Kevin Steinman
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"World Class" - Vennesla Tiden (NO)
I just think he’s the most likable singer/songwriter I have ever listened to. He’s not violating the power of the guitar and voice to put out cookie-cutter crap. I imagine his music was written in a quiet room in his cottage in the middle of, say, a forest. His lyrics are sweet and honest; his music is not boastful or showy, yet it holds your attention ransom until its demands are met. - Music Discovery: The Bang Project - Syracuse, NY
Kevin's music, combined with his personality, style, and genuine nature, appeal to all ages - both young and old alike. Don't miss this performer! - Therese M. Vogel, Chairperson Top Hat Theater
"You're never fully prepared for how strongly music can move you. Then you listen to Kevin's music and you know you've found a home within the words. It's extraordinary."
- Hobart and William Smith College
"Kevin's performance was simply amazing. Captivated by his voice and his heart-felt lyrics, Kevin won the approval of the audience. We had an amazing turnout of students and everyone's reaction after the show was positive." - Augustana College
"Wish" should come preloaded on every iPad in Minnesota - David DeYoung, How Was The Show?
Discography
Undoing Desire, 2000;
Things to Keep in Mind While Balancing, 2006
Pre-Existing Condition, 2011
- played on over 100 stations in summer '06, charted #3 in NYC, #2 in Ft. Lauderdale, #5 in Tampa and Milwaukee
Photos
Bio
Music is my first memory: 2 ½ years old at the organ, playing harmony notes over my Mom's piano renditions of show tunes and hymns. If a note didn't sound right, I'd fiddle around with it until it did. That remains to this day my idea for harmony: experimenting until it sounds beautiful to my ear.
In high school, I found myself fascinated by romantic poets like Keats, Wordsworth, Blake, and other great lyric writers like Shakespeare and Dickinson. Their words struck me as passionate and beautiful. There I was, admiring their works long after they were gone, and it dawned on me that immortality could be achieved through art.
I wrote my first songs as English class projects, and when I played them for my classmates, I knew I had found a very fun thing to do for the rest of my life. I received my first guitar as a high school graduation gift, and with it I began to write what would eventually become my first album.
For the next decade I earned my living singing harmonies, arranging songs and driving across the country in a beaten, old Ford van. My voice developed, I became comfortable on stage and I learned how to sleep in the most awkward of positions.
Two guitars and three van engines later, I’m working on my first full-length album. I’m lucky enough to be working with some wonderfully talented musicians, who inspire me to do better. I spend my days in the studio or at the piano, chasing chords and words. If I’m stuck, I make some eggs, read some Schopenhauer or ride my bike around the lake until I see the Minneapolis skyline in the distance.
And then I remember that feeling I had in high school; the feeling of knowing that I was meant to do music. I still have it now, when I wake up at 3am with a song in my head, or when I tinker at the piano and stumble across those notes that go together like peanut butter and jelly.
I’m no Emily Dickinson, and certainly no Shakespeare. My only hope is that some of my thoughts and dreams and loves will outlive me through my music, and that years from now, a 2-year-old might be fiddling around to find the perfect harmonies to go with my songs.
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