If you told me last year that I would have a new album out, a new signature pick, rehearsals with two bands and another guitar in 2021, I would have said “Really, dude?”

But what a difference a year makes.

In this picture, I am holding an Ibanez Mikro, which is a short-scale guitar that is a great travel guitar for when I teach. And don’t be fooled, this thing RIPS! Has a great variety of sounds. And…it’s PURPLE! I had a full-sized purple RG years ago when I played with TM Stevens but sold that because I needed the money. This little axe jumped out at me two weeks ago, so I slapped some cash on it to make sure nobody else walked home with it. Picked it up on Black Friday (I don’t miss retail one bit!) and threw on some new GHS Strings. Set the neck up, and it plays like butter. What a fantastic little machine!

I will be winding down rehearsals soon as the holidays are upon us. Got one more with my trio, and we will pick back up on January 2nd. Hoping to land a March 2022 show, see how things play out. As for Naked Glory, there’s two more before the Dec 11 show in Jackson. After that, the band have gigs with their own guitarists, so I get to hang back. But I am on-call in case someone can’t do a gig.

As you can see, my life (and basically everyone else’s) has gone from zero to 100mph in one fell swoop. Only now I pace myself better. No more being in 65 places at once and even better, no more being stuck behind a desk, being bored out of my mind.

I don’t miss sales at all.

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I can finally announce that a new endorsement deal happened as of November 12, 2021. I am now a signature artist with Pick Guy, Inc. based out of Detroit, Michigan!

After many years with another pick brand, it was time to move forward. I chat with Carson Randolph, the owner of Pick Guy, and he was very receptive to my having a signature Steve Bello pick. As you can see in the two photos, my image is on one side, and my actual autograph is on the other. The only change I had to make was the size. It’s slightly larger than what I was using but I adapted quickly.

And the best part? It glows in the dark!

These picks are not for sale through the company but if anyone is interested, I am allowed to sell my “inventory”, if you will. I got to put this pick through its paces tonight at a Naked Glory rehearsal and while it was strange to use a slightly bigger pick, it felt very natural after a few minutes. When I have rehearsal this Sunday with my trio, then I will really do some major shredding with it.

So, there you go! I finally have a signature pick.

Dig in!

Another year around the sun…I am now a 52-year-old dude and proud of it. My birthday was November 2nd but am still continuing the festivities.

I’m allowed to!

Got to spend time with family, which is most important. Gave myself a bit of a break from teaching and rehearsing, both things I enjoy doing but sometimes the body and soul needs a bit of recharging. Seeing cousins always helps too, good times had by all. And yes, my cousin Alicia got me a cool Iron Maiden mug…time to put my foot on the monitor.

Back even though I am still celebrating, it’s back to reality. Not that I mind because I’m doing things I enjoy. Got rehearsal with Naked Glory this Friday and they have TWO shows coming up so this will be exciting. As for my trio, we will isolate ourselves from the world this Sunday. No shows yet but there’s no rush to get back out there. I want this done right. If gigs happen in March 2022, fine with me.

Unless Judas Priest needs an opener 😉

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The unthinkable happened last night.

I pulled my gear out of the basement and stood in front of people. And played. And life was good.

After a few rehearsals, it was time for Naked Glory to take the stage (well, the floor) and bust out 30 songs over three sets. Started off mellow, ramped it up in the second set and then knocked everything out of the park. Many patrons showed up and danced. And there was much applause.

I may never wash these ears again.

My thanks to the band for letting me make a fool of myself and get away with it. There is another show coming up with them, and yes I will be filling in again. But I can’t say much else.

However, my band will start up rehearsals again on Nov 7.

Am I coming back? I think so.

I got to breathe yesterday. Once. Today was back to busy mode and no complaints here!

Did an interview at BulletProof Music Studios in Hazlet, NJ to continue promoting my new cd MOOD SWINGS. Michael Sabatini joined me, as he was asked to be interviewed as well, so that worked out fine. Doing the questioning was my friend Steven Keller, along with other hosts. Was a lot of fun, lots of laughs, talked about the new cd of course. Also gave Mike the floor to talk about his band Attacker, as well as his recording studio, Bandmother Recording. Cross-promoting definitely helps, and I think more rock musicians should do it. You see rappers do it all the time to great success.

After the Q&A, I was asked to play a 4-minute guitar solo (!!) and so I made as many noises as possible. Definitely cool! And then Franco Frassetti set up a photo shoot for me. He took the pic above when I opened for Lita Ford the second time at Starland Ballroom in 2018. And what’s even cooler is that this pic is on the Ibanez website! Anyway…he did some photos of me with my trusty Pinkie 7-string. Was a productive but fun day!

What’s next? Right now, one more rehearsal with Naked Glory before the Oct 30 show. More rehearsals with my trio starting up November 7th. Another phone interview on November 3rd, this time with Debbie Mazella at Magic 98.3 FM. Even though her station doesn’t play hard rock, she can still do a podcast as in the past (hey, I rapped!) I hope to score more interviews soon, but while it’s awesome doing them for radio, being in PRINT would be way cool too!!

Any press is good press!

If you felt the Earth tilt off its axis earlier this afternoon, now you know why…

If I want something done right, like get back on stage in 2022, this is how its done! The rhythm section of the metal band Attacker will be pounding the songs out (and how!!) We had our first rehearsal today at Bandmother Recording in Jersey City, NJ and it was definitely loud and heavy!! You all know that drummer Michael Sabatini played on the album, as well as engineered and mixed it. Now you can say hello to his bass player Brian Smith.

We did four songs off the new cd MOOD SWINGS, and we will do four songs from past albums since I seem to have a decent catalog. If we can land a hot gig in January or February 2022, then great! Attacker will also be working on music for their new album while this is happening.

Suddenly I am the outcast for having hair?!

October is shaping up to be a very busy month. Ever since my new cd MOOD SWINGS came out on August 25th (that long ago?!), my life has been in hyperdrive. Not complaining at all, but at least today I get a bit of a breather.

Inhale, exhale!

The trio of interviews that I did for WRAT 95.9 were great! Short but sweet, talked about the new album, played a different song each night. Started with “Never Be The Sane”, followed by “Stranded On Pluto” and then had to throw a zinger with “Force Quit”. Hoping people tuned in and some sales come of it.

Next I receive news from Distrokid that my song “Never Be The Sane” won a spot on their Spotify Metal Playlist! Those who took the time to vote, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

And as you see above, I will be doing another Q&A on Saturday October 9th with my friend/host Metal Maiden Vicki on her Metal Euphoria show. This will be the 8th interview…for my 8th album…on the 9th. OOPS! Numerology didn’t work out here 🙂 But we always have a blast!

More rehearsals coming with the band Naked Glory, been tightening things up on my end. Going over songs from bands such as Deep Purple, The Cars, ZZ Top, and Pink Floyd, among others. Oct 30 will be here soon enough so I want to be ready!

Oh and…is there something else?

You’ll have to wait and see…

It was a high holy day when the UPS truck showed up last night. I was out teaching but still knew that when I arrived home, a package would be waiting for me.

And here it is!

The second batch of MOOD SWINGS cds has arrived, and orders are going out the door. As I said previously, this is without question the fastest-selling album in my catalog. GO BERZERK! was a good mover too back in 2011 but this steals the show. Considering how slow my last cd MARBLEHEAD moved, this is a welcome change of scenery.

I realize that I’m placing almost too much emphasis on how much something sells but keep in mind that I am proud of my music, first and foremost. Yet we musicians are fragile creatures, and we want to see our hard work pay off. Nothing worse than putting your heart into something (unless the only thing you care about is money) and having it blend with the furniture.

More interviews are happening, so you can check out what’s going on over at the UPCOMING EVENTS page. Also, more rehearsals with Naked Glory are coming up since the gig is October 30th. And…wait…something else?

You’re just going to have to wait a bit longer.

The Ibanez RG7420MC 7-string, affectionately known as Pinkie (thanks to my daughter), got a make-over today at the Ibanez warehouse in Bensalem, PA.

This looks almost brand-new now!!

Their tech Mike really knows how to work his mojo! He serviced my Universe 7 back in 2019, and he’s done work on guitars for artists such as Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Tom Martini, and the like. His attention to detail is truly amazing. Things we can’t see he zeroes in on with laser precision.

Pinkie got the bridge and pickups cleaned up (they look new!) as well as installing new volume/tone pots and a new pickup selector. Fixed the next, put on new strings, adjusted the saddles, and you’d think this guitar came off the rack this morning. IT’S THAT GOOD!

I can’t play it for a day because the glue is settling in on one side of the bridge. Otherwise, it’s good to go. And I got to take a nice scenic road trip there, so win/win.

But the Philadelphia Mills mall was DEAD! Oh man…

As of a few minutes ago, the 100th copy of MOOD SWINGS just sold.

I’m a sellout!!

More copies are coming, but you can still order through this link:

MOOD SWINGS CD

And since the arrival of the second wave won’t get here until Sept 23-28, I will send free downloads of the new album while you wait for your signed hard copy.

Break out the Mountain Dew!