jam sessions with a lively quartet fearuring mando, guitar, banjo, and bass.

"San Fransisco has been very inspiring. The local music seen is wide-ranging and the city continues to bring in great national and international musicians. Living is a little more difficult than I imagined coming from Santa Barbara. But the area is beautiful. Coastlines, hills, space."