MEET THE BAND: Steve Wright (vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards, laptop)
A ONE-MAN BAND: Throughout high school and college, Wright, a Northeast Ohio native, played in a few different bands. He started performing as a "one-man band" in August after moving to Cleveland from Youngstown. "To me, it was out of necessity," he says when asked about the decision to become a one-man band. "I didn't know anyone up here and just wanted to do it by myself. It's been working out so far."
A RANGE OF INFLUENCES: Wright plays what he calls "a heavy interpretation of modern rock with a progressive and cinematic feel incorporating pop melodies." He cites Jesu, M83, David Bowie, Russian Circles, Tool, Sigur Ros, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Black Sabbath and Coldplay as influences. "I'm all over the place," he says. "Recently, I've been listening to M83 and Jesu and Russian Circles more than the other bands. Russian Circles does a Pink Floyd-meets-Metallica thing, and M83 has all that texture. I want the music to have that cinematic feel and I try to think of what would sound good in a movie."
WHY YOU SHOULD HEAR HIM: His new EP, Indefinite, represents his first official release. He worked with producer Jim Wirt at the locally based Crushtone Studios. "It was great," he says of the recording experience. "He's great to work with and even provides some backing vocals on the tracks." The EP opens with the epic rocker "Forever Again," a tune that starts slow but builds as the distorted guitars kick in; Wright practically has to scream to be heard above the din. The song's second half is mellower as bits of bells and piano give it a real tenderness. "I recently did a major career shift, and I now work in menswear, but before that I was in the accounting corporate world," he says. "The song is about how I was wasting my time in that world. I don't write too many lines. When I'm done, I just stop. I view it as a pop song inside of a heavy song." For his upcoming Beachland show, he'll have Ashley Close from Old Brooklyn, Frank Maraldo from Nights and Brett Weir join him for his set. Since the EP's completion, he's written three new songs, which he'll play at the show.
WHERE YOU CAN HEAR HIM: stevewright.bandcamp.com/releases
WHERE YOU CAN SEE HIM: Steve Wright performs with Not on the Daily and Fresh Bucket at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at the Beachland Tavern.
