The Steepwater Band
is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1998 by the trio of Jeff Massey (guitars and vocals), Joe Winters (drums), and Tod Bowers (bass). The band took their name from a cargo vessel that Massey sighted in a port on Lake Michigan.
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THE STEEPWATER BAND TICKETS
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History and biography
1998 to 2004
Initially the band concentrated on playing their own versions of classic blues songs, particularly electric Chicago-style blues, and performed their first concert at Phyllis' Musical Inn in Chicago on
October 29,
1998.
The band quickly progressed from covering blues tunes to writing their own music. Their influences include the
Allman Brothers Band,
Free,
Cream,
Led Zeppelin, the
Rolling Stones, and
Humble Pie, in addition to blues artists such as
Muddy Waters,
Robert Johnson, and
John Lee Hooker.
In 1999 the band met singer-songwriter Michael Connelly, who collaborated with them on their inaugural effort, the five-song EP
Goin' Back Home
. The Steepwater Band returned the favor by performing on Connelly's project,
Bottles of Wine
. Connelly officially joined The Steepwater Band in 2000.
The years of 1999 and 2000 saw the band performing relentlessly in Chicago and the surrounding region. During this time they continued to write new material and hone their gritty guitar-based blues-rock sound. The buzz in the local music community increased and on
June 8,
2000, The Steepwater Band performed at their first
Chicago Blues Festival, kicking off that year's event at high noon.
The band released its first full-length CD in 2001. Titled
Brother to the Snake,
the CD was released with the support of radio station
WXRT and
Jim Beam to a packed house at Chicago's
Double Door. During the year the band also released a live-in-the-studio album,
Live...Half in the Bag.
The band continued to play in the Midwest in 2002 and 2003, often being selected for opening act slots for international acts including
Bad Company,
38 Special, the
The Fabulous Thunderbirds,
Sonny Landreth,
Buddy Guy, and
Taj Mahal. The band also signed a recording, management, and publishing deal with Funzalo Records/Mike’s Artist Management during this period. This relationship resulted in the production of one album,
Dharmakaya,
which was recorded with producers Sean Slade and Paul Kolderie (
Radiohead,
Warren Zevon,
the Pixies,
Uncle Tupelo) in Boston and released on
May 18,
2004. Connelly departed in October, 2004, and the band and Funzalo/MAM ended their relationship in early 2005.
2005 - 2007
In April 2005 the band performed on television in
Nashville, Tennessee, with
Little Milton, who died a few months later. In June, for their fifth time playing the
Chicago Blues Festival, they received a headlining slot on the Best Buy Showcase Stage.
In September, The Steepwater Band performed their first European concert at the
Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. In addition to their own 70-minute set (a set that was widely acclaimed in the European press following the festival), they hosted a late-night jam session with members of the
Drive-by Truckers and the Basque band
The Soulbreaker Company. Approximately twenty other bands were invited to participate in the three-day event including
Gov't Mule,
Deep Purple,
Queens of the Stone Age, and
Wilco.
In November 2005, the band was invited by Chicago rock radio station
WLUP to open for
Bon Jovi at the sold-out United Center.
In 2006, in addition to their own heavy touring schedule, the band performed at various festivals and concerts with
Umphrey's McGee,
Yonder Mountain String Band,
Keller Williams, the
Doobie Brothers,
Ian Gillan (
Deep Purple's vocalist), and
Cheap Trick.
The band’s third full-length CD,
Revelation Sunday
, was released on
August 15,
2006. The album is being distributed by Evangeline Records in Europe and on the band’s own Diamond Day imprint in the United States. The CD release concert for
Revelation Sunday
was held on
August 11,
2006, at Chicago's historic Metro music venue.
In September, the band headlined three concerts (with The Soulbreaker Company as the opening act) in Madrid, Bilbao, and Barcelona, Spain.
Rick Richards, guitarist of the
The Georgia Satellites, joined the band on stage for three songs in Barcelona.
The band performed on the
Gimme Three Days
cruise with
Lynyrd Skynyrd,
.38 Special,
American Minor,
Tishamingo,
Blackberry Smoke, and other
blues-rock,
southern rock and country artists aboard the
Carnival Cruise Lines Fascination
in January, 2007. The event was produced by
Sixthman LLC of Atlanta, Georgia.
In its March issue,
Vintage Guitar magazine published a full-page article/interview with band members.
In July, the band returned to Europe for a tour of Spain and the Canary Islands. The tour began with a concert in Barcelona, Spain, on
July 5 with Gov't Mule and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, and also included a date with long-time Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford.
In conjunction with the tour the band also released the "Songs From the Eighth Day" CD, featuring covers of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer", Bob Dylan's "Phantom Engineer", Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway", Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues", a live version of "Collision", and two new Steepwater Band songs.
Recent Events
The Steepwater Band signs with Teenage Head Music booking agency out of Belgium. Expect a full blown European tour end of 09/early 10.
Diamond Day Records released GRACE AND MELODY December 2, 2008. In celebration of the release the band performed at the Double Door in Chicago, IL. on November 26 to a packed house. The new disc has already received rave reviews from Jambase.com and Hittin' The Note Magazine to name a few.
The band announced in March, 2008, that they would be entering the studio in May with Grammy Award winner and long-time
Black Crowes guitarist
Marc Ford on board as producer. The recording and production is to take place at Compound Studios near Los Angeles. The band expects to release the new album, tentatively titled "Grace & Melody," in late summer or early fall, 2008.
The band released their first concert DVD on
March 21,
2008. The performance was shot at
The Rutledge music club in Nashville, TN, in November, 2007.
Band members
- Jeff Massey (guitar and vocals)
- Tod Bowers (bass guitar)
- Joe Winters (drums)
Discography
- 2008 - Grace And Melody
(Diamond Day Records)
- 2008 - The Steepwater Band
Live Concert DVD
- 2007 - Songs From the Eighth Day
(USA: Diamond Day Records)
- 2006 - Revelation Sunday
(USA: Diamond Day Records; Europe: Evangeline Records)
- 2004 - Dharmakaya
(USA: Funzalo Records; Europe: Evangeline Records; Canada: True North Records)
- 2001 - Brother to the Snake
(Independent)
- 2001 - Live....Half in the Bag
(Independent)
- 2000 - Goin' Back Home
EP (Independent)
Film and television
- The television series Friday Night Lights
used the song "Revelation Sunday" during a football game sequence in a 2007 episode (online and DVD versions).
- The Disney movie Invincible
starring Mark Wahlberg contained the song "Autumn" off the band's 2004 release Dharmakaya.
- Nissan Motors has been using the song "Black Cat's Path", also from Dharmakaya
, for a long-running national television advertising campaign (2004 - current) for their full-size Titan pick-up truck.
- The television sitcom My Name Is Earl
has used the songs "Dead Horse" (Dharmakaya
) and "Dirty Ol' Blues" (Brother to the Snake
) in episodes.