After learning the secret handshake, wearing a fez and long robe, and doing the Hucklebuck…I am pleased to announce that Attacker bassist Brian Smith is on board for the next album and future live shows!

Early Xmas for me!

As you can see in the above pic, drummer Mike Sabatini (also of Attacker; he started the band in the early 80s!) is pleased as well. These two did a couple of shows this year and as I’ve always been saying, this is the most muscular-sounding line-up I’ve ever had. When you have two guys who live, eat, breathe and bleed metal, it’s going to make the music that much more powerful.

I had asked Brian back in September about the possibility of playing on the next album, as I honestly didn’t want to play bass on it. Just wanted to focus on guitar parts. He initially said he was humbled but that I should play bass on it. Okay fine. But recently he purchased a 5-string bass and said to me “Send the demos!” I sent him little videos of my riffs slowed down, and with that, we had our first proper rehearsal as a power trio for recording. I had no doubt that Brian could pull this off. We ran over the song a few times (three for now) and each time it was getting tighter and heavier.

He asked if I liked his little fills and riffs, and told him “You do what works, I trust you.” If there’s one thing I have always stressed since I started my career as an instrumental act, it’s that musicians need to be free to express themselves. Granted, I write the songs, have some ideas as to what the drums and bass can do. But these guys…wow! They blow past me and I have to catch up now! That’s always a good thing.

Can’t be complacent, right?

We have time off for the holidays but soon enough, we will get back together to power through these three songs again. If the universe lends a hand, there’s the possibility of more live shows in 2023. Right now, my main focus is the next album. Anything else after that is icing on an already sugary cake.

Like I need more sugar!

So without realizing it, this is blog #100. Whodathunkit?

Certainly not me.

Well, it’s only fitting since the topic I am going to write about will be one of raw emotions and unfiltered feelings. Pretty much how my life has always been…

I hit a brick wall last weekend (figuratively speaking) and while I will not go into any sordid details, it left me with this undeniable query of “Will I ever really fit anywhere?” Since as a child, I’ve grappled with feelings of fitting in/being accepted. Being in the music scene for so many years, there’s a lot of phoniness, many wolves in sheep’s clothing. Everyone pretends to like you while scheming some hidden agenda or ulterior motive. Outside of that, some people in general are just not good to be around. I’m not perfect, nowhere close. But I’ve always been transparent with my thoughts, which could scare people off. (So have my bad dad jokes and supposed ‘weird’ guitar playing, but we’ll get to that later…)

There are a lot of miserable people in the world. If you’re happy, they hate it. If you fall down, they either laugh at you, or pretend to be the hero by ‘saving’ you. Lots of low-key bullying in the world; and yes lots of very overt bullying as well. Have I hurt people? Sure. I never sabotaged anyone though. I think about all the musicians that I worked with, and they most likely have nothing nice to say about me, which is fine. I won’t sit here and act like I’m the Mother Teresa of metal. But as my friend Bob told me recently, “I don’t know anyone who is surrounded by jealousy as much as you.”

I went home Saturday night with pangs in my stomach. “Do I truly belong anywhere?” and “What does it mean to be liked?” crowded my brain as I was driving home, listening to Nevermore at blistering volumes. I may never fit anywhere in life, and just have to accept it for face value. Perhaps I do it to myself, because I’m a quirky, creative musician and human being, while some enjoy being pedestrian and generic. “You do you” seems to be the cliche of the moment, so to that I say, if someone is happy coasting through life, great. That will never be me. I may be content in some aspects of life but the universe will always find a way to remind me that I have miles to go before I can truly feel utter bliss.

Now about me being ‘weird’…

I am sick of saying that about myself. I am tired of people saying that word to me. Am I quirky/eccentric/artistic? Yes. True artists tend to isolate themselves, and in some ways, society isolates us. “You will never be one of us” is another mantra (and a damn good song by Nails). And am sure you are asking me “Why should you care at your age?” Yes I do care. One day, I hope to be so calloused and thick-skinned but for now, I am still a bundle of exposed nerves. That most likely lends itself to being creative and challenging myself.

As far as the real world, I just have to deal with the notion that fitting in is not part of the agenda. I was born to shine, to stand out. And if some people don’t like it, that’s on them. I won’t change my stripes, won’t bend to anyone’s will. If that makes me appear difficult, fine.

Oh and for the record, there is nothing wrong with me.

Except being true to myself.

I waited a couple of days to talk about last Sunday’s rehearsal. I know some of you are thinking “It’s rehearsal, what’s so exciting?”

I’ll tell you…

Mike and I worked on another new song, and so far this was the fastest a song came together! No, it’s not THE fastest song (that belongs to the tune we worked on two weeks ago) but this one flowed nicely. I was afraid the song was a bit too commercial-sounding but then realized that if my arm hairs stand up, it’s a keeper.

Mike plowed through the song like I’d never seen him do before. He exclaimed that he really likes this piece, along with the other songs, and that it’s the most up-tempo music I’ve written. He is right but it wasn’t planned that way. Some songs go back to Xmas 2021, and I guess because MOOD SWINGS was (and still is) selling nicely at the time, my own mood was positive. I always say that I write what feels good. These songs, so far, are proof.

Next Sunday will be a regular rehearsal, so no blog there (HA) But if the planets line up, will there be another surprise in store the following Sunday? Hmmm…

As for the pic above: Jimi Hendrix will always be the GOAT.

Period.

Well here we are, the end of the year. Yes, it’s early December but I say this every thing: “Where did the year go?” We all say that, right?

Anyway…

This has been one hell of a year for me. Started off with doing some shows with the cover band Naked Glory, and while those were fun, my heart obviously belongs to doing quirky instrumental music. So with that in mind, my trio played two killer shows this year. First one back in March for a benefit show, second one in July for Metalfest 7. Safe to say that my return to the stage (after saying ‘screw it’ in 2019) was a triumphant one. And when you have the rhythm section from Attacker next to you, there’s no such thing as mediocrity. I won’t allow it, and neither will Mike and Brian.

I didn’t win Male Album Of The Year with the ISSA but I walked away with an award for Instrumental Artist Of The Month back in October! So that was sweet vindication. Those who kept/keep saying “You need a singer”, I just proved that one is not needed. And I noticed some people got very quiet when I won…hmmm…

Also made a move to a new guitar cable company called Ampturco, based out of Scranton PA. People asked me “What happened with Spectraflex?” and the answer is simple: the owner retired, and I felt it was time to move on. I have nothing against him or the company at all. We had a great eight-year relationship but when I saw ads for Ampturco, I reached out to Anthony Turco and said “Hey I want to try your cables.” And soon after, he signed me up as an artist endorser in July. I am super pleased with the cables and have since helped other artists try them too.

Oh and I am working on album #9 with Mike Sabatini once again, as you know. And while this will be the ninth opus, it will be the first with TWO drummers on it. No, not like .38 Special or Grateful Dead, but rather one guest drummer in TC Tolliver (Plasmatics/TM Stevens). I was hoping to snag a bassist for the album but looks like I am taking one for the team 🙂 Mike and I have a couple of songs happening with obviously more coming soon. And like last time, we will rehearse (almost) every Sunday starting next year until we both agree it’s time to record. Mike is definitely stoked for the new songs, says they are more uptempo but still funky and metal. And that’s the name of the game: progressive funk metal.

Think I need to start a new trend: NWOPFM (New Wave Of Progressive Funk Metal). What do you think?

Thank you all for the tremendous support this year, as well as years prior. Let’s make 2023 a HUGE one, shall we?

I am ready!

Had yet another rollicking rehearsal today w/Mike at his studio (Bandmother Recording) and while we didn’t work on any more new songs (yet!), the two we went over are really coming together nicely.

Nicely? In metal?!

Despite today being rainy and blah, once we played the first tune, we got lost in the music. And isn’t that what it’s all about? We may be in our 50s but we’re still pounding away like teenagers. Our bodies don’t feel like that afterwards though!

We are ramping things up for sure though. Mike said “Send the next time and we’ll get to work on that.” I sent a third demo for him to check out, and am confident he will enjoy putting drums to it. He told me today that “Your last cd had cool slow grooves, this one has more uptempo stuff.” And he is right! There’s still groove, but because of his playing style, I am coming up with faster material (the other song we went over…wow! It’s 200bpm!) and my guess is that the passion is stronger than ever before.

This third song is definitely in vein of King’s X but also has some touches of maybe…I don’t know what! It’s a quick tune, was afraid it was too commercial but screw it! If it makes my arm hairs stand at attention, it goes on the album.

So we will most likely have two more rehearsals since Christmas and New Years fall on Sundays. If things go well, and they seem to be, we may start recording in May again like last time. Whatever happens, happens. No rushing, no pushing things. The music has to be organic, the vibes have to perfect.

In metal?

You bet!

Another rehearsal with Mike in the books. And yes, a calico buddy stopped by to visit before we began work.

Is there enough coffee?!

Worked on the first song we did and then tore into a new one. And I mean TORE! WOW! This is quite possibly the fastest song I ever wrote! The guitar-only demo that I sent Mike a couple of weeks ago was pretty quick but once we started playing, we left a trail of dust in our wake.

Mike plays in his own band called Attacker; well he started the band back in 1983. They play power/thrash/heavy metal so this tune should be a walk in the park for him, right? Well, he definitely played as if he was channeling his own band but since my music isn’t known for being so normal, there’s a nice twist in the middle that’s an obvious nod to Deep Purple (but the rest of the song is like early Metallica/Loudness…hang on to your hats!) As for me, I wrote the damn song and I couldn’t keep up?!

I ask again…IS THERE ENOUGH COFFEE???

We ripped through this song a few times, took a break, went back, played it some more, and then recorded a reference demo. Holy smokes, this is really fast (for me, at least). I always wanted my own “Fight Fire With Fire” and while that’s a lofty goal, I have to give it the ol’ college try.

My hair hurts!

Welcome to 53. Holy crap…

I am proud to advance in age. It’s better than the alternative. Yesterday I moved up a notch, closer to reaching the speed limit. And that’s sweet to me.

Here’s the kicker: The older I get, the more ambitious the music gets. You’d think I’d be adventurous when I was younger. I wrote some goofy stuff in my 20s but was never intended to be “Steve Bello: Solo Instrumentalist” but that changed in my 30s. And I wasn’t even trying. Somehow the music became more ‘serious’ yet still was (to quote Killer Keller) “fun guitar music”. Been listening to the two demos to get melodies happening, as well as bass lines. This will be the ninth album but the first with two drummers on it. I wrote about this one blog back, so if you subscribe, you know what referring to.

Next rehearsal with Mike will happen on November 13, work on the first tune we jammed to, and then hopefully another new one. If the planets line up, TC might record his drum parts sooner than later. And if more planets line up, then MAYBE this album will see sunlight early summer 2023. One can only hope.

Oh one more thing: To my surprise, I won the top spot for Instrumental Artist Of The Month with the ISSA! The public deemed me worthy enough to go to #1! I didn’t win Male Album Of The Year back in August, but this is just as awesome.

Now to find my walker…

Your eyes are not playing tricks on you again. But when I said there would be some interesting twists and turns pertaining to my next album, did you think I was kidding?

I hope not!

Yes, that is Plasmatics drummer TC Tolliver in the picture with yours truly. He will be guesting on one new song (don’t worry, Mike Sabatini is still doing the album). I drove down to TC’s place and the memories came flooding back. Last time we played together was back in September 2014, when we were rehearsed for the Germany tour w/bassist TM Stevens. Once I set up shop, we began work on the second song for the new album (Mike and I did the first one last weekend). After six run-throughs, we recorded a demo for reference. TC made a couple of small suggestions and I listened. Thankfully his little ideas worked, made the riffs funkier! Oh and when he said “I want it to be HEAVY”, there was no arm-twisting on my part 🙂

Afterwards, we talked about when he will come up to Bandmother Recording to lay down his tracks. (Oh, Mike is VERY excited to have him come up!!) Since there’s no rush to get things done, whenever our schedules line up, then we will forge ahead.

Never underestimate Steve Bello, okay? 😉

Do you know how difficult it is to keep quiet when you’re excited like a kid at Xmas morning? I have learned the art of admirable restraint (thanks to Bill Bruford) over time.

‘Twas not easy though!

But as you can see by the above photo, drummer/engineer Mike Sabatini and I met up at Bandmother Recording in lovely Jersey City, NJ. We didn’t have a coffee clutch but we did start pre-production on the ninth album.

You read that right.

We started with one new song, it will be the title track (that’s all you get out of me). Ran through it maybe six times, just to get the parts together. Mike has a great ear for these things. He doesn’t just spew all over the songs (he will for fun though, just to get a laugh out of me). We locked in really quickly, which was no surprise. As I always say, I write what feels good. The main riff goes from 4/4 to 7/8; the “breakdown” (for all you hardcore kids out there) goes from 3/4 to 7/8. And yet it still has GROOVE and ATTITUDE!

I have more songs of course but won’t send everything to Mike…yet 😉

So almost a week after I surprised people with a new single, this happened…

“Pieces Of Light” debuted at #9 today in Australia.

Don’t ask me how!

I have sent this song to various stations, and while a couple have played it, a few said “It’s WAY different, but doesn’t fit our format.” HUH!? I thought my heavy music wouldn’t but this is definitely a first. One station very nicely said “It’s VERY chill, but we can’t play it.” I am fine with that.

But how it got to Australia is beyond me because I never sent them this song.

So this afternoon, when I saw the post on their Facebook page (which I did a screenshot above), it startled me. That’s not easy to do.

Fear not…when rehearsals start up for my ninth album, it will be HEAVY of course, with tons of groove and attitude.

And maybe a chill song 😉