Hillary and the GT's is my latest band as of September of 2006. No slackers; the incomparable Hillary Smith on vocals, Glenn Kostur on saxophone, Lydia Clark on keys and backing vocals, Steve Hield (that's me!) on guitar and backing vocals, Jose Romero on bass, Mark Clark on drums. We're mixing it up with a blend of funk, Rhythm and Blues and soul music - leaning heavily to the funk side. Whew, is this fun!
Influences
Blues, Soul, R&B, Cajun, Zydoco, Jack Nielson, David Nye, BB King, Bobby Bland, Robben Ford, Tommy Castro, Robert Cray, Joe Lewis Walker, Marcia Ball, Delbert McClinton, Janiva Magness, Suburban Slim from Portland OR, Ray Charles, Al Green, Anthony Paul, Tab Benoit, Jimmy Thackery, the Groove Hogs, John Haitt, David Lindley, the Alman Brothers, Stevie Ray, Popa Chubby, Otis Redding, James Brown, the Nevilles, Snooks Eaglin, the Big Kahuna, Bonnie Raitt, Wolfgang Mozart, TOP, Chaka Kahn, Pat Metheny, James Taylor, my mom and dad, my wife, my kids.
Sounds Like
my soul is skiing fresh powder with funky rhythms on the iPod, tastes like hickory smoked ribs with Stubb’s BBQ sauce - spicy and full of flavor!
Steve Hield aka Stevie Strangetones; Husband, Father, Guitarist, Vocalist, Skier, Cyclist; Blues Funk, Soul, lead and rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals, adaptive ski instruction, skiing powder, slush bumps, tree and steeps, not to mention beer snob and BBQ chef.
I’ve been playing music as long as I can remember. This page is dedicated to some of the bands I played in. Some were better than others, but they were all fun, which is the main reason I play music. It’s life, just like the air we breath, the food we eat, and the powder I ski.
Most recent bands in descending order; Hillary and the GT’s, the Oz Allstars (WWOZ), Steppen’ Out, the NM StrangeTones, the Motor Kings (featuring Julie Stewart), Dogs Aloud, to mention a few. That’s propbably more info than I’d like to post.
The first 3 recordings on this web site were produced by Elliot Madriss with the StrangeTones featuring Bill Vanzile on drums, Lydia Clark ..s, Elliot on bass, and Stevie on guitar and vocal. The last song was produced by Tony Buford and Irvin Trujillo with Steppen Out featuring Tony Buford on vocal, Vicente Villarreal on bass, Irvin Trujillo on drums and Stevie on guitar.
You’ll notice Jack Nielson as the first person on my "influences" list. When I was a young man, having just met my wife, I played a lot of folk music in the cafes and restaurants near UNM. Jack and his wife at the time owned EJ’s coffee house. It was the first coffee roasting company in Albq., they had good food and a big stage for music. I was playing in a duo at the time with David Nye, another big influence on me. Jack had us playing alot at his cafe and sat in with us regularly. He had a great attitude about life and love, he had a very gentle approach and a beautiful voice to go along with his finger picking guitar style. He would never admit to being a great guitar player, he always said he just loved to sing harmonies. Anyway, Jack passed on and I’ll never forget him and what he did for me and David. The people who’s lives he touched will forever have his imprint on their soul. Please go here to see what I mean;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY0b-kdPShs
My Rig; I use an A-B-Y pedal to switch between my 1968 Super Reverb and my custom JoMama Kelemen Reverb 45 (http://www.jomamamusic.com/pages/kel_rev45.htm ). I also have been known to use a Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive (basically a clean boost), and an old Vox Wah (sparingly). Recently I boxed up the sparkle drive and have been running the JoMama in half power mode, turning it up to get just enough sustain and crunch to play straight through it with no drive pedals. I play an early 80’s Fender 57’ reissue Strat with Kinman Blues PU’s and a Guild Bluesbird with Seymore Duncan humbuckers.
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Thanks for the add Mr Tone! You have a real good sound...so keep it up. We have had one version or another The Strange Tones for many years (decades really...my and Julie's last name is Strange)...but there's room for all! Stay in touch and keep rockin' - Andy Strange
