Yes I sent out a blog two days ago so forgive me here.

This will be quick…kinda.

On this date back in 2014, I signed a deal and became an official artist endorser/ambassador for Orange Amplifiers! Ten years…wow! And to think it all started when my daughter Emma played an Ibanez RG through an Orange Rockerverb 50 at Alto Music in 2013.

Yes, that is a very true story which I will rehash at a later time.

For now, I shall bask in this moment 🙂

Things come and go in our lives. Family, friends, guitar effects…huh?

It’s all coming back to me now.

Three years ago, right after the lockdowns were lifted, I went to the now-demolished Sam Ash on Route 4. They had a used pedal display case and a purple wah caught my eye. Never heard of this brand (oh but again, how things find me!) so I asked to try it out. I really liked it, so I bought it. And then of course the gods (well, maybe Jimi Hendrix) put another wah pedal back in my life: Ibanez Weeping Demon. So I gave the purple wah to a student, thinking “I don’t need this anymore.”

Cut to late last year and I order some pedals from this company called Caline through Amazon. Wait…they make this purple wah! Would my student let me have it back? I had to ask, no shame in doing so. He said, “I never used it, so you can take it.” BAM! Put the pedal on The Fly (the name I gave my fly rig) and those throaty funky sounds came through my Orange amp with such elegance and coolness!

I still have the Weeping Demon on the Behemoth board but I plan on re-doing that one soon. I have NO intention of parting with the WD pedal but rather might put the Dunlop mini Hendrix wah on there. Unless I become a huge guitar god (YEAH RIGHT), I won’t have roadies. So I don’t feel like lugging heavy stuff anymore.

I made two demo videos on YouTube so check them out when you wish.

And on a slightly more serious note: I may deep six this website at the end of the month. Honestly, I’m putting money into something that isn’t getting much attention unless I post about buying my music. Even with these blogs, I rarely get any likes or comments. Algorithms on social media bury website links so you can’t jump off their own sites. I miss the days of MySpace when musicians had it easy.

Did I just date myself?

Yep.

Well I went ahead and did it…

I put my first two albums on various streaming sites through DistroKid. I honestly held back for the longest time. Yes, I put these albums on my Bandcamp page as I felt that was the right thing to do.

So why the change of heart? I figured WHY NOT!

These cds have been requested over the years and I was very hesitant to reissue them. Listening to these albums brought back a lot of great memories but I refuse to wallow in the past. I still maintain that these two albums will be up for a limited time. I don’t have any plans on reissuing any more past releases.

So enjoy these while I feel like keeping them up 🙂

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.

Again I ask…I’m 54, right?

“I’d like to thank…”

I need to practice my speech if I win, right?

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.”

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 🙂