The Art Steele Blues Band - Ten Times As Live (Repost) (1991)

Meet Art Steele - (from a 1996 interview with Donnie Moorehouse for BLUESWIRE magazine.)

Art Steele looks remarkably young for a man who been on this earth for 43 years, many of which have been on the road. His outlook is fresh, his demeanor vibrant, and his expression almost childlike as he discusses his latest axe, a 1937 Epiphone hollow body. The finish on the guitar is worn from years of sweat and blood playing. The tall, angular musician cradles the instrument in his hands as he talks about how it called to him from the back of a music store. There are no numbers on the volume control," he points Out. Just `soft, medium, or loud.' And the tone button reads mellow, normal, or brilliant. It always tends to be towards loud and brilliant."
Steele's indoctrination to the blues began in the 60's after listening to Savoy Brown and John Mayall. After seeking out the source of that music he found himself enraptured with the likes of A]bert King and Earl Hooker. "1 like the stuff with a little more edge, he says. But I don't believe in patterning myself after someone else. I think the highest praise you can give to the music is what part of yourself that you bring to it." Steele formed his first band solely for the purpose of learning how to play lead guitar. His approach to the instrument and the genre is grounded in one basic tenet which he recites as if it were his creed.
"Honesty," he says with unbridled conviction. You know how some things will have that USDA stamp of approval 7 You'll never get that in the blues unless your dead-on honest. It doesn't have to do with chops. It has to do with whether or not people believe what your playing. If you're predictable, and your playing cliches, then there has been a lapse in your honesty.
As a white guitar player in a medium that was born out of the black experience, Steele is likely to raise some red flags among sceptics when he talks about honesty and experience." But Steele has an answer for those naysayers, one that is delivered with sincerity and passion Blues is not rated on color it is rated on power, he replies without missing a beat. The form was a gift of the black experience. It should be cherished and disseminated as widely as possible. It's authenticity will be determined by the listeners." Steele continues, speaking as if complete awareness is were the only acceptable goal. "Part of playing the blues is knowing where it caine from and then taking it beyond that What the music demands is that you change it everytirne. You acknowledge the history, respect the origin, and play the reality."
Steele has invested a great deal of time studying the origins of the blues He spent two years as an archivist for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington,D .C., recording seminars on blues music and hanging out with the likes of Memphis Slim, and B.B. King. "The seminars were responsible for bringing blues scholars and the purveyors of the blues together in the same room," he said. "It was a great experience, being there as B .B. King explained his technique in front of these people. He talked about playing to the chord in front of the one that was being heard, and in effect, building a bridge to the next chord. These are things that I knew on a very visceral level, but to hear him talk about it is amazing"
The Art Steele Band has undergone several variations through the years and the current roster includes blues veterans Shelton Laster on keyboards and Billy Arnold on drums, and Greg Lent playing horns. The band has been popping up around town as a trio of late, playing with keyboards and drums, and Steele himself has been known to do the odd `unplugged "performance. ` There is something universal about efficiency," says Steele in an effort to explain the occasional downsizing. "There are situations where being in a band is like a gas guzzling car," he said. "There may be a certain power to an 8 cylinder but you have to decide if you can get where your going in a 4 cylinder.'
With Laster and Arnold chugging along like a south bound Elkhorn Special, Steele's analogy is flattened like a coin on a rail. Playing a mid-week show at the Roadhouse in western Mass, the two players sound utterly orchestral as they course through blues standards, setting Steele up for his lead. Taking his cue, Steele steps off the small stage, walks directly up to a table, and spills the history, origins, and a little of himself right into their laps.
"My learning crucible has always been playing in front of people," he says. "I didn't learn how to play guitar by locking myself in a room for five years. I learned by locking myself in a club thll of people. You take the risk and expose yourself and ask them to take it or leave it. MI the while, you're hoping that they take it."
"Blues is testimony. he continues. When your playing, you are the authority on how you feel and what you believe and no one can discount that. You put out your voice and say this is me No apologies.
Steele took the same approach to the only recording he has released to date, a live CD entitled Ten Times As Live. Recorded at various regional clubs, the CD is another example of the guitarists basic philosophy. I wanted a record that could be played over and over without being predictable, he said. " I wasnt overly concerned with the mix or the precision as I was about the emotional feel To me that was more important than the sound quality. My mission is to make the music evocative, not derivative," he said. Most blues bands state the blues when they play, we want to use the blues to state what we are feeling. We want to be rooted in the art and magic of the music rather than the science.'
Steele begins to play the orphaned Epiphone that he rescued from that music store seven years ago. The stage lights reflect off of a small silver plate at the center of the guitar, a piece of cosmetic electroplating, used to cover a hole made when the pick up was moved. The legend that is emblazoned across the plate, bordered by lighting bolts and bouyed by a rising sun, reads Magic Electro. He winks at his visitor to assure that the significance is not overlooked. Its an amazing piece, Steele says. Its all I play.