Listen Up - Steve Bonham
A look at some of the emerging artists of the acoustic roots & folk circuit
Steve Bonham is a storyteller, a published author, an inveterate traveller, for decades a songwriter, performer and musician, and an award-winning psychologist. Born in Derbyshire, England, Steve studied psychology and philosophy at university. He has recorded more than 10 albums; written two musicals; and several books including his latest: A Beautiful Broken Dream. He is the author of the Vagabond Philosopher blog and proud member of The Long Road.
About You
Hands up, I've always led a double life, or in fact at least double life. I have been performing writing as a musician since my teens stubbornly not fitting in any particular pigeonhole. I am a psychologist working with teams all over the world. And lastly I am by practice, inclination and persuasion a vagabond. Being on the road, travelling is an essential, though sometimes frustrating part of who I am. Musically during the 80s I was in one of those folk bands that were reasonably successful without becoming that well-known, releasing three albums which did okay. In addition, I wrote pieces for community theatre and the first miracle play for a few hundred years! (The Miracle Man) I kept recording and writing during the 1990s and the Noughties releasing albums sporadically as well as writing a book or two. It was around 2010, which may or may not be related to the greater age of my children, that music and writing moved back to be much central to my life. I recorded two albums in Cong in Ireland; The Moon's High Tide and Songsmith. It was at this time I really teamed up with my great pal Chris 'The Bishop' Lydon a great musician and creative producer. He and I found that we had shared passion for acoustic music played HEAVY! I was also undertaking more and more treks on foot through the Atlas Mountains, the Appalachian Forests of Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina, the frozen lakes of Ontario, Namibia and New Mexico. In writing books about these experiences such as A Little Nostalgia for Freedom and a Beautiful Broken Dream, I started to see more and more a golden thread that ran through my life as a psychologist, adventurer and musician. This was a fascination with the extraordinary stories and lives of ordinary folk. Chris and I started to experiment with music that drew on these experiences and were joined in this quest through the serendipity of the Internet by an old friend who had not seen for years: Kev Moore. Kev has played with incarnations of Saxon, Christie and many other bands brought the passion feel for the vernacular of raw rock and roots music. As Steve Bonham and The Long Road We recorded two albums: The Girl with the Rattlesnake Heart and Reliance being joined for those recordings by the fiddle and banjo player John Humphrey. These seemed to create loads of interest both sides of the Atlantic and we pressed on! Now we are just coming to the end of our American Wilderness odyssey. This is a 15 song cycle of music drawn from our experience in the southern states of America released as four Eps.
How would you describe your music?
As I mentioned earlier was felt little trapped by idea of genre. I guess there is a pound or two rock, several handfuls of folk, a good slug of Americana, there's some Louisiana seasoning in there, a little bit of country, a little bit of jazz… I have taken to calling It Artisan Music, hopefully a moonshine blend of authenticity, inspiration, some skill and some great raw materials - the raw materials in this case being those extraordinary stories of ordinary folk gathered through a vagabond life on both sides of the Atlantic.
What has been your highlight so far?
Hell, the fact am still standing I guess! To find myself at this point of my life probably as successful as I have ever been and still recording and writing and finding people to turn up. It feels an enormous privilege. Specifically, working with Chris "the Bishop" Lydon and the Big Man, Kev Moore is something special. There is a creative synergy between us particularly when we write and record in which the whole becomes so much greater than the sum of the parts. I'd chuck Stuart Jones the engineer/producer at Woodworm Studios into that mix as well. Getting out there on my own to play after a lifetime playing in bands has taken me to new places performance wise. Touring the States including Nashville was a dream fulfilled.
What plans regarding recordings, video, tours etc do you have for the future?
It's crazy at the moment. Steve Bonham and the Long Road just received an Arts Council grant to explore further the spirit of Artisan music with recordings and a short documentary to be filmed by Cat Hodgkinson. We've been writing new material and will be in the studio soon. We have also been funded to create an online Festival of the Artisan to engage other artists and audiences with this vision. Is beginning to feel like were at the start of a new movement. Exciting times. During lockdown I finally got round to writing a book I had thought about years. How to Survive and Thrive in an Impossible World is aimed at helping people get themselves into a better relationship with the world, one in which they feel more authentic, in touch, inspired and resilient. I loved working on it because it combines all the strands of my life I do believe people will find it helpful. Chris and I have been doodling with the idea of a stage show to take to Edinburgh Festival in 2021 based on the book.
Is there anything else you would like to say or any message to our readers?
Believe and trust in the possibility of yourself!
For more details:
www.artisan-creative.com
This Is My England
Fatea Showcase Sessions
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.
Pirate is the current session and features 16 fantastic artists check out the website to find out more about them and download your copy
www.fatea-showcase-sessions.co.uk for all the artist information.