About Me

Something stirred inside Steve when he first heard Roy Orbison's vocals on Handle With Care and he knew right then that music was more than background noise. It was also around this time that he began referring to himself in the third person, the result of a missing letter 'i' on his Dad's green-screened Apple computer.

In 1991 he purchased his first album; Adam & The Ants - Prince Charming, second hand of course, at a Christmas jumble sale in Monasterevin's famed CYMS Hall. Frustrated at his failure to replicate songs like Stand & Deliver or Ant Rap on the family piano (which was really an upright electronic organ) he decided that music lessons were the way forward. Alas, this was to prove unsuccessful as he was forced to begin by learning the recorder and Steve was kicked out of lessons for developing the unique 'play-the-recorder-with-your-nose' technique.

During his teenage years Steve turned into that kid who spent his lunch break negotiating loan deals for various mix tapes with fellow students. The rules were simple, you could have his Smiths and Mexican Pets compilation but only if you could get him copy of that new Nirvana album. It was an innocent time when piracy still meant wooden legs and parrots and when writing about music meant covering his school books in Joy Division lyrics. It was also a time when too many Saturday nights were spent at 'hops' (really dodgy disco's) in the aforementioned CYMS Hall.

These nights usually involved the girls standing in one corner, and the other 3 corners being divided up by the boys into the raver corner (complete with X-Worx jeans and NAFF jackets), the grunge corner (all stripey jumpers, ripped jeans and the weight of the world on their shoulders) and the special corner reserved for boys who still thought it was okay to run around a hall making airplane shapes. The only good thing about these nights was that it gave Steve a great opportunity to get together with his fellow music nerds and discuss how predictable Edge's progressions were becoming. Yes, Steve was that cool.

Little did he know it but that was the beginning of Steve's interest in music commentary. They say that those who can't do, teach. Well, those that can't teach, critique. Writing about music is the best job in the world (even if it doesn't pay just yet!). It is also the easiest, but don't tell anyone that. If you'd like to see how easy it is, read some of Steve's Key Notes blog! Steve is also available for birthday parties and Bar Mitzvahs.