|  Joel
Steven: Biography
Joel Steven is a songwriter, performer, recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist with proficiency in guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. At the age of 16, Joel hit the stage as a rock guitarist where his dynamic intensity as a live performer quickly gained him notoriety. By the age of 18 Joel was doing live shows across his home state of Michigan, capturing the attention of his audiences with his electrifying stage presence and blistering yet bluesy guitar style often described as a cross between Jimmy Page and David Gilmore.
In 1986 Steven settled in Kalamazoo Michigan where he sought to polish his skills as a songwriter and lyricist by gaining a degree in creative writing. He attended Western Michigan University from 1986-1990 and graduated with a BA in English. His talent as a poet was refined and his love of imagery began to make its way into his original songs, creating a solid foundation where words and music reinforced one another.
"People always ask me if I use my degree in the real word. I smile and reply every single day, 'The art of writing poetry and my increased understanding of the English language formed the basis of my skills as a lyricist, and I value this education above all of my other learning.'"
While attending the University, Steven continued to play live and in time became known as a prolific songwriter. He formed two original bands to showcase his music; The hard rocking 'Mana Rule' (1990-1994 and 'Eel pie Island' (1994-1995) both of which became known for Joel's high energy stage performances and edgy improvisational guitar riffs.
With a dream of one day having the ability to record his songs, Steven moved to California in 1995 and began to explore the realm of audio engineering. Fascinated by the seemingly endless landscape of sound and the blending of musical instruments, Joel first pursued a career as a live sound engineer to learn the craft of mixing music. When he wasn't performing live, he was mixing nightclub and concert sound for prominent national acts such as Charlie Daniels Band, Iron Butterfly, Dread Zeppelin and Suicidal Tendencies.
"I absolutely loved mixing live sound. It taught me extremely valuable engineering skills that I would later come to cherish as I sought my lifelong dreams of becoming a recording artist in my own studio."
Following his dream Steven did just that. In 1999 he opened a small recording studio and established the indie label Octagon Records with the intention of writing and recording independent music. This was the beginning of Steven's career as an independent recording artist. Since then he has released two albums of original music; "North Coast" and "Fathomless." He later co-founded the instrumental group 'What Man Was' with venerable keyboardist Paul Grove and recorded two additional albums. Several songs from Joel's projects can be heard on MTV's Real Word, Road Rules, Made, and Extreme Challenge as well as two indie films, 'Red White and You' and 'Insomnia Century 21.'
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