Eye on the Skye - The Official Stëv Skye Fan Site

Jason Gerardo 108 Beads featuring Stev Skye

Nov 25, 2010 Stëv Skye

I know, I know. It has been a while. My eye has been on the Skye all this time, I swear, but Stev has switched hats a few times over the past several months, from working on his own music to helping others with theirs (and lots of other stuff). One person he has been working with is Jason Gerardo.

Who is this Jason Gerardo guy? Well, Jason Gerardo–we’ll call him Jason for short–is a local (Phoenix area) singer and songwriter. He’s got a voice that could easily front a rock band. Or he could bring it down a few notches and do more acoustic/laid back songs. I know Jason’s a fan of Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, so I’ll throw that name out there as a frame of reference, just so you get an idea.

In fact, if Jason were to load up on flannel shirts and grow his hair out a bit, he could almost look like Eddie Vedder if he wanted to. But that’s neither here nor there.

108 Beads
Jason and Stev collaborated on Jason’s first album, called 108 Beads. Stev helped Jason to re-arrange the songs that Jason had written, but he also played the instruments and did all the recording and sound engineering in the EPS-Skye Studios as well.

The album features Jason on vocals backed by Stev’s acoustic guitar. There is one song, “Until Right Now”, which features a whole band full of instruments, all played by Stev, all at the same time. OK, not 100% true, but Stev did play all the instruments, including his trusty Strat, and wove them all together seamlessly with his magical software and editing equipment.

I dig “Until Right Now” a lot, but I think “Wake Up” is the one that gets stuck in my head most often, which subconsciously makes it my favorite song off the album whether I like it or not. All-in-all, it’s a great listen. It’s raw music with a lot of heart and soul and you can hear all the tracks, plus the latest single from the dynamic duo of Gerardo/Skye called “More Than Fine,” if you click on over to Jason Gerardo’s official Internet headquarters (www.jasongerardo.com).

Tags: 108 Beads, Fender Stratocaster, Jason Gerardo, stev skye, Stev Skye Studio

Two Degrees of Separation

Mar 17, 2010 Guitar & Gear

What do Stev Skye and David Gilmour have in common?

Well, lots of things. Both play guitar. Both prefer Fender Stratocasters. Both have home studios.

Both have a Neve console in their home studios. David Gilmour’s Neve sound board is in his famous house boat studio, the Astoria, which is where the interview with him (above) took place.

Unfortunately, Stev was having some issues with his Neve lately.

And here’s where it gets really, really interesting. . .

To get it all ironed out, a man named Robin Porter came out to have a look at the Neve console in Stev’s studio. Robin Porter is the guy who actually designed the board that Stev has in his studio. He’s also the guy who added a similar Neve console to the Astoria studio so that David Gilmour could capture his epic sounds in all their splendor.

Having Robin Porter come out to fix your Neve is pretty much like having Carroll Shelby come out to have a look under the hood of your Shelby Cobra, should you be one of the fortunate few to own one.

It’s epic in its own right, in fact.

The good news is that the Stev Neve (hey, that rhymes!) is up and running now thanks to Robin and actual music is being recorded with it at long last. That also means we’re getting things rolling again here at Eye On The Skye, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here’s another look at the Astoria studio, with a bit of Shakespeare, Gilmour style. . .

Tags: David Gilmour, Fender Stratocaster, Neve, stev skye, Stev Skye Studio

In the Stev Skye Studio

Dec 22, 2009 Stev Skye Songs

I posted “Live from the Studio” the other night (December 14, 2009) just because I was actually at Stev’s studio for the first time and it seemed like a fun thing to do to mark the event. Although most of this won’t mean much to anyone at the moment (you kinda had to be there), the evening had some cool tidbits and interesting discussions that will be pretty interesting to reflect upon at some point in the future. As they say, “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life,” (pretty sure I heard that quote in a movie like Casablanca and/or a Pink Floyd song, or both).

For me, it was a chance to see the band in action, to see the studio firsthand and to get a taste of what’s to come in terms of the stage performance and new tunes the guys are working on now. What follows are my notes about what I saw and heard, including me trying to log each of the songs they played, as they played them.

From the studio on December 14, 2009:
Before we went over to the studio, Grammy made us some killer stuffed peppers. Grammy can cook like Stev can play the guitar. Damn fine eatin’! It’s just Jeff and Stev armed with musical instruments tonight – no bass guitar since Connor had some other stuff going on tonight and couldn’t be here. Robert’s back there on the sound board making damn sure I’ll have the rock-n-roll ringin’ in my ears in the morning (if not sooner)! I’m front and center here on the studio couch with my laptop ready to go.

Robert running the sound in the Stev Skye Studio

Stev and Jeff agree to do a run-through of their full set. Listed below is what they played. I added some random thoughts and notes next to the song names as they were playing and while we were talking. This all happened live, so it’s not totally complete, but you’ll get the gist!

They play:
1. (Let Me Stand Next to Your) Fire – Sweet F(profanity)ing solo! This time Stev’s playin’ Jimi Hendrix for real!
2. CalifornIA

After a couple songs, I happened to look over at that lonely bass guitar just sitting there on its stand as the guys decided to abort the full set run-through. Stev and Jeff both agreed that the sound was incomplete without the bass. I thought they were kicking ass, but WTF do I know!?!? Had I the ability to actually play a bass, even a little bit, I’d go up and give them the bassist bailout they so desperately want tonight!

Anyway, they decide to move on to practicing some of the newest material. After all, as Robert said, “We are professionals!”

Indeed they are, and so the show must go on!

3. Little Wing – Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And did I mention this is one of my all-time favorite songs? I did sense the bass missing on this one later in the song, but Jeff and Stev still killed it. It probably helps that I love this song unconditionally!
4. Caution (new track) – Good solid rock jam.
5. Opposites (brand spankin’ new track) – Stev says this one’s “like three days old”. . .Good, fast intro, heavy drumming and an overall upbeat tune with distinct transitions.
6. New Track (“Coexistence” is the working title) – It reminds me of . . .oh crap. . .it’s on the tip of my tongue. . .what the hell is that song I am thinking of?? Shit, just keep writing. . .whatever, I can’t think of it. . .This one’s more of a mellow twangy guitar song to start out and then it has a good grungy jam transition, then a gritty guitar solo later in the track. It ends up more with a mellow tone.
7. Pride and Joy – Stev does a sweet solo that’s extra long, the way it should be. I think Stevie Ray would be proud (and joyous).

We take a short pee-break/intermission here and we talked about playing other songs from Stevie Ray Vaughan. My suggestions were “Couldn’t Stand the Weather” or “Texas Flood”.

8. I really want to know
9. Wish You Were Here – Electric style, very cool. Had a little SRV taste to it and a nice smooth transition into Simple Man
10. Simple Man – And I didn’t even have to yell “play some Skynryd” for this one!
11. In Spirit – I think the vocals are powerful on this one. It’s probably one of Stev’s better vocal sounds not to mention an awesome solo/hook. Early-on favorite methinks!
12. Rings of Saturn – Mellow/kinda spacey beginning – good ambiance, which I dig.
13. Scream – A song about an epic rant that Dziadzia (Stev’s father) had after work one day. We won’t name any company names here. . .classic.
14. Sacred Journey – (another new one)
15. Times Three
16. A Chance to Live My Dreams

Near the end there, I was actually posting the “Live” blog as well as snapping a few of the pics I have which is why there isn’t much in the way of commentary on the songs.

From what I heard of the new stuff, I liked “In Spirit” the best. It’s really rare for me to instantly love a song after the first time I hear it (and I mean that across the board, including my beloved Pink Floyd), but that one seemed to stick the most in my brain. It’s not completely fair to judge music after only hearing it once and doing so in a rehearsal setting where it is still taking shape, not to mention it’s being played with a third of the sound missing. BUT, I must say that the new stuff is solid and Stev Skye fans have A LOT of good stuff to look forward to!

It’s exciting that there is so much more great stuff in the pipeline. And even without a complete sound tonight, the songs sounded awesome. It’s just a rehearsal, but if it truly were crap, I’d probably not have babbled on for this long about it!

Good show!

Tags: Jeff Hall, Jimi Hendrix, stev skye, Stev Skye Studio, Stevie Ray Vaughan