Any particular project could contain any or all of the following players:
Steve Kirk- guitars, voice, mandolin, banjo, bass
Matt Lebofsky- Bass guitar, keyboards
Andrew Higgins- Bass, acoustic and electric
Casey Filson- Keyboards
John Hanes- Drums and percussion.
Special projects can include any number of extra musicians that Steve has known and worked with over the years.
Influences
The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Stravinsky, Gentle Giant, Arthur Brown, The Animals, Henry Cow
Sounds Like
Beatles meets Gentle Giant by way of Duke Ellington and Frank Zappa
*****
Pop Quiz:
"Pop Quiz" is the follow up to Steve’s "Steve Kirk Pop" release of 2002. With the notable exception of two covers (Badfinger’s "Day After Day" and Lennon and McCartney’s "The Word") all songs are composed and arranged by Steve Kirk. With John Hanes, Andrew Higgins, Chris Grady, Tom Yoder, Larry De La Cruz, Catharine Clune, Philip Gelb.
.. CDBABY LINK for STEVE KIRK: Pop Quiz -->
*****
Steve Kirk Pop:
Steve Kirk Pop is a collection of pieces, both vocal and instrumental, that attempts to challenge the definition of what "pop" should be. This is not conventional pop music- there are time signature changes, instrumentals and the strategic use of dissonance. All the pieces are an effort to help redefine the definition of Pop music to include a wide array of influences, and to help re-establish the role of the composer/arranger as the prime visionary behind the musical creative process, as opposed to the more contemporary strategy of separate songwriter, producer and engineer collaborations.
This is a large band- 10 or 12 piece at times and the result is a wonderful array of textures and melodies that are not the standard fare of todays conventional rock or pop band.
Released in 2002, the debut album features Chris Grady, John Hanes, Larry De La Cruz, Curtis Ohlson, Nicole Welsh, Catharine Clune, Myles Boisen, Phillip Geenleif, Nic Phelps and others. Mixed and mastered by Myles Boisen.
*****
Voodoo Vince Original Soundtrack Recording:
From the Microsoft Xbox game Voodoo Vince
"...this music was composed, arranged and produced by Steve Kirk, who students of cool, obscure music may recall from his time with the Clubfoot Orchestra. Like his much under-appreciated work on the short lived Felix the Cat series, Kirk blends an great fusion of jazz, pop and classical influences. Most pieces are played by a small ensemble of horns, woodwinds and keyboards. All feature Kirk’s masterful, lush guitar work.
The style of the soundtrack varies from vintage jazz which is clearly inspired by Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France to more contemporary jazz/rock fusion. Hints of classical music and even a few pieces reminiscent of Tom Waits sneak out in certain compositions. In spite of being so eclectic, this body of work hangs together remarkably well.
The audio quality itself is terrific. Each track was lovingly recorded, mixed and mastered by Kirk himself. I highly recommend this soundtrack album not just to fans of the quirky video game, but anyone who appreciates truly refreshing music which defies categorization... "
-Amazon.com customer review
With Chris Grady, Damien Masterson, Dan Plonsey, Gino Robair, John Hanes, Marika Hughes, Tom Yoder and others.
A new round of Blue Bear Student Band Showcases are coming up soon!
Hope you have a chance to come check it out!
Next:
What I Did And What I Hope To Do This Summer by Steve Kirk
So, Everyone-
I'm just now finishing up guitar parts for the latest and upcoming version of the Konami game Keraoke Revolution. Hopefully, after that I will be settling in to a summer of relatively subdued mayhem- recording some new pieces featuring drummer John Hanes, trumpeter Chris Grady and vocalist Jani Mussetter. Maybe some some other good friends will join in as well. It's been awhile since I've been able to dig into my own work with any measure of consistency, and I'm hoping the next few months will alleviate that situation to some degree.
If all goes well, there will be new, exciting (at least for me) stuff available for free down load on my website by the end of summer. And, as you can see if you go to Steve Kirk's Bitchin' and Completely Official Website, there are already a bunch of full length, free, downloadable, hi bandwidth mp3s of previous works, including music suites from the Voodoo Vince game and orchestral (and not so orchestral) works not accessible on my commercially available CDs. Help yourself.
I'm also working on an extended multi-media/opera/oratorio work with monologist/poet Gilbert Marhoeffer, and recording, arranging and performing on new pieces by singer songwriter Keady Phelan. I'm gonna try to pull all this off in some kind concurrent fashion- wish me the best, and the best to all of you.
-Steve
*****
Guitar Tracks and Arrangements:
For those of you that don't already know, I operate a recording studio here in sunny Oakland, California where I work on projects not only for myself, but for a variety of clients.
With a tracking room and a control room that includes a collection of high quality microphones and mic-preamps, ProTools, Digital Performer and Logic recording software, Steve Kirk Pop Studios is fully equipped and ready to take on your next project, whether you are a singer/songwriter, a video game developer, or a film, television or video artist seeking a composer, instrumentalist or arranger.
Tracks or music arrangements can be done remotely!
If you need a guitar track or an arrangement for your song, you need only send me your ProTools session or a stereo sub-mix of your piece and I will create a guitar part(s) or instrumental arrangement to your specifications and send it back to you- all lined up and ready to mix.
For more information, contact me at steve@stevekirkpop.com to see how this would work.
*****
Composer Steve Kirk blends eclecticism and his own unique style to create a voice that resonates across the music industry with distinction, raising the bar for what it means for music to be of the top shelf variety. From the organic to the electronic, from pop to symphonic, whatever it is, it is uniquely Kirk’s, and it takes no time at all to recognize this flavorful artistic voice and its one-of-a-kind signature personality, regardless of which of his marvelous pieces you are listening to. “I work in a variety of genres, although most people say that what I write is easily identifiable as my work, no matter the style.”
Talent
“I’ve done work for independent feature films, television, animation, radio, commercials and video games, as well as my personal work in the alternative pop genre,” says Kirk. His abilities cover a broad ground, allowing him to tackle a variety of musical flavors and to master each and every one to which he sets his hand. He’s an arranger, guitarist and singer, “encompassing everything from multimedia to modern chamber music.” But whatever it is he’s got his hands on, his goal is to do something new with it, take it in a different direction. In other words, whatever the genre, he makes it his own; he makes it the product of Steve Kirk.
Meaning
Commercialism has its place, but it must take a back seat to creativity, says Kirk. Art must not be confined by artificial parameters that only serve to cramp the artist. It’s also vital that the music has substance. Depth and thoughtfulness, Kirk believes, are key ingredients to the generation of music that possesses real artistic worth. “Any music in any style can be compelling if it has meaning and is not negatively affected or corrupted due to misguided commercial considerations.”
Work
Kirk nabbed the job of writing, arranging and recording in excess of three hours of music for Microsoft’s Voodoo Vince video game. He also landed the task of doing the music for the television series “Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat,” along with fellow members of the Club Foot Orchestra. Kirk admits that he’s always busy with his fingers in “one musical project or another,” be it writing, recording, producing – whatever. Music is always a part of his life. His new compact disc “Pop Quiz” has been released.
Review
“As impressive as Kirk’s versatility is his ability to master whatever style in which he is working at any given time.” – A&R Select
*****
"Hi Steve,
I received a copy of your CD titled "Pop Quiz" from you in the mail yesterday for airplay on our internet radio station. We have a commercial-free, format-free radio at www.sonicjive.com. The CD came with no instructions as to which tracks to promote - and now I know why - they are all great. We are considering "Above All Else" and "Andrea" for insertion into our rotation and for our syndicated radio show which launches this Friday on SonicJive Live."
Recently, My MySpace friend Stuart sent me this animation to my Voodoo Vince piece Rat Race Rodeo by the artist gombrato - nearly five years after the game was released. All I can say is I'm flattered by people's continued interest!
And now a bit of pre-history from the Beep Industires/Microsoft XBox game Voodoo Vince:
And Steve's song for the film "How to Live with a Vegan Without Killing Them" (opening credits):
Plus a rare clip of the Club Foot Orchestra from the early 90's:
I just think it's funny that I haven't taken that cd out of my car's cd player in 2 years but just the other day i was wishing that that song plus another were on it....now I have it :-)
o, i thought it was ken weller's twin cousin on upright bass. remember Jeff Smith's amazing Plush Amp? what a monster! PS do you have any of our Sammamish High School Anuals? Mine burnt up in a fire...!! much love, Gordon
I'm inspired to make it down to Fog City in April, if the stars align for me. Your show sounds like a "don't miss"! So we'll see how much influence I have among the stars...
Steve, I love that rare clip of the Club Foot Orchestra you have posted. Looks like you couldn't have had more fun playing if you tried. I hope I get a chance to see you this year. That would be different...
Saturday, Dec 29 2007 8:00 PM First Church of the Buzzard 2601 Adeline Street #150 (enter on 26th Street - look for sign with buzzard)
evander music year-end party!
come out to the first church of the buzzard for a party to celebrate the close of another year in babylon! we'll have some snacks and beverages and live music from some friends from providence and local improvisers the mis-spelled trio.
the first church of the buzzard is a west-oakland loft occupied by my pal vincent avalos - a multi-discplinary mexican-american artist originally from los angeles...it's a great space with massive sculptures and artwork.
tahst so cool hat you remember his love of Abba! ha, How funny. Hows the Kirkmeister? I found a guitar lesson on YouTube about how to play the solo to Hey Joe on guitar...it was fun. xx Gordon
ok, thanks for looking. In listening to the original, I noticed that the first chord changes from major to minor, and this gives a paranoid, split-personality edge thats really special.!! xx g
