Something I avoided doing for a long time finally happened, at the insistence of a few friends…

I have decided to remaster and re-release my first two albums TWISTED METAL and ALL WIRED UP (along with new cover art) as a Bandcamp-only exclusive: stevebello.bandcamp.com

I am all about moving forward. Once in a while, it’s okay to dip back into the past without being stuck there. It was a wild journey back in time listening to these albums after many years of, well, not listening to them. The memories of being excited in different studios doing these albums…ah what a rush! 

The original files are long gone so I had to use the existing cds and hope for the best. There will be some frequency issues as these were recorded on “ancient” gear (the first album was recorded with a Line 6 Pod Pro!) but there was NO remixing at all. It wasn’t possible at all. So when you hear the tunes, keep in mind these are what they are: a snapshot in time.

And yes, I still have a new album to promote called ACT NATURAL!

We all say the same thing every year around this time…

“This year went FAST!”

My dad told me way way back when I was seven years old that “The older you get, the faster time goes.” I laughed. Now he’s laughing at me. I get it now.

This year has been quite a challenge for yours truly. I have to take the sour with the sweet. Nothing more or less. But even with the bumps in the road, some good obviously came out of things. And like anything else in this thing called life, we brush our shoes off and move on.

I will say this though (and am sure this will ruffle feathers): I stopped promoting my new album because I lost the heart for a while. It will come back but for now, it’s best if I put it in my back pocket. There’s too much competition out there between everyone hyper-focused on Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce (I can’t believe I just typed that), local bands desperate for attention, and the biggest culprit being some radio stations and magazines not helping me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the stations that have been cheerleaders for my music. I tried breaking into new markets but was met with either silence or “Sorry not interested.” I had one magazine tell me that the photos I sent weren’t professional. Serious? I get that everything is political, also has a degree of favoritism/nepotism. I can’t avoid that. It will never go away. But it did make me sit back and think “Why am I doing this?” I will eventually return to pushing ACT NATURAL but right now, nope.

I really don’t know what will take shape next year, aside from helping whatever cover band needs a guitarist at the last minute. That seems to be how things are going. People are nostalgic for nostalgia now. They don’t want to hear anything new. Even new bands sound “old”. I am all for moving forward and will keep doing so.

Yet I won’t back down (thanks Tom Petty!)

Here’s one more sobering thought to wrap things up…

Why should anyone listen to my music, or yours?

“The answer when we come back…”

As you see above, the new kitty Lyra was eyeing my Ibanez guitars. Think she wants to be a shredder? She started learning “Kittens Got Claws” by Whitesnake.

She’s a Steve Vai fan like me 🙂

This year was definitely a head-scratcher. Not sure if the universe was testing me but whatever the case, I am ready for 2024. I don’t rush things, as life is too short. But I can’t wait to see 2023 go away.

Oh some good happened. I left GHS Strings for Aurora Strings back on July 3 (lots of irony on that date). Am very happy to be part of the team, and the feeling is mutual on their side as well. And this year I celebrated 20 years as an Ibanez artist. Fancy that! The same dude whom nobody thought would amount to much has been with Ibanez that long. (I can still recall the jealousy directed at me when I worked at VHM…good times!)

I played some shows but not with my own music. I helped out a handful of cover bands who appreciated my talents. Whether I was covering Motorhead or The Cranberries, I brought my A-game and made sure whatever band I was helping sounded good. I have at least two shows coming up next year with Rock Hard and I cannot wait! I get to throw down some molten metal and classic rock along with a dose of 90s grunge.

And there’s one song I hope RH covers before I croak…you can guess what it is.

As for the original scene….well, I am not part of it. I am not part of anyone’s secret society or weird little eco-system. In short, I’m not a professional socializer. I may lose friends with that but I’ve lost some friends this year, so bring it. I will still be creative and unique but won’t be doing any new music for a while.

ACT NATURAL sold nicely, which was good. Strangely didn’t get a ton of press like MOOD SWINGS. Some magazines didn’t get back to me. Some radio stations didn’t either. One refused to play my music anymore so bye-bye. The stations that did play me, I am grateful for the exposure. And hey I got the front cover for the final issue of Surge FX in England!

One little victory.

And while I will never get 500k streams on Spotify unless I pay for them (you know who you are), I am glad some people give a damn about my strange quirky metal. So thank you for the continued support. And if you’re new to my music, strap yourself in! You must be this tall to ride.

What’s in store for next year?

Your guess is as good as mine.

For now, I will stick to teaching and living in my bubble.

It has been quite some time since I bloviated about things. And true to form, I can only be up-front and honest with myself and those who read my blogs.

Winter depression sucks.

I thought I could get a handle on it but nope. I know what you will say: “Take Vitamin D”, “Use light therapy”, etc. Yes I do all of that. Fortunately the last two years were not SO bad. This time I am really feeling it.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to be human in the music industry. We have to paint a smiley face and say things like “Everything’s AWESOME” and “We’re TOTALLY ROCKIN’ now!” Well, yours truly isn’t feeling so awesome or rockin’. Since my birthday (which was good), I’ve been off-axis with a lot. Been questioning things more and more, trying to make sense of the nonsense in this world. Ultimately, I have to do two things…

Focus on teaching which is going extremely well. I have about 30 students spread out over six days. Each one is different, which keeps me from stagnating.

The second is getting a new kitten.

HUH?

Yep, after a few years of being the sole cat, Linus has a new friend named Lyra. Right now, they are avoiding each other, as to be expected. Some hissing, some swatting (nothing bad though), and a lot of hiding! Lyra is a few weeks old, very soft and is quiet (?!) Hardly hear her and when you do, it’s the softest meow. She likes to crawl behind the couch, will come out tentatively, and then dart back. That’s okay, she’s getting used to new sounds, sights, and smells. And of course getting used to Linus, when he feels like coming around.

So while I’m not feeling rather festive or ebullient because of the impending winter season, at least I will be entertained by our new furball. And yes, Prince Linus is still the king.

He’ makes sure of that 🙂

Will you still need me…when I’m 54?

I think that’s what The Beatles said?

Yesterday I turned 54 years old (Nov 2) and I don’t feel a day over 70. In all seriousness, I am proud of advancing in age. Some people sadly never made it to 30 or even 40, so this is what you young people call a “milestone”.

I received many nice birthday greetings and more are coming through. It’s nice when people take the few seconds to reach out, always a good feeling.

Last night after dinner, I saw a cool story posted by Don Jamieson (THAT METAL SHOW) and of course had to share it all over the place. He seems to dig my strange guitar work so no complaints here! As busy as he is, knowing that he took the time to listen to my new album ACT NATURAL is another one of those “pinch me” moments. So as you see above, I took a screenshot and am letting the bragging rights kick in.

BTW: The gig I did last weekend with Evolution was cool, the vibes were nice at Barrel 28 (Florida, NY). And as I always say, expected the unexpected. One song that was not on the set list yet some ladies requested was Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like A Woman.” I learned it on the spot.

Because that’s how I roll.

Feels like an eternity since I wrote something.

But you enjoyed the little hiatus 😉

I’m still rollin’ along, promoting ACT NATURAL, which turned one month old yesterday. Down to 16 copies which is great. Didn’t beat out MOOD SWINGS for fastest-seller and that’s perfectly fine. Glad it moved so quickly in such a short period of time. “Nobody buys CDs anymore.”

I just shot that notion down.

Did three interviews over the course of a month, starting with Metal Mistress, then DJ JD, and just this past Saturday with Metal Maiden Vicki. All of them were a lot of fun, lots of laughs, lots of useless trivia (courtesy of yours truly). I have at least two more interviews pending so keep checking the UPCOMING EVENTS page.

Oh and I am going to perform soon?

Yes, this Saturday October 28 with the band Evolution at Barrel 28 (Florida, NY). I played with them back in March at Tony’s Pizza in Sparta and it was cool. I think this one will be better as I am more familiar with the songs. Couple of new ones I had to brush up on, and as I tell my students, “Play til you’re sick of it, that means you are doing it right.”

And while there will be no Rock Hard shows until 2024, I posted the dates and venues on the UPCOMING page anyway. (I am hoping Supernova needs me for a couple of gigs…hint hint!)

And what about my own music? I have to come clean: What I play does not make people run to the nearest club. Just a fact. I am not putting down my own stuff. If anything, I am super proud of it. But have to be realistic about things. If I do one show next year, fine. If not, I won’t lose sleep. While I am still shocked that I can put out a ninth album filled with crazy music and have it sell, I also know that if I said “Steve Bello is playing this club soon”…crickets. I was never part of any “scene” (and there is none). I’m definitely an island unto myself. Works best for me.

Now I need the Professor to build a radio out of coconuts.

Ever since ACT NATURAL was released on September 22, things went from zero to 150mph in seconds flat.

Not that I’m complaining!

Did a Q&A with DJ Metal Mistress last Wednesday and as always, lots of laughs were had by all. We seem to be good at improvising and taking the piss out of each other (in a nice way of course!) If you want to know my whereabouts in the coming weeks, you can head over the the UPCOMING EVENTS page to find out.

It’s easier than typing it all out here again!

But you will notice that I am Mr. Fill-In with various cover bands in the area. Hoping to get my own trio back in action if a show comes up but am in no madcap rush to do anything. Promoting the cd is my priority right now, and with the slew on interviews coming up, I want to be on my game.

Hope some of you can tune in to any of the Q&As coming up. And if you can swing by a cover gig, then cool.

Got more envelopes to stuff now…

Take a good look at that picture. History was made that day, October 4, 2003 to be precise.

I became “Ibanez artist endorser Steve Bello” that day.

There’s a LONG story as to how this happened but the short version is this: I helped Chris Broderick (then of Jag Panzer) get a deal with Ibanez by making one phone call. I didn’t expect anything to happen. And even though it did happen, I didn’t expect anything for me in return. I was 33 at the time, working in a music store (not the one pictured above), and my dreams of being a supposed guitar god were in the rear view mirror. But the guys at Ibanez had other plans.

They asked me “What guitar do you like?” and I said “The Steve Vai Universe” (seen above). When I received it, the rep Angelo asked me “Will you do clinics?” and I said SURE! Then he threw this at me: “You have any music to sell?” Guess I do now! Because of this, I made my first album TWISTED METAL in 9 hours w/drummer Darren Patrick (I played all the guitars and bass on it) and then was off to give my first-ever clinic at Rondo Music in Union, NJ. The store has long been defunct now.

After the clinic, I was told “You’re in!” In what? “You’re with Ibanez now as part of the team.” Really?! I was not signed, not touring, basically a nobody in music. Yet they got me in sideways, so to speak. (By today’s standards, I would NEVER stand a chance!) So in the blink of an eye, I went from feeling like hanging up my heavy metal hat to being an endorser with Ibanez guitars.

Twenty years on, I’m still pinching myself.

So I did a thing last Saturday night. I rocked hard with Rock Hard. Even though it was a fill-in gig, it was still awesome!

“Tell us the story, Steve!”

I was in the cover band Naked Glory with bassist Tom Tsilionis (far left in pic) and he left after I did. He re-started Rock Hard with some friends and singer Alana (you can guess who she is in the pic, right?) The drummer and bassist quit the week of the gig at Bardi’s in Pequannock. So I reached out to Tom, and he said “If I can find a drummer in time, the gig is yours.” He got James Bruno (with the cool goatee) and that was it. No rehearsals, no pressure, just loose fun with about 30 songs in front of a good crowd.

Yeah I like that.

We did songs by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Judas Priest, as well as some 90s stuff from Bush, Blur, Lit, and Hole. Threw in some Rob Zombie, Clutch, and Deep Purple too. Ah it was sweet!

As of now, I’m a hired gun for this band as my schedule is packed with teaching but am sure another gig will pop up soon enough. It felt great to crank out hard rock/heavy metal after doing party songs with other cover bands. I had fun with those bands too, but this stuff makes me sweat and swing my hair around. And I learned something about myself with this gig: I am not the most original guitarist around, but I am unique and creative, even when doing covers. I bring my A-game all the time. You won’t see a statue on stage.

On another note, copies of ACT NATURAL are moving faster now, which is terrific!! I plan on releasing two more videos before the year is over, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Do I “kill it” now?