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 Steven Paul Carlson was born in Pasadena, (Los Angeles), California, on the 6th of August 1975.
He was an early musician, already playing guitar and trying his hand at original songs by the age of 10. This was probably due to his bohemian upbringing and his parents’ love for music, their eclectic taste swinging between funk, R&B, blues, country and soul.
Steve steadily performed in local bands throughout high school, but when it came time for college his passion for food sidetracked him a little, leading him to attend the Western Culinary Institute and get a culinary degree. (After all, what’s more artistic than cooking?)
Steve seems to have yet another passion though; traveling. He did in fact travel around for quite a while, until the beauty that is Hawaii captured him. He spent over two years on the island of Maui. This was going to be both a personal and musical experience that Steve would carry with him back to California.
Hawaii honed and gave new shape to Steve’s musical skills; there he began playing the mandolin and steel guitar, eventually coming to master both Hawaiian playing styles (slide guitar and slack-key).
Such influences have remained with him to this day, and are particularly noticeable his first solo album, “Spot In The Corner”, an ensemble of ballads that really sound like tales being told, the images unfolding as clear as a book’s illustration in front of the listener.
The album was recorded and worked on in Los Angeles, where Steve moved after a steady series of gigs in Hawaii.
His following work was “Rollin’ On”, a collaboration with the Steve Carlson Band, that he formed in 2004 with bass player Steve Dress, drummer Tim Jimenez and saxophonist David Olivas. This group of very talented musicians produced quite a gem, the album being full of ever-evocative pieces that wonderfully taste of both folk and soul.
The next endeavor was “Groovin’ On The Inside”, which includes pretty much all of Steve’s favorite genres; soul, folk, rock and a little bit of country. Steve's music seems to take on new directions with this disc, making it therefore his most mature work so far. The album feels like a twist from the previous ones, some sort of new starting point even though it maintains all of the aspects of Steve’s music that fans are so fond of (did I mention soul?).
Finally, we come to Steve's latest album, "Stripped Down". Released in May 2008, it lives up to its name with a series of pieces that feel raw and unforgiving, effectively stripping the words (and who sings them) bare. This is so far Steve's most personal album, which is probably one of the main reasons why fans are so enamoured of it. But his solo career isn’t the only thing Steve has been busy with.
In 1998, upon moving to L.A., fate, life and pure chance led him to Christian Kane. The two hit it off right away and put their musical skills together to create KANE. The country-rock band slowly but surely warmed its way into the hearts of, as IMDb puts it, "notoriously picky Los Angelinos". Their very personal, unique sound eventually became known even outside the States, KANE finding a loyal fanbase all around the world, particularly in the UK.
In 2008 the band got through some major changes. It was first a change of name; from KANE, the band became "Christan Kane", following the contract with major label Columbia Records Nashville. The original members eventually separated, with Christian remaining to carry out KANE's legacy.
The official announcement of the band's dismantling came from Steve at the EyeCon convention held in Orlando during the weekend of 26-28th of September 2008.
However, Steve collaborated with Christian for the upcoming Christian Kane album. The first single, "More Than I Deserve", was released on the 28th of April 2008, with much understandable excitement from anyone involved. The new album should be available sometime in the beginnings of 2009.
Meanwhile, Steve's music is gaining worldwide recognition, as well.
Steve is already busy recording yet another work, but we don't have yet any details. All we can do is stay tuned and wait, with the certainty that it's going to be yet another amazing release. He’s also being called up to attend several “Supernatural” conventions all around the USA. One of his songs has been featured in the CW TV show, which stars a very good friend of Steve’s, actor Jensen Ackles (who also sings back vocals in "Stripped Down" and has co-written two songs in "Stripped Down"). (“Night Time”, featured in season one, episode 19, “Provenance")
“Supernatural” isn’t the only television show featuring Steve’s songs; his work also appeared in:
the ABC show “Men In Trees” (“Kinda Crazy These Days”)
the TV show “Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron” (“More Than I Deserve” - co-written with Christian Kane)
the movie “Be My Baby” (“Now That My Love Is Gone”)
the movie “Just Married” (“The Chase” - co-written with Christian Kane)
the movie “Life Or Something Like It” (“Sweet Carolina Rain” - co-written with Christian Kane)
the movie “Memory” (“Under You”)
Stay tuned for updates on this and other sections of the website as Steve’s career progresses, and enjoy what this talented musician has already given us so far!
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