Steve Roman

Steve Roman is a classic renaissance man; an artist, songwriter, performer, educator and journalist who seeks to explore past, honored, musical styles and combine the essence with a contemporary edge.

His interests as a songwriter can vary from Texas Honky-Tonk to folky story songs. Recent subjects that he has explored include a fictional Texas epic, a legendary North Carolina moonshiner who made a brew that tasted like brandy or the typical country love song. He's been a student of folk song, rock, bluegrass, country and jazz styles with little regard for keeping anything as a cloned relic.

Steve Roman loves music; he always has. He's a Chicago boy that grew up during an exciting period of musical history; as a kid, he was listening to the new sounds that his older sister played on a transistor radio (which he occasionally stold and hid under his pillow!), and quickly discovered that he was totally hooked on the excitement created by Gene Vincent, Little Richard, the infamous Jersey-based doo-wop bands and a dude named Jerry Lee Lewis. During high school he found that many of the sounds he heard from the British invasion bands were actually throwbacks to the blues in his hometown. Somehow, as he searched for the real Chicago style of music, folk-rock arrived on the scene. It was from The Byrds that he discovered Dylan and, later, The Grateful Dead.

Four chaotic years in the US Coast Guard expanded his interests as he became exposed to southern sounds and a harder-edge dose of blues. Folk music had matured and he returned home to a music scene that included Steve Goodman, John Prine and a herd of players that were unknown outside of Old Town Chicago.

Steve finally ran into the Old Town School of Folk Music and learned to actually play the guitar sometime in his early twenties. In addition, he found a new dimension of sound as the violist in The Northeastern Illinois University New Music Ensemble.

Finally the free-wheelin' music community in Chicago gave birth to a truly unique music publication named Come For To Sing. Steve was on the founding staff and soon became the bluegrass expert for the magazine. From that point, he enbarked on a journey that would last over the next thirty-five years.

Steve has never been shy about sharing his knowledge with others. From that point his place as a music teacher, journalist and performer.

His ability to spin tall-tales brought him into the songwriter's circle. He's seldom at a loss for words and captures the absolute wierdness in everything around him. However, he also finds beauty in recreating an emotion through a well written lyric.

Steve is generally a cranky guy that still resides in the Chicago area, but, in reality, he considers the world to be his home. He plans to expand his musical bounderies in his band vision, The Horse Thieves, an enemble in progress that will include his son, Sam, on vocals. He dreams of playing Texas honky-tonks, New Mexican brothels and The Grand Ol Opry.