Music
Press
"With sturdy original songs, Pile hews to a rustic yet literate path."
- Jeff Rosenberg
Pile is a folk/blues/country hybrid who plays a mean slide guitar at one turn and tears off a sweet pop melody the next. Sometimes swampy, sometimes sweet, sometimes rootsy, Pile's characteristic style allude to bright future for all three genres he represents."
- Alburquerque Journal
"...Pile, in particular, points the traditional singer-songwriter compass in a variety of new directions, affording him a freshness that's also somehow comfortingly familiar." - Alibi, ABQ, New Mexico
"...wrenchingly emotional lyrics that reach out of your speakers to grab you by the soul and don't let go. Even if the rest of the songs on this album weren't so well constructed, this song alone would show why Mr. Pile is destined to make his mark in the overcrowded world of singer-songwriters." - Folkwax
"Steve Pile gets it. With a guitar on his back, the Healdsburg native has traveled the world, from Alaska to Austin to Africa, distilling his own hybrid of blues, folk, and melodic African guitar music all topped off with a little cowboy swagger.
But he's about more than just the music. When he recently returned to Gambia to study the kora and record local kora players, he brought solar panels with him to power his laptop. When he tuned the panels behind to power their homes. The dude just gets it.
One of the top local musicians to keep an eye on."
-John Beck - Press Democrat
“Lone stars Musicians as diverse as guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson, feel-good rock band Los Lonely Boys, and Edwin
"I Could Not Ask for More" McCain constantly seem to spring out of the Austin, Texas, music scene with furious aplomb. Steven Pile, a former Californian, joins that list with his gruff, twangy baritone, skilled guitar playing, and rustic songs that recall the outlaw country music of yesteryear."
- San Fransisco Bay Guardian
Discography
Overnight 2002
Home For Right Now 2005
Got it Right (Steve Pile Band) 2010
all available on I-tunes, Musicmatch, etc.
Cdbaby.com and stevepileband.com
Photos
Bio
With a guitar on his back Bay Area native Steve Pile has traveled the world from Alaska to Austin to Africa, “distilling his own hybrid of blues, rock and melodic African music, all topped off with a little cowboy swagger” (John Beck, Press Democrat). After landing back in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2007 Steve went about assembling the finest musicians he could find; in 2008 the Steve Pile Band was born, featuring Brian Rashap on bass and James Stafford on drums (both former members of Groundation and Stereo Blasters).
In the 2 years since the band has forged its unique sound on stages throughout the Bay Area. His first album, Overnight, was recorded in Portland, Oregon in 2002. Shortly thereafter, he relocated to Austin, Texas, where he recorded his 2nd album, Home For Right Now, with a host of Austin heavy-weights, including Brad Houser (New Bohemians, Critters Buggin’) and Stephen Doster (Nancy Griffith, Will Sexton) as producer. The album framed his songs with an eclectic Americana sound.
His appreciation for American roots music has not kept Steve from looking towards distant horizons. He traveled to Gambia, West Africa in 2008 to record his Kora teacher, Jali Bakary Konteh, using solar panels and a laptop. The kora is a 21-string west African harp that Steve became obsessed with while travelling in Africa. The album, Konteh Kunda, was international released this year on Akwaaba Music, and has received glowing reviews.
Steve's songs have been featured in a number of short films, notably “Crossing” by Riad Galayini, which starred James Morrison (24, Jarhead) and garnered many indie film awards. He also contributed to a short mock-spaghetti western entitled “Enter the Moustache.” Various tours have seen him sharing the stage with the likes of Richard Thompson, Peter Case, Jackie Greene, and even a double bill with Ramblin' Jack Elliott.
Morphing from the acoustic Americana he nurtured in Austin to a more electric, cross-cultural stew of styles, the Steve Pile Band “represents the full drop of roots music.” The new album, Got it Right, is true to this rootsy ethos. It easily transitions from Tom Petty-styled folk rock to Delta Blues, from African Highlife-tinged ballads to scorching guitar rock. Got it Right maintains a fresh and live sound throughout, united by Pile’s unique songwriting.
Along with his signature 1930's National steel, acoustic and electric guitars Steve also plays keyboards and Kora (an African harp) on the album. Guests include Henry Nagle on pedal steel guitar and Mike Mayer lap steel, among others. The album was recorded and co-produced by long time Prairie Sun Studios engineer Tim Gennert at Eleven Eleven Studios, tucked away in rural Sonoma County.
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