Stephen Monroe
Traveling at the Speed of Steve
© 2004 Stephen Monroe Johnson (634479125096)
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Boogie, Ballads and Blues meet Rock-n-Roll
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Stephen Monroe (born Stephen Monroe Johnson) is a native Nebraskan singer, writer and guitar player. A self taught musician proficient on acoustic, electric, bass, lead and slide guitars. His music is a melting pot of all the great music that has graced his life; the drive of electrified blues, the passion of a heart wrenching ballad, rock-n-roll in all it's splendor, stories in a song. All these make music exciting everyday.
The beginning is the foundation for today. Stephen's two older brothers (Tom and David) were in a band and took him to all their practices and gigs while he was still a young teenager. His first performance on a stage
was when he filled in on the drums while the band's drummer got up front and wooed the girls. Later, he picked up his brother's bass guitar and started playing. For the next several years Stephen's musical entity would be a pounding, rock-n-roll bass player and singer, starting right out of high school. At the same time, he was learning the traditional guitar and started turning his poetry into songs. There developed two sides to his musical persona, the rock-n-roll bass player and the finger picking, slide playing minstrel in his buddies living rooms. Establishing once and for all his musical dichotomy.
As time went on the acoustic playing writer would take over center stage in Stephen's musical assent. Several of his tunes had gotten into the playing lists of the bands he was in and two had been recorded on Big Dog Records (Drive it Home and Waitin' for My Train), but the thrill was gone.
He cut his solo teeth at the local coffee houses and at church, where he started writing in a more introspective and self exploratory fashion. His relationship with his minister would be the catalyst for what he is today.
So in an age of karoke sincerity, Stephen Monroe emerges with a passion born from the power of music's past and full of the future. He plays and sings with an intensity few can maintain and has more fun than is allowable by law in several of these United States. Stephen Monroe, a solo artist, a guitar player, a singer and writer of songs plays for YOU and wants you to feel good about spending your time with him. You can trust him to give you all he's got to entertain you and wants you to leave with one thought.......WHEN CAN WE DO IT AGAIN!
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Have Guitar Will Travel
author: Michael CanterWhat would you get if you took some good, old-timin' delta blues and spiced it up with just a hint of jazz and uptempo blues, (and hell, I believe I even heard a little scat) and threw in a dash of nostalgia with a whole lot of modern production? That my friends, is the recipe for Stephen Monroe's CD release Traveling At The Speed Of Steve. Stephen is old school blues - the guy who loads up the trunk with just his guitar and hundreds of copies of his CD and then hits the circuit, barnstorming watering spots and juke joints, sharing his life in song and drink, a buddy with which to drown your sorrows with or just hang. The music here is a wonderfully charming bit of mostly acoustic roots music with a groove somewhere between Delta Blues and Chicago Blues, though Stephen hails from neither Mississippi nor Chicago. With a minimalist approach to instrumentation (acoustic guitar, some hand claps, limited percussion ), the focus on each song is mostly on Monroe's lyrics and singing. It's mostly old-school to be sure ---- but there is a certain '60s sensibility at work here. A looseness of feel, perhaps, or a kind of a hippie vibe. Maybe it's just the sense of possibility arising from the loosening of any real stylistic restrictions: that the music can be whatever the listener wants it to be. Standout tracks are Bluz Get Away, Waitin' For My Train, Sorry I Lost Control and Lovin' Man which has a edgy, rockabilly bite to it. The CD is bargain at CD Baby, selling for a measly FIVE BUCKS. And, given this effort's wonderful sense of magic, the combination of strong songs, stellar playing and rousing spirit makes Traveling At The Speed Of Steve one of those rare discs that never quite leaves your CD player.
worth your time
author: joyceThis is the one CD I keep in my car at all times- often have to find out who "borrowed" it to get it back!
Upbeat straight up one on one rockin blues from Mister Monroe
author: Mark Lush - Midwestbands.comMusicianship – 8 out of 10 Stephen Monroe is a talented Blues Singer/Songwriter. His focus is not on the Delta Blues or the Texas Blues; rather, he creates music that has more of a jazzy feel, represented in the sounds of legends from the 1930’s and 1940’s like Louis Armstrong (his vocals sound most like Armstrong’s). That isn’t his defining sound, by any means, though. He also plays a more up-tempo sort of blues that I really enjoyed! He plays it with a lot of feeling, and that is what impressed me. The other thing that impressed me was the fact that this CD is 99.9% Stephen Monroe. He simply plays guitar and sings, and lets the magic of his musical ability happen. There are auxiliary sounds, like hand claps and other percussion sounds done by others that lend a feeling of quality to the project, but the majority of the load is carried by Stephen himself. He plays interesting guitar lines, and has a really interesting voice; both good qualities to have! Songwriting – 8.5 out of 10 Much of the strength that supports this project is found in Stephen’s songwriting abilities. I especially like the first 3 songs on the CD, because I think that they show the wit and the depth of experience that Mr. Monroe possesses. The other four songs are good, too; don’t get me wrong! Each song has strong lyrics, and are supported by his excellent solo guitar work (for an example, check out my two favorite songs, 'Bluz Get Away' and 'Smitten & Resigned'). At times, the melody lines of the vocal tracks could use a little more variety, but even with that minor flaw, there is a lot of strong evidence to support the fact that Stephen Monroe knows his way around writing a song! Sound Quality/Professionalism – 8 out of 10 The sound was great on this CD! I had the feeling that I was hearing him perform live in a nice, rustic coffee house or bar and grill. He projects a lot of charisma in the way he has recorded these songs, and in doing so, makes me think his live set would be a very cool experience! I’m happy that he chose to make a CD that showcased his abilities as a solo artist. I don’t think I would have reacted as positively if he had chosen to do it any other way!