Life has a funny way of reminding you that you can get complacent. The universe put me to the test this week (it’s not all bad, don’t worry).
But Christmas continues!
Had another flood in the basement, due to pounding rain and causing the snow to melt (which I like…yet I didn’t want it down here!) Thankfully all my gear were safe, nothing damaged, and yes the cats are fine. However, my laptop of nine years crapped out. Guess it was a sign to finally get a new one.
Headed over to Best Buy and treated myself to a new HP Envy x360. And it was at a reduced price! Got home, set it up, and it was lightning fast! Yeah, I like that. And you know what else I like?
New pedals!
I’ve been chatting with Steve at Caline and he is pleased that I am pleased (say that five times fast) with the brand. I received two more yesterday: Killer Shark boost pedal, and Chamecho analog delay. Will put them on my new fly rig which I call The Fly and debut these new noisemakers on Saturday with Rock Hard.
Was nice to receive an email with this graphic above stating that ACT NATURAL has been nominated for Male Album Of The Year. And not only that, the song “Walk Through Lightning” is up for Male Single Of The Year. (But I’m not a single male…har-har-har…)
If you may recall, my last album MOOD SWINGS as well as the song “Never Be The Sane” were nominated in 2022. The album made it to the finals, the single didn’t (which is okay). And while it was THISCLOSE, the album didn’t win gold/silver/bronze awards. But the gods granted me an award on my birthday for Best Instrumental Artist.
Nice work if I can get it.
The single “Pieces Of Light” was nominated in 2023 but didn’t make it to the finals. Again, totally fine. But this time…I want to take home a nice award to show off 🙂
Voting from the public doesn’t open until April 2. After all, if one or the other (or both) make it to the finals, then the judges decide. I create music that makes me feel good, and if others like it, even better. And when awards are involved, yes it’s nice to be noticed.
As the late great Neil Peart once said, “It’s kind of a big deal.”
Caline ORCA chorus and PARROT delayPosing with a Mooer E-Lady flanger…matches my eyes.
Happy 2024 to all of you! And what better way to start the new year off than acquiring new noisemakers.
What’s my age again?
Some of my students gave me Amazon gift cards so of course I went on the hunt to find something cool. Do I want new sneakers? Apparently size 9 no longer exists. Do I want a new rock/metal shirt? Nah…nothing excited me. But what do I stumble upon that catches my eye?
Funky-looking pedals!!
I am familiar with the Caline brand, but these pedals really got my attention (score one for marketing!) So naturally I went to YouTube to listen, and I was into the sounds. Now granted, nothing beats trying them out first-hand but no stores have them?! So I ordered the Orca chorus and Parrot delay. Received them three days later (score one for free shipping!)
Plugged them in last night, just to do a quick test run. Yeah I really like the sounds. Plus these pedals are built really solid, metal encasing, sturdy footswitch…man, I am such a geek! Now why did I get these aside from their awesomeness?
I decided to purchase a new Pedaltrain Metro 16 board and build a fly rig. That’s a smaller pedalboard so I can transport it easier, plus a lot of stages (and floors) have little or no more to breathe, let alone set up my other behemoth board. So this will come in handy. I have had extra mini-pedals stored away for such a thing: Dunlop mini Hendrix wah, EH mini Small Stone phaser, Kokko mini Univibe, and Delta Lab digital delay (I may or may not have this on the board, see how things pan out.)
**Fun fact: I used those four pedals on the new album ACT NATURAL!
But there’s another tiny pedal shown above that I did not get on Amazon. Saw it at Guitar Center used and had to get it (I love buying pre-owned gear). I was very familiar with the brand Mooer as bassist Chris Davison, who played on my cd MARBLEHEAD, has a deal with them. Again, smaller pedals have been in fashion for years and I’m finally hopping on the train.
I purchased a Mooer E-Lady flanger and yeah I like the tones. (Those who are Hendrix fans will know what E-Lady means.) Now that I have really cool small pedals, I can get to work on the fly rig, just in time for the Rock Hard gig next Saturday! I am sure singer Alana will be pleased to have more room to move, as there won’t be a giant board eating up real estate.
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!
Aurora Strings and Ampturco Cables make my hair fluffy.
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…
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.
Prince Linus is still the king……but say hello to Lyra!
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.
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.
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.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR 7-STRING GUITARIST STEVE BELLO 
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