INTERVIEW: Steve Conte on his journey from ‘Cowboy Bebop’ to NY Dolls to ‘Bronx Cheer’
Photo: Steve Conte’s new album is called Bronx Cheer. Photo courtesy of Anja van Ast / Provided by Earshot Media with permission.
Steve Conte is a musician who has been around for a number of years, playing with bands like the New York Dolls and singers like Michael Monroe. He’s even taken his work into the realm of anime by collaborating with composer Yoko Kanno on such projects as Cowboy Bebop. What he hasn’t done a lot of is devote time to his own solo projects, under his own name.
Well, now, that’s going to change.
Conte recently released his new album, called Bronx Cheer, featuring such songs as “Flying” and “Recovery Doll.” Joining him for the project, which comes on CD, vinyl and digital courtesy of Wicked Cool Records, are his brother John Conte on bass and Charley Drayton on drums.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Conte about the new recording, his time in the New York Dolls and his contributions to the world of anime. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can fans expect from the new album Bronx Cheer?
Classic dirty rock ’n’ soul from New York City! Looking back at the album now after making it, I’d say it relates closest to a Stones albums between 1978-82, Some Girls through Tattoo You, when they were reacting to punk but still holding on to their roots and love of the blues, R&B and soul music.
How long have you been working on this project?
Since September 2019! I finished all of the recording just before the pandemic hit but then spent the summer of 2020 getting it mixed — via the internet (I was in Europe while my mixer was in California). When I got home in the fall of 2020, I had the record mastered and then began the setup with the label, Wicked Cool Records, in early 202. We’ve rolled out three singles and two videos so far …
What inspired the song “Dog Days of Summer”?
I always liked the phrase but didn’t know of a famous song with that title, so I thought maybe I could change that fact by writing a really good one! The lyrics use imagery of those hot end of summer days, but it’s really about getting older. I only noticed that after the song was written.
What inspired you to name the album Bronx Cheer?
Well, I wanted to have the album title and art reflect where I call home and where the album was recorded. I live in the Bronx. I already had chosen the album cover that I wanted — the teen marching in an anti-Trump protest — so I had to figure out how to marry the two concepts. I liked the idea of an angry kids face and having “cheer” in the title, which was a bit sarcastic. But as you may know, a “Bronx Cheer” is the sound of disapproval, sticking out your tongue and blowing air out to make a fart sound (also called a “raspberry”). So in the end, I got it all: my town, a dark gritty cover and the contrast of the title with what is happening in the photo.
Do you look back fondly at your time with the New York Dolls?
Yes, absolutely. It’s a rare situation that a guitarist gets to step into a ready-made band, one with a history, a legend, a name, a logo, and a band that happens to be from New York City where I live! And not only that — besides being a touring member of the Dolls and making the two live albums with them, I also got to make those two great studio albums with the band and write songs with original members Sylvain [Sylvain] and [David] Johansen.
I don’t normally take music reviews to heart, but I saw a great many of them that claimed that having me on guitar was driving the band into a highly musically respected place. I took that as the ultimate compliment.
But I learned a lot during my six years with the band, especially about how to not take playing music so seriously all the time. I used to hate making mistakes, but I learned to embrace the chaos while working with those guys. Touring with Willy DeVille prior to joining the Dolls prepared me for that somewhat, and after the Dolls, when I played with Eric Burdon who also loved the “spontaneity” of changing the song arrangements in the moment onstage, I was ready! Onstage I would think of being reverent to the original band members and hanging in the background, but Syl used to push me to front of the stage when I took solos! So then I thought, OK, you asked for it! And I would soak up those moments. Funny thing was, I would hear people cheering as I played with my eyes closed and think they were digging what I was playing — and then I’d open my eyes and see that Syl was at the front of the stage “slapping five” with everyone, and all eyes were on him! Haha. But, yeah, I think the two studio albums I made with the band really put a nice final chapter on the New York Dolls.
How difficult has the COVID-19 pandemic been for you as a musician?
Pretty freakin’ difficult. Never in my life have I gone over one year without playing a single gig. Even when I was 13, I played at least a handful of teen center gigs, swim club gigs, high school dances, battle of the bands, etc. So from a mental standpoint, it was really rough. And let’s not even talk about the financial aspect. It’s been two years since I’ve done any real touring, which has been my main source of income. Luckily, I have songs out there that keep some royalties coming in, and I have done some teaching online, guitar and songwriting workshops. I can’t wait for this shit to end!
How did your work in anime begin?
Well, I’ve been carving out my own little space in the NYC music scene since around 1985. It’s another one of those cases where, if you hang around this big city long enough and have a good reputation for being a burning player/singer, delivering when called upon, showing up on time, being dependable/responsible and not being a druggie/fucked up dramatic person, as many artists are — your name will get passed around as someone who should be hired or at least considered for certain jobs.
It happened that way in 2004 with New York Dolls, and it happened the same way in 1998 with Yoko Kanno. She came to NYC to work on a solo album, asked around the respected music circles for a male rock singer, and my name came up. I sent her a demo. She liked it and had me come in to the studio to sing on her solo album, Song To Fly. A few months later she came back to start work on what was then a new anime — Cowboy Bebop — and the rest is history.
I sang live with a 30-piece orchestra for the song “Call Me, Call Me,” which was a tough thing to pull off. But we worked well together, so she just kept calling me for more of her anime projects: Ghost In The Shell, Wolf’s Rain, Brain Powerd,and then I started getting calls from other Japanese composers to sing on their projects; video games like Sonic And The Secret Rings and Drum King.
All in all, I love to do a bit of everything, doing studio work and touring with other great artists and having my own band and solo career. To stay informed on what I’m doing, people can find me online in all the usual places — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Soundcloud, TikTok and my website, www.stevecontenyc.com.
Thanks y’all. See ya down the road!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Steve Conte’s new solo album is called Bronx Cheer. Click here for more information.
