to name but a few...
GUITAR: Duane Allman, Garcia, George, Cooder, Mother Maybelle Carter, Lindley, Landreth, Cale, Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, Skunk Baxter, Nocentelli, Lanois, Bill Dillon, Richards, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Barrere, Robbie Robertson, Clapton, Santana, Page, Hendrix, Albert Collins, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Reed, Django, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmy Vaughn, Albert King, Gilmore, Richard Bennet, Knopfler, John Mooney, Gatemouth Brown, Gurf Morlix, Joni Mitchell, Gabby Pahinui, Chris Whitley, Bonnie Raitt, Mike Campbell, Skunk Baxter, John Campbell, Papa Mali, Ted Halvorson, Rich Lewis, current Craig Wasner, Eric Heywood, Tony Gilkyson, Duane Jarvis, Stevie Gurr, John Baltic, Johnny Hawthorn, Matt Cartsonis, Dan Ubick, Nick Dias, Jinsoo Lim, Michael Mulder, Eric Walser (mando), Scott Grusin, Rick Ellis, Scot Tedder, Shane Burroughs, Fren Asken, and Robin Moxey,
BASS: George Porter Jr., Carol Kaye, Willie Dixon, Larry Klein, Nick Lowe, Robert Shakespeare, James Mitchell, Leroy Hodges, Darryl Johnson, Tony Hall, Rick Danko, Jaco, current Joe Karnes, Dave Carpenter, Mike Wittgraf, Al Wolavich, Sean Hurley, Kaveh Rastegar, Mark Goldberg, Tom Felicetta, Tom Freund, Sheldon Gaumberg, Dave Wilder, Stevie Re, Carson Cohen, Sean Faye-Cullen, John Classick, Jennifer Condos and Alison Prestwood,
PIANO, B3 and KEYBOARDS: Longhair, Toussaint, Tuts Washington, Pinetop Perkins, Charles Hodges, Thelonius Monk, Rebennack, Garth Hudson, Richard Emanuel, Gregg Allman, Ives, Jimmy Smith, Rolie, Neville, Marcia Ball, Eno, Steve McKinstry, Flaco Jimenez (accordion), Leon Russell, current Pete Wasner, Eddie Baytos, Peter Fox, John Cleary, the Rami Lama, Amilia K Spicer, Eric Lynn, Michael Sherwood and Jeremy Ruzumna,
DRUMS: Richie Hayward, Zigaboo Modeliste, James Gadson, Brady Blade, Brian Blade, Jim Keltner, Kenny "Klook" Clark, Sly Dunbar, Howard Grimes, Dennis St. John, Jamie Chez, Willie Green, Alan White, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Mickie Hart, Bill Kreutzman, Russell Batiste, Jim Gordon, Gary Malabar, Levon Helm, current still Richie Hayward also Phil Bass, Stevie di Stanislao, Pete Hillman, Steve Gadd, Michael Jerome, Kevin Jarvis, Lee Anne Harris, Mike Meadows, Christopher Allis, Debra Dobkin, Mike Meadows, Kirk Johnson, Michael Bland, Stokely Williams, Bryan Head, Josh Day, Brendon O'Halloran, Vic Indrizzo, Dave Allen, Mario Calire, Andy Kamman and Smittamus Maximus,
SINGERS: Bob Marley, Anne Peebles, Ray Charles, Bill Withers, Lowell, Gram Parsons, Pigpen, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Robert Plant, Daltrey, Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Allman, Van Morrison, Christine Perfect, Dusty Springfield, Jeff Buckley, "Sleepy" John Estes, Robert Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Otis Redding, Al Green, John Hiatt, Emmylou, Bonnie, Ron Sexsmith, Whitley, Peter Gabriel, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nevilles, Kate Markowitz, Allison Krauss, Valerie Carter, current Amilia K Spicer, Bekka Bramlett, Victoria Williams, Simone White, Rie Sinclair, Jen Stills, Chris Stills, Hillary Tipps, Jared Clarke, Baltic, Macy Gray, Ray LaMontagne, Lucinda Williams, Inara George, Byony Atkinson, Shane Blue, Eric Lynn, Kristin Mooney, Michiko Freemond, Dave Meshell, Irina Bjorkland, Michael Sherwood, Danny Peck, C.C White, Phil Cody, Rick Ellis and Marcy Levy,
HORNS: Parker, Gillespie, Dirty Dozen, Scott Fultz, Rebirth, Tower of Power, current Don Marquis, Stan Behrens, Stewart Cole, Dave Ralicke and John Yoakum,
HARP: Behrens, Musselwhite, current still Behrens, Musselwhite, Ray Bonneville, and Michael Fell,
SONGWRITING: George, Garcia, Robert Hunter, Dixon, Parsons, Peebles, Green, Tackett, Robbie Robertson, Hiatt, Lowe, Steve Earle, Morrison, Barrere, Raitt, Bonnie Hayes, Emmylou Harris, Lanois, Lucinda Williams, Levy, Waits, Dylan, Van Zandt, Guy Clark, McGarrigles, Neil Young, Petty, Christine Perfect, Santana, Page and Plant, Lennon and McCartney, current Amilia K Spicer, Cody, Blue, Jeffrey Foucault, Mark Goldberg, Simone White, Tom Freund, Freemond, Michael Sherwood and Tim O'Gara,
PRODUCTION: Lanois, Willie Mitchell, George, McKinstry, Was, Froom, Burn, Burnett, current Bo Ramsey and Ethan Johns,
GEAR: Fender, Gibson, Martin, Rickenbacker, Silvertone, Kay, Danelectro, Supro, Webster Chicago, Hammond, Wurlitzer, Slingerland, Gretch, Ludwig, Neumann, AKG, Telefunken, API, Neve, Studor, Altec, Federal, Pulteq, Fairchild, Tube Tech, Manley, Jensen, Sowter, Lundahl, UTC, Auricaps, Dynamicaps, Jupiter Caps, current McCormick Audio Tube Mics!!!, Creston Electrics, Hamptone, Grace, Drip Electronics, Gyraf, and all tube DIY, a certain debt to Digidesign,
and so on
Sounds Like
The slap of a beaver tail on a dark two-hearted river...
The music of Steve McCormick is based in Americana. His soulful guitar playing and raspy voice carry the influence of iconic American artists like Townes Van Zandt, Ry Cooder, Little Feat and The Meters.
Raised in the Midwest, his interest in roots music led to a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he wrote his senior thesis on American Music. In the years that followed McCormick honed his recording skills by working with tube microphone guru Steve McKinstry and his Salmagundi Studios. Shortly thereafter, McCormick’s songwriting led to a publishing deal with Nashville based Wrensong.
McCormick later left the midwest for Los Angeles, where he now resides and is a studio owner, producer, performer, session player, composer/songwriter and microphone builder.
As a session player, McCormick has been heard in dozens of national TV commercials including McDonalds, Nike, Nissan, Chevron, Coors, SBC, Long John Silver and Cialis. He also played guitar on the theme song for the Warner Brothers hit "Felicity". His on-screen debut occurred in the Michael Keaton movie “Jack Frost”, playing guitar in the Shiverfest scene. Steve McCormick is a card-carrying member of the Hollywood Local 47 Musician’s Union. He plays many styles of guitar including bottleneck slide, fingerpicking, funk, reggae, blues, country and jazz. He also plays keyboards, drums, bass, mandolin, banjo, ukelele and sings.
Though his playing skills are highly sought after, his songwriting and recordings have set him apart as a voice in music today. His songs have been alongside the Counting Crows, Peter Gabriel, and The Pretenders in the NBC show “Homicide”. He has produced records for Michael Sherwood, Old Bull, Tom Freund, Michiko Freemond, Rossana, Tim O'Gara and others, mastered, mixed or engineered records for still more, and along the way he’s worked with such notable artists as Stan Behrens (Canned Heat, Willie Dixon), Eric Lynn, Richie Hayward (Little Feat), Stevie Di Stanislao (CSN, Joe Walsh, Loggins and Messina, David Gilmore), Phil Cody, Amilia K Spicer, Pete Wasner (Vince Gill, Lowell George) and Eric Heywood (Ray LaMontagne, the Pretenders) in a wide variety of collaborations.
Just as McCormick’s guitar playing led to songwriting, his songwriting led to music production and a recording studio of his own. And now his studio work has led to microphone building and other custom audio projects as McCormick’s quest to make the music come alive spills over into recording, production, audio engineering and other currents of sonic philosophy.
My self-produced upcoming 7-song EP, "B Sides from B Street" is set to hit shelves June 30th. Come take a listen to a handful of the tracks and see what you think! Influences span the likes of: John Prine, Chris Smither, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Jackie Greene, Josh Ritter, Wilco, Redbird, and other singer/songwriters keeping the craft alive.
I'm booking shows throughout California right now if any other musicians are looking to cobill.
Hey Steve! great surprise!, I was just playing someone a track of Michaels recently and talking about how great all those times at Genghis were. (so VERY bummed about Jamie) as you may have noticed I live in Holland now, 5 years in May, yikes time flies! a cool adventure that continues to get more interesting. I have a few scenes going on, Holland, Italy and Norway and I just finished a new CD with an international cast of players, including Vinnie Colaiuta. Nice experience.
Looks like you're up to lots of cool stuff!, always loved your playing and musical sensibilities, would love to work on something sometime (we're all only a mouse click away these days) Hope all else is well. cheers -T.
Yes sir. It's stereo actually. Small diaphragm direct, large overhead. I'm working on the real recording of it today and will be using a similar setup.
Hey Steve - great meeting you in Memphis. That was such a cool week of music. I'm a bit on the tired side but it was well worth it. Hope to see ya'll soon.
