Steve Baldino A little chat with singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Steve Baldino. Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself, and your band. Steve: I'm a 23-year-old guitar player from Wilmington, Delaware. I love music, beautiful women and expensive booze. Thusly, I'm always broke. I've moved around all over the country for the last few years just to see what it looks like. My drummer, who now lives in Ohio, used to be in a band with me in Annapolis, Maryland. We were called "Subject To Change," which is a terrible and over-used band name. However, we had a tight sound, and we made a lot of money and played some amazing shows, so I miss it like hell. LB: How did you start out making music? Steve: I found a guitar in my grandparents' attic when I was ten and haven't stopped playing since. LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now? Steve: I grew up listening to everyone that wasn't trying to tell me something, but I don't really keep in touch with those people, so I'm not sure that they influence what I'm doing now. I do try not to tell anyone anything in my songs though. LB: Tell us about your latest release. Steve: My latest release is a compilation of songs I've written and recorded over the past seven or eight years. It's funny because my voice has changed so much from Track 8 to Track 1. The songs are all pretty different, but each one tells a story in one way or another. People tend to misunderstand them, but I suppose that'll have to be okay. LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows? Steve: I haven't played a legitimate gig in quite some time, but I do get asked to pull out a six string at parties and bars on occasion. Audiences can expect to hear some covers and some originals. You have to play to the crowd. If I'm with a lot of friends I'll play some of my raucous drinking songs and everyone will shout the choruses at the top of their lungs. If I don't know anyone I'll try to read the crowd and play something just obscure enough that one or two people will recognise it and be ecstatic that someone else knows and likes this really obscure tune. If I manage to win the crowd over with the risky songs I'll start ramping things up a little and maybe play something everyone has actually heard before. Now and then I really get people going, assuming they've had enough beer not to be so damn shy. LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy? Steve: I like hammering out the strangest of progressions and arrangements and then sculpting them into a tune that I can't stop humming. I also love watching people break out grinning or chuckling when they catch on to whatever I'm singing about. If I'm really lucky, someone will actually notice what I'm doing on the guitar and break out grinning about that too. The best thing is when people get it. You get a room full of people who have just been caught completely off guard by something creative and incredible. LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music? Steve: CD Baby