Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth

Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth - Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth - 2009 - Varèse Sarabande Records

To rock and rollers around the globe, the legendary Steve Conte is probably best known as the lead guitarist, songwriter and backing vocalist in the New York Dolls. Conte is also the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for a raft of other bands including Crown Jewels, The Contes, and his latest incarnation - 'Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth'. Sonically, 'The Crazy Truth' lies somewhere between garage rock and punk blues with hints of Latin-soul in a dark, smoky lounge. It's the Stooges and the Stones versus Morphine and Tom Waits. The vibe is best described by Conte as "classic roots with a modern twist." Steve Conte delivers the power, soul and raunch. He's a runaway guitar hero on the edge of falling apart - with the voice of a derelict angel. Drummer Phil Stewart is equal parts Max Roach and Keith Moon while bassist Leeko was weaned on The Clash and old school reggae. Says Conte, "This album sounds like a band playing live because it's drums, bass and guitar together in one room, solos recorded live on the basic tracks, rough and tough. It was like doing a gig. I love playing live with this band because it's all about interplay and the moment. We don't just deliver the songs...we JAM!" Lyrically, the songs reflect two decades of life and excess in New York City...the distractions troubled souls move toward to fill the emptiness. Dive bars, gambling, sex and drugs. It's all there, but not celebrated with the traditional macho rock attitude. It's more about redemption. On 'The Truth Ain't Pretty', Conte sings, "I'm always putting the last things first, that's why I'm starting out with the second verse," while on 'The Goods Are Odd' he croons "Drag queens, drama queens, future ex-porn stars, we're all looking for lovers with beautiful scars." Whether he's the morally bankrupt guy "coming downtown in a Gypsy Cab" (from the standout track 'Gypsy Cab') or riding a 'Busload of Hope' to Atlantic City, Conte offers a sense of optimism in the song 'This Is The End' - "In the end we transcend - we're divine". Special guests on the album includes David Johansen (New York Dolls) on harmonica,Catherine Russell (David Bowie) and Nicki Richards (Madonna) on backing vocals, plus Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/Johnny Thunders), Kiku Collins (Beyonce) Tom Timko (StevieWonder) on horns. The album was mixed by the legendary Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards) and mastered by Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, Green Day). © http://www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk/2009/11/news-steve-conte-crazy-truth_7333.html

"There is very little genuine rock and roll out there at the moment but Steve Conte has hit the nail on the head with this one" © 2010 The List Ltd http://www.list.co.uk/event/20068417-steve-conte-and-the-crazy-truth/

Steve Conte has described the music here as “classic roots with a modern twist.” There is no New York Dolls "Glam Rock" here. Just eleven great NYC Rock & Roll tracks. For music in a similar style, listen to the late, great Willy DeVille's "Crow Jane Alley" album, and check out The Contes "Bleed Together" album

TRACKS

1. This Is The End
2. Gypsy Cab
3. Texas T
4. The Goods Are Odd
5. Get Off
6. The Truth Ain’t Pretty
7. Her Highness
8. Busload of Hope
9. Strumpet-hearted Monkey Girl
10. Indie Girl
11. Junk Planet

All songs composed by Steve Conte

MUSICIANS

Steve Conte - Guitar, Lead Vocals, Tin Whistle
Lee “Leeko” Kostrinsky - Bass, Background Vocals
Phil Stewart - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Danny Ray -Tenor Sax
Tom Timko - Baritone Sax
Kiku Collins -Trumpet
David Johansen - Harmonica
Catherine Russell, Nicki Richards - Backing Vocals

REVIEW

"A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork, that's the way I spell New York"... Well maybe not, but New York City has always had sort of a mythical status for those of us who don't live there, We either hate it or love it - you can't be ambivalent about that town. If you can make it there you can make it anywhere the song says, but what the hell is it that all those people are trying to make it as? There's what - ten million of them crammed onto an island that was supposedly bought for some beads and trinkets from people who didn't think anyone could own land...a city started by a deal which cut corners, what more do you need to know about it? Still, New York City...The one time I've actually wandered its streets was early 1981. The city was still recovering from the shock of John Lennon being gunned down outside his apartment building four weeks earlier. Stars don't get killed in NYC, only junkies and stupid people who go down the wrong dark alley at night or wander into neighbourhoods they don't belong in. During the day it was all broad avenues, full of people hustling. Tall buildings casting long shadows down canyons made of glass, steel, and concrete in the bright sun of the first week of January were replaced at night with neon strewn streets filled with the white plumes of exhaust streaming out of the constant caravan of yellow cabs flowing up or down stream. In the shadows of the night excitement and danger walked hand in hand waiting for some fool to make the wrong choice. It was probably a mistake to have taken the pink micro-dot a friend had given me while in NYC - it was already enough like an acid trip for a kid from the tame streets of Toronto just in town for three nights and four days, but I had the idea that I wanted to go deeper into the experience of New York City. But you can't do that as a tourist - you can't get past the veneer no matter what you ingest. You have to have spent time inside its rhythm, develop a feel for its sound, understand the good and the bad - love her for both sides of it, and then be able to sit back and say shit - I lived through that. It takes great rock and roll to understand New York City and bring her back to life. Which is what you get, great rock and roll and New York City, by the truck load, on the new self titled release from Steve Conte And The Crazy Truth distributed by Varese Vintage, Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth. Willy DeVille said to me once that nobody's born in Manhatten, implying that everybody was drawn there from somewhere else, but if Steve Conte wasn't born there he sure as hell belongs there. He's guitarist for the ultimate New York City band, the New York Dolls, he's subbed as guitar player in the Mink DeVille Band during Willy's 2003 tour of Europe, and now he's released a CD which sounds like it was written in blood that pumped out of the city's heart. Yet this ain't just some dark and mysterious ride into the heart of darkness at the core of the city, because there's a real heart that beats at the core of both Conte and New York. If there wasn't a heart in New York City how could so much great art be produced on one small patch of land? There's something happening in those dark places that fuels inspiration, desire, passion, and pain - and Conte and the boys (Lee "Leeko" Kostrinsky on bass and Phil Stewart on drums) and their friends who've sat in for the session, find their way into those corners and have brought back a few of stories. (That great harmonica solo you hear about half-way through the disc is Conte's band mate from the Dolls David Johansen while the beautiful back up vocals are provided by Nicki Richards and Catherine Russell.) The credits list eleven tracks on this disc, but it's really like one long stream of conscience dive into the music. He starts us off with the aptly titled "This Is The End". because sometimes the best way you to look at something is looking back at where you've been. Then, before you've had a chance to take a deep breath before making the plunge, he's hauling our asses downtown in a "Gypsy Cab" for a whirlwind tour of what makes New York City and rock and roll fucking great. (This is definitely a PG column by the way, but so are rock and roll and NYC and if you don't like it, go find Rudy Giuliani and commiserate with him over his failure to round up all the scum like me who pollute our fair streets.) Now although "The Truth Ain't Pretty", and some of "The Goods Are Odd", this isn't just some dark magical mystery tour into the underworld. There has to be light in order for there to be dark and Conte has been around long enough to know that it's not cool to die with a needle in your arm, it's just a waste. So if you've come here looking for some sort of peon in praise of riding the rails to destruction, this isn't the place. There's no room for nihilism anymore, you may have to take the bad with good, and we may all take a few wrong steps now and again and fall down blind alleys while we're looking for whatever it is we're looking for, but that doesn't mean you can't have hope. The bright lights flashing by the cab window can turn your head, but you can only mistake fame for talent for so long - and in Conte's New York City talent and heart win out over fame and posing everyday. Steve Conte And The Crazy Truth is rock and roll at its most dangerous and hopeful best. Like all the best music that's come out of New York City since the mid 1970's there's a knife edge to their sound, but that's only there to protect them from a world that would cut out your heart if given a chance. At its best New York City defies those who think different is bad and originality a sin. This CD brings that to life without ignoring the dangers of the flip side - being different just because its cool could find you face down some day if you take it too far. It's okay to "rock and roll like the Marquis de Sade" (One of the best rock and roll lyrics I've heard in years) but there's also more to life and you can't forget that either. Conte's songs sound like they've been down quite a few roads, some of which might have been dark and dangerous, but he also sounds like he's never forgotten how to find his way home. New York City may not be everyone's idea of home, but Conte sure understands what makes it home for so many people. © Author: Richard Marcus — Published: Oct 31, 2009 at 7:17 am http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-steve-conte-and-the/ © Technorati, Inc / Technorati Media / Technorati.com / Blogcritics / AdEngage

ABOUT BAND / ALBUM

Named for a Charles Bukowski poem, The Crazy Truth began to unfold in 2005 when Steve ran into high school pal Lee "Leeko" Kostrinsky on the street in New York City. Leeko's punk, reggae & indie rock influences were a perfect foil for Conte's love of the blues, classic rock and 60's garage bands. Rounded out by Scarborough's own Phil Stewart on drums, the trio played their first show in NYC within a few months - a T Rex memorial concert where they performed a cover of Marc Bolan's classic "Rip Off" and 9 new S.C. originals. Working between records & tours as lead guitarist/backing singer and co-songwriter with the legendary New York Dolls, Conte has produced his band's debut album, a scorching 11 song rock & roll disc called simply – "STEVE CONTE & THE CRAZY TRUTH". It features guest performances by Dolls front man David Johansen on harmonica, the soulful voices of Nikki Richards (Tina Turner/Madonna) and Catherine Russell (Al Green) and horns by Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/ Johnny Thunders), Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) and Kiku Collins (Beyonce). Sonically, The Crazy Truth lies somewhere between garage rock and punk blues with hints of Latin-soul in a dark, smoky lounge. It’s the Stooges and the Stones versus Morphine and Tom Waits. The overall vibe is best described by Conte as “classic roots with a modern twist.” Steve Conte delivers the power, soul and raunch. He’s a runaway guitar hero on the edge of falling apart – with the voice of a derelict angel. Drummer Phil Stewart is equal parts Max Roach and Keith Moon while bassist Leeko was weaned on The Clash and old school reggae. Says Conte, “This album sounds like a band playing live because it’s drums, bass and guitar together in one room, solos recorded live on the basic tracks, rough and tough. It was like doing a gig. I love playing live with this band because it’s all about interplay and the moment. We don’t just deliver the songs…we JAM!” Lyrically, the songs reflect two decades of life and excess in New York City…the distractions troubled souls move toward to fill the emptiness. Dive bars, gambling, sex and drugs. It's all there, but not celebrated with the traditional macho rock attitude. It’s more about redemption. On The Truth Ain’t Pretty, Conte sings, “I’m always putting the last things first, that’s why I’m starting out with the second verse,” while on The Goods Are Odd he croons “Drag queens, drama queens, future ex-porn stars, we’re all looking for lovers with beautiful scars.” Whether he’s the morally bankrupt guy “coming downtown in a Gypsy Cab” (from the standout track Gypsy Cab) or riding a Busload of Hope to Atlantic City, Conte offers a sense of optimism in the song This Is The End - “In the end we transcend – we’re divine”. Special guests on the album includes David Johansen (New York Dolls) on harmonica, Catherine Russell (David Bowie) and Nicki Richards (Madonna) on backing vocals, plus Danny Ray (Sylvain Sylvain/Johnny Thunders), Kiku Collins (Beyonce) Tom Timko (Stevie Wonder) on horns The album was mixed by the legendary Niko Bolas (Neil Young, Keith Richards) and mastered by Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, Green Day). © http://www.steveconteandthecrazytruth.com/Steve_Conte_%26_The_Crazy_Truth/Bio.html

ABOUT STEVE CONTE (WIKIPEDIA)

Steve Conte (born September 23) is an American singer and rock musician and lead singer of the band The Contes, along with his brother John Conte, both formerly members of the band Crown Jewels. He is perhaps more popularly known for his collaborations with composer Yoko Kanno, as well as being the current lead guitarist of the New York Dolls. Conte also plays guitar in Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe's new band, The Michael Monroe Band—along with fellow New York Doll and bassist Sami Yaffa, and guitarist Ginger of The Wildhearts. Conte currently fronts his latest band, Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth. Their eponymous, critically acclaimed, Steve Conte-produced debut album was released on October 20, 2009 on Varèse Sarabande Records. Conte first became known to the music industry in the early 1990s as the songwriter and guitarist of the band Company of Wolves (Mercury Records) and has since worked with artists such as Peter Wolf, Willy DeVille, Maceo Parker, Phoebe Snow, Billy Squier, Suzi Quatro, Jill Jones, Chuck Berry, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, David Johansen & The Harry Smiths, Willie Nile, and many others. Conte also occasionally plays guitar with Eric Burdon & The Animals. Conte often works with composer Yoko Kanno and lyricist Tim Jensen, creating soundtracks to anime series, such as "Stray," the opening theme to the Wolf's Rain, as well as the tracks "Heaven's Not Enough" and "Could You Bite the Hand?" All three appear on the OST albums. Conte's vocals can also be heard in some episodes of Cowboy Bebop, as well as the 2001 film most notably for the song "Call Me Call Me," as well as "Words That We Couldn't Say," "No Reply," and "Diggin'." He also sang the OST CD version of "Rain," which is sung by Mai Yamane in the series. He would later sing alongside Shanti Snyder on "Living Inside the Shell," the ending theme to 2004's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. He also performed on the duet "The Garden of Everything" with Japanese singer Maaya Sakamoto on her RahXephon-related single "Tune the Rainbow." He provided the vocals for the 2007 video game Sonic and the Secret Rings closing credits song titled "Worth a Chance," as well as the game's main theme "Seven Rings in Hand."