Nick Drake, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, Richard Thompson, Tom Petty, Loudon Wainwright III, Awesomeness, Bob Dylan, Gary Jules, Iron & Wine, Jeff Buckley, Ray LaMontagne... or so I've been told.
I was born and raised about 30 miles south of Philadelphia, in a little State called Delaware. My father went to the other side when I was 7 yrs old, leaving my mother to raise me alone. She managed to play both parental roles, and instilled in me a tender balance of strength, and sensitivity. She taught me how to put my thoughts in to written word, which came in handy for dealing with the pain of losing my father.
When I was a teenager, my older brother left me his vinyl collection and a turntable. This led to many reclusive nights in the basement spinning Harvest, Who’s Next, Bridge Over Troubled Water… It was at this point that I discovered exactly what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to make records.
So, come Christmas ’94, my mother and brother pooled together and got me my first guitar, a black Washburn acoustic. I spent day and night teaching myself chords, and it wasn’t long before I was writing songs in the basement. I started a band and spent most of my adolescence obsessing over band practice and gigs, meanwhile neglecting my homework.
As I got older, I developed a strong relationship with my uncle Will who resided in Nashville. He was a songwriter as well, and turned my ear to Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash, and a slew of old SUN recordings. As a result, my writing began to improve and my musical horizons broadened.
In 2001 I went broke by investing in a bunch of recording gear, and taught myself the craft. I slowly built up a reputation in the area, and consequently spent the next 6 years recording/producing over 30 different artists of ALL genres. Talk about expanding, I was exposed to, and even producing music I knew nothing about, including hip-hop, hardcore, children’s…
In 2004, I traveled back and forth from Delaware to Nashville to make a record with my uncle Will, which ended up receiving critical acclaim and steady rotation on European National Public Radio.
In late 2006 I decided to follow his footsteps and move to Nashville myself, which is where I currently reside.
About “Necessary Lies”
In between long recording sessions making records with other artists, I was chipping away at this one. I think it’s evident that it comes from many places. For me, this album culminates my experiences of heartache and loneliness, my disgust with the current political landscape, and all the human deception that makes life so damn fragile.
I played a good amount of the instruments, and brought in friends to fill in the gaps and provide a fresh perspective. The entire recording process spanned about 2 years, with a hiatus or two, and a number of rewrites, re-recordings, relapse, etc…
***Request BRS on XM, very easily! Click here xmu@xmradio.com
Some Fun Facts:
• 2 BRS Songs ("Yet Again, and "Face to Face") topped the charts on Neil Young’s LIVING WITH WAR TODAY website, holding the 1 & 2 position for nearly a month.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT "NECESSARY LIES":
• "Stewart composes classic pop songs that are timeless and surprisingly mature. And the man’s voice has to be heard to be believed...what a voice!" –LMNOP/Babysue.com
• "While the guitar playing is subtle and the vocals are hypnotic, there’s something about the songs that demand your attention." -Mite Mutant (thechickenfishspeaks.com)
The Boiler Room is my personal favorite because the atmosphere is awesome. Ive played there quite a bit and the owners are super nice. Also there is Fred's Speakeasy which is awesome and the garage at biltmore.
I've never actually been to any venues in Asheville. I'm not moving there until December. I'm from Florida originally. If you ever play any shows in FL I might be able to help you with booking. As far as Asheville goes I've heard great things about Grey Eagle and the Orange Peel. Good luck.
Just thought I would pop in and say hey, "B"! Don't come on here very often any more... Hope the new album is moving forward, can't wait to get my hands/ears on it! Have a great week, buddy! Hugs....
kewl man, let me know bout some gigs your doing and i will try to get a group to people to come and see you . We enjoy go out and just hanging out , anyways hope to hear from you soooon :) :)
so when you gonna play indiana again? if you do let me know cuz i've got an awesome fannie pack with your name written all over it that you could wear on stage! you know you wanna....
Thanks for the sleepless night, had a million thoughts running through my head, then all of a sudden I burst into laughter... BRT, yep I'm thinking you should go with it! haha We'll talk soon, off to work! Have a great day "B"!
just wanted to say hi :) How have you been? Hope all is well. I've been away on a trip and it's been super busy. don't be a stranger ok? Sending some love, Mara :)
