Stever is a southern California musician with lyrics that can twist your mind and touch your soul.Read the Q&A and visit her website – you will not be disappointed!
The power that music can possess never ceases to amaze me.A song is powerful when it forces you to think about something in ways that you’ve never thought about it before.It touches you emotionally by reminding you of a time or place that you’ve forgotten – either by accident or by choice.When imagery and similes combine to create a poetic ripping of substance from style – you find yourself lost in a message – and having a blast trying to find your way out!
When and how did you first become interested in music?
It was forced on me. LOL! No, I'm kidding. But it's funny that I don't remember the beginning of that. Mom and Dad were both very musical so music was always in my house. Dad liked Oscar Peterson, Myron Floren & Ella Fitzgerald. Mom like Chopin, Mendelssohn and all the mushy stuff like Chicago and Barry Manilow. My siblings liked New Wave, Dance and Heavy Metal. My dad's family had a ton of musicians in it...so it was just the norm to have music around. Mom was a fantastic poet who taught me to write everything down. I just ended up pulling a bit from all of them. We all took piano lessons, but we made music on everything that could make noise and recorded ourselves on crappy tapes often. Schoolwork in my house was secondary to music. Mom never pressured us about it. She knew early on that we should find our passion and do it with passion. (I consequently suck at Math and Science, so I'm not sure it was a perfect plan...ha!)
Where do you perform?
I have performed alot, both theatrically and musically. This year I have been co-producing and co-writing alot of other people's music so I am immersed in creativity and I haven't been out. I do enjoy it, but being on the road means less time getting my hands dirty behind the scenes. I'm looking forward to doing that again though. My day-to-day is so exciting and crazy right now that I'm just not sure when.
What are your musical influences?
This is a never-ending list! But let me just mention a few key ones. Lisa Dalbello is by far my biggest influence. I saw a music video of her in the 80's and I stopped everything I was doing and just stared at her. She is ridiculously talented and very bizarre. What I love about Lisa is the brutal honesty in her lyrics and voice. She is a woman of deep integrity and resistance to formula....not to mention she is also a producer so I have alot of respect for her hands on approach. A male influence would be Ian Gillan from Deep Purple. I just love the full arsenal he can pull from his voice. Both these artists dig from their toes to communicate. I love that they communicate, not perform. You walk away feeling like your guts have been pulled out. I like music that sounds gritty and ugly.
Tell me about "Let Me Move In" - I know it's supposed to be about a sentient worm inhabiting a human body, but metaphorically it seems to mean so much more.
It was a theme song written for Ben Templesmith's WORMWOOD;Gentleman Corpse. I had asked him how I could assist him in promoting his work...wondering if there was something we could do
to meld the music and art. At that time, he told me he had a "little project" called WORMWOOD that he'd like a theme song for. He really loved the song Sicko and imagined something along those lines. It wasn't difficult to put myself back in the headspace of Sicko. Let Me Move In means many things to me. Even when I write for other artists, I am constantly pulling from something in my own world. For writing to be authentic for me, it has to come from something real. I have written many songs where I just make up a story and it seems so fabricated. I applaud writers with extreme imagination but I like sitting in the middle of my bed with crumpled up papers strewn everywhere and crying my eyes out. Song-writing for me is not just a project, but an exorcism of sorts. Even songs I have written for other artists tend to be about something from my experiences. It just so happens that whatever story they want me to write about, more often that not, I've already done it. LOL! All that being said, Let Me Move In came from a simple accusation that I was entering a part of the music biz that was "way over my head". I am sarcastic by nature, so the "playing to the gallery" line came to mind. Apparently in their mind instead of moving up in the music industry I was sinking to the level of a worm. It may have been the underlying reason why Ben's art excited me to begin with. He always shows the ugly stuff tempered with a great deal of wit and sarcasm.
When I listen to "Skin", it seems to be a powerful song about missing someone, loss or a lost love. What is that song really about?
For anyone who has ever been expected to be someone they are not, they will understand Skin. It's when someone wants you to be someone that benefits them and they don't notice the real person you are. I tried to seek attention in my state of poor self-esteem. "Taking off my skin just to fit in" seemed like the bottom to me where I saw how ridiculous it was to be anyone other than me. It was also affecting my physical and mental health. It was a series of events that brought me to that realization. For that reason, Skin is very special to me. It was a beautiful but rude awakening.
I was blown away by the creativity in the writing style of "Sicko". The way each verse ends and blends into the next seemed to me like a person whose thoughts are wondering almost uncontrollably because of what they've been through. What is the song really about?
I'm not sure I can ever fully explain Sicko entirely. The reason is because I was in a severe state of "blur" when I was writing that. It's why it felt natural to blur the thoughts together. It started as a free-style diary entry called "Unarmed and Unstable". That diary entry was a culmination of many gruelling moments. The initial writings came from severe pain, I returned to it later and underlined the thoughts that struck me and it was then turned into a poem. More people ask me about Sicko more than any other song and most assume the Sicko is a predator, stalker or some other bastard in my world. Sicko is the part that creeps in...it's the girl who took anti-depressants, who considered suicide, who thought she was ugly, who felt trapped and who was desperate.
What does it take to write and to play a song like that?
Oh I think many people could write Sicko. LOL! Our world is full of them. :) I guess it just came from Mom's poetry, pianos lessons and way too much pain for the average person to handle. Writing Sicko meant that I finally got to a place where I became the unapologetic artist I wanted to be. It was during that song that I realized that I didn't care if a single soul heard it. It just felt good to enter that stage in my writing.
OK - I know that "Get Outta My Head" is about sex - but honestly, I can't put my finger on the message. I go from thinking it's about a date rape, to thinking it's about a rough one night stand. Tell me the story behind this song.
Actually, sex is only a metaphor for that song. It is more a song about mind control (more specifically mindf**k), not sex. I think most people will get it if they keep that in mind while listening. That song has more hidden messages than any other song and it's the one song where I like to keep them hidden. :) I was able to use that metaphor because I have experienced abuse.
What is special about that song?
It's special because of those messages. There is one person specifically who if they ever read it, would understand every metaphor and where they came from. ...or not. I never write for anyone else's benefit.
Of the songs we have discussed, which one means the most to you personally?
Definately Sicko. It's because I felt empowered after it. That was right around the time I decided that I would never ever write anything again to please someone else.
What makes this kind of music "good" to you?
I guess the debate over what "good" music is will never go away. I've written in many styles and genres, but I love it very ugly and heavy with lots of orchestration and raunchy guitars. It's because those instruments are intense by nature. My life is and always has been, intense. Everyone has their reason why they love music. I like any music that is completely honest. I am still having a tough time swallowing some of the formulaic music out there because I can tell when something didn't come from an honest place. The music I am making is governed by honesty.
Tell me about when you decided that you wanted to be a musician?
I've worked in so many professions. I am a licensed hairstylist, I managed a women's health facility, I've waited on tables...but during every one of those jobs, I filled every single extra moment with music. Driving to work, lyrics would come to me ...lunch break...writing lyrics...lying in bed...song ideas... I did a simple bit of math and realized that the percentage of my life spent doing what I was passionate about was not as high as the non-passionate stuff. So, I worked really hard at those jobs to be able to eventually do this full time. That means you don't go to the bar, movies or dinner with friends. That means you stay up really late and get up really early. That means you don't buy new clothes. That means you start writing daily goals down. It can be done. You damn near kill yourself doing it, but it CAN be done.
Can you explain your creative process to us?
I have a very humble, very basic set-up for recording my initial ideas. Keyboard, speakers, microphone, protools. There are only a few people I can actually sit in a room with and write because I tend to police the song-writing process with a very heavy hand. Writing lyrics work better for me when I am alone. Songs are like children to me. I've told other artists, "You are not the boss, I am not the boss, but the song is the boss. My job is to defend it." There is nothing worse than a bunch of artists stroking the egos of other artists during song-writing because they don't want to hurt their feelings. So they engage other ideas to be "nice". I don't agree with that. If something is stupid, I'm gonna be the first to say it. Most artists respect that because nobody wants their song to sit on a shelf. :) But more than calling out a stupid idea, I am more likely to call somebody out on their BS. Did the idea come from a place of honesty? And phrasing...don't put the wrong emPHASis on the wrong sylLABle. hahaha (Mike Myers quote) My own cd happened differently. The only players on this record are Frank Gryner and myself.Frank is the one person who allows me to work how I work. Over the past 2 years Frank has heard pretty much every back story behind this record, where stuff came from and the visuals I imagined with it. We have a great working relationship where we simply empower each other to do what we are good at....and if it's not cool, we tell each other. The production of this record was all about "Is it cool or is it not cool?" You'd try a stupid sound effect, call it chessy and dump it. I've learned to not be so married to any idea. There's always a better one waiting to be discovered. I guess the creative
process is really just the discovery process.
Tell me about a time when you felt like giving up on music.
Oh that happened during a time in my life when someone told me I was chasing a pipedream and my esteem was the lowest it had ever been. This may sound a bit corny, but music didn't give up on me. I was convinced that my passion for music was a waste of time....that I should concentrate on the "normal" family things. But after going to therapy and taking anti-depressants, I realized that music was the only real thing that healed. It is with me now forever. I love that I have something in my possession that can't be stolen.
How do you feel about the music that's on the radio today?
Oh it's almost all crap. If I hear the line, "in da club" one more time...I am giggling though at all those record label execs who were living high on the hog and were so damn smart were just fired by their labels because the industry is reeling right now.The sooner artists empower themselves by not caring what others think, will be when we can fill the world back up with honesty again. We don't give the listeners enough credit. They know good music and they definately know when someone's feeding them garbage. It's why when someone really good comes out we all flock to them. We're just so thrilled to hear it!
Who is your "famous" favorite artist, and why?
Not sure I have one specific, but I do like Italian Renaissance like Titian or Ghiberti...love HR Giger too.
Who is your favorite artist friend?
Too many. Ben Templesmith, Christopher Shy, Sean Odell, Aleksi Briclot...that list is so long.
Is there anything tragic that has influenced you art?
Absolutely. The death of my mother. When I lost her, I knew that there could never ever be anything as tragic as losing her. It's a big part of why I don't care about industry opinion. She told me that very early on.
What does the future look like for Stever?
I recently became very purpose-driven, less goal-oriented. I am having a whole lotta fun discovering why I am here.
If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go and why?
I've always wanted to see Egypt because of the pyramids and Auschwitz because of it's history. I'm super fascinated by history. Anything black and white or ancient. I love antique (not pretentious Victorian) furniture and love refinishing it.
What is your dream? Where do you want your music to take you?
I've quit dreaming about music taking me somewhere. I'm all done with that. I want to just continue to grow and learn. I like that no 2 days are the same. If a bad one happens now, it is what it is. I'm not going to coerce anything to happen to me ever again. It's not my decision.
What is wrong with the world today?
Two things; Cruelty and Control.
Tell us one thing about you that would shock the world!
hmmm...I hate shoe shopping...I only have a couple pair. Does that count? LOL!
What do you do for fun?
Hiking. I love back-packing and being in nature with God. I like bugs. Bugs rock.
Is there a Stever CD in the works?
Yes looking at a fall release of PLAYGROUND ISOLATOR....and Sicko starts it off. :)
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