Teaching Artist (Guitar)
At an early age Steve was very interested in music. Spending hours listening to records and the radio and occasionally sneaking into his sisters room to listen to her records when she wasn’t around. At the age of 12 he started playing guitar. A fast learner, Steve started performing in the Minneapolis area at the age of 16, as soon as he could drive himself to the gig. After high school he attended McNally Smith College of Music, focused on jazz, theory, and building his repertoire. Steve studied with top instructors while earning a degree in guitar performance. After earning his degree he performed locally with many different bands and artists. Earning a reputation as great player who can handle multiple styles with ease he was soon playing with top level bands including Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame singer Big John Dickerson. He later played with Kathleen Johnson(Prince) and also her brother Kirk Johnson(Prince and the New Power Generation/Candy Dulfer), performing everything from tribute shows, Tina Marie, Etta James, and Maurice White of EWF to name a few, to acoustic duos with the best singers and musicians anywhere. Some other notable artists Steve performed with are Dave Toliver (Men At Large), Kieth Brown (Natural Selection), Gwen Mathews (Stevie Wonder), Gospel artists Robert Robinson, Sam Reeves and Javonta Patton, Minneapolis jazz legend Debbie Duncan and blues recording artist Joyanne Parker. Recruited as a musical director/worship leader he held a position at Peace Lutheran Church until he left Minneapolis in 2021. Teaching guitar since he was 17 Steve also has an extensive teaching resume also. Since relocating to Arizona in 2021 this multi-talented guitarist and vocalist has been performing all over the Phoenix and Tucson area.
