"Oddly enough, and this is going to sound really weird, we owe a lot to groups like 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, because they've made it cool to present a real show again and be glamorous," Stevens admits.  

He explained that the band has encountered many young audiences at radio performances and their live shows, who are accepting Billy Idol because he's a larger than life character, and now it almost seems that pop acts have helped defy exactly what the grunge thing was against, leaving bands like theirs with the opportunity for continued success.  Stevens says  "The climate of music now is back to being entertaining - Thank God!"

"Billy, fortunately, because of his punk rock image, avoided the hair metal band thing. He always had me as the hard rock - heavy metal guitar player, although I'm not a heavy metal guitar player, but we combine dance music and heavy guitar and that's why he still has a career and he's not just an eighties artist," explained Stevens.  And in addition to successful sales of the band's recent Greatest Hits release, he was happy to report that the tour has been going great as well. 

"This tour is actually an extension of what we had done with VH-1 Storytellers, where we reinterpreted all of the music acoustically, we do a fair amount of that in this set as well."

Stevens has found a company that builds nylon and steel string guitars that have MIDI in them, enabling him to do much more than just play acoustic.  He says that since (unlike the school of players that he comes from) he doesn’t rely on picks for every note, playing acoustic guitar is a chance for him to really shine.

"It's funny, because when you strip down the songs and you do them as acoustic guitar pieces you learn things about your own music that you know you may have forgotten twenty years later. It's been really good to just kind of reevaluate some of these songs. The reaction has been great. It's just incredible. We've done of number of these kind of radio shows where we're on with a lot of teen pop bands. We were on with Ricky Martin the other day, and it's just wild, it's almost like you're on a mission to remind people what it's like to play rock 'n roll"

In addition to the recent Chrysalis/Capitol Records Greatest Hits release for Billy Idol, Stevens says that we can definitely expect a new studio album. The band is already performing two new songs live and they are actually working with a producer now, and while it's nothing that Stevens can say in public yet, he says that it is someone that he really respects. Plus he confirmed that they do have major label interest.

"It all feels right. It's just a respect that Billy and I have for each other that was always there. He's a really bright guy, and so many people are like e-mailing me and writing me after seeing Billy on the storytellers that are just now discovering how bright he is. There's a certain thing that happens in my heart when I play this music with him and it doesn't happen with any other artist that I've worked with."

That mutual respect is also extended through their other bandmates, Brian Tichy (Foreigner, Slash’s Snakepit, Pride & Glory), Steve McGrath (One of Idol’s riding buddies), and Joe Simon  (Fiona Apple).  According to Stevens, “There’s just a vibe on stage, because we’re all friends.  There’s nobody in this band that doesn’t want to do it for the right reasons.”

Flamenco

While Steve Stevens may have made the biggest impact as the flashy rock guitarist, he has also ventured into other musical genres to showcase his own talents. One solo project was the Flamenco.A.Go.Go album, which he released when Miles Copeland had commissioned him for the project after being so pleased with his flamenco-style interpretation of a song on his Shadows tribute album.

Stevens says, "That's a style of guitar that I've been playing, since, I don't know, I first got a guitar when I was seven and a half and didn't get an electric guitar until I was thirteen, so I grew up listening to all of that. And when all my friends were growing up trying to learn how to play 'Stairway to Heaven' and stuff, I went to high school with Mario Escidaro, Jr., whose dad was a flamenco guitarist with the Jose Greco Dance Company, so I was always aware that there was this other side of guitar playing... these amazing guys in Spain that didn't play with picks and were blindingly fast."

Around the same time that he got the offer to do the album, Stevens says that he had just put in a home studio. "I started to experiment with pro tools and digital editing and recording, so although the album is recorded with nylon string guitar, at certain points it sounds electric, because of the way I'm utilizing plug-ins and processing and things."

His involvement with that side of music has introduced a flamenco version of the song “Don't Need a Gun” from Whiplash Smile into Billy Idol’s live set, but Stevens was more moved about the doors that the album opened for him in other countries and cultures and he says that is why there will definitely be another flamenco-style record .

“There’s some things you do, because they’re just based on album sales, and there’s some things you do because you have to do them, they’re in your heart.  And I did that record, and that record took me around the world.”  

Bozzio Levin Stevens

The Bozzio Levin Stevens ensemble, which was compiled by drummer Terry Bozzio, first joined forces to release their debut Black Light Syndrome several years ago. As Stevens recalls "When Terry first approached me and we started talking about other players, I said might as well shoot for the top. I said, 'we'll probably never get him, but let's see if Tony Levin will do it.' Surprisingly enough, he made the time to do it."

The trio later regrouped for another the rock/jazz fusion project of the same name with a release called Situation Dangerous (Magna Carta).  And while the new album still featured Terry Bozzio (drums), Tony Levin (bass) and Steve Stevens (guitar), it offered up a more interesting twist, since the timing allowed for Stevens to bring more than improvisation to the table. However, he says that he still found it to be a stressful situation. 

"It was fun to do. They're very nerve-racking, because there is not much of a budget. They put you into the studio for five days, and what ever happens goes on record. That's the way those records work, they're totally improvisational," he recalls.  

Even with him bringing compositions in for their most recent release,  he says it's still a lot of work.  In his own words,  "it's nail biting time."  And though Stevens admits that it isn't likely that fans will see another release of this nature, the material is certainly something to talk about.  As with any rare grouping of complex and revered musicians, the results are often very deep and very passionate.  While some clear influences such as the familiar Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, and Chick Corea come to mind, other elements uniquely captured from each player's personal experience make their albums difficult to compare to any other.

Vince Neil Band

Being known for stretching his creativity, his work with Vince Neil (Motley Crue) seemed to be a departure from self-exploration, however, it allowed Stevens to "expose" more of his shreading capabilities on the album. And he found the initial perks of the job worthwhile, after all, it is not often that you can watch and learn from the likes of Edward Van Halen day after day on the road...

"I enjoyed doing the record a lot because it was the first time someone had actually said to me 'play as much as you can' (laughs). You know, in most cases usually leave room for the singer. It was fun doing the record. I enjoyed working with Ron Nevison.   And I loved being out on the road with Van Halen. I learned so much and to watch those guys play every night."

However, Stevens says that once their jaunt with Van Halen had ended, it became pretty apparent that Vince Neil had another agenda. "I enjoy working with people that really think music comes first. The chick and whatever ever else you're into - midgets or whatever - that's all fine but for me it's all about the music."

Thus, it is no surprise that Stevens didn't stick around for Vince Neil's second solo release and he wasn't alone.  A new line-up was formed for Carved in Stone, Neil's sophomore release, which featured Brent Woods (Wildside) on guitar. (Notably, now as Motley Crue's destiny is once again on hiatus, Neil and Woods are ironically joined by John Corabi's Union bandmates, Brent Fitz (drums) and James Hunting (bass), as they tour as the Voices of Metal headliner this summer).

More to Come
As his fans are well aware, many other opportunities have presented themselves to Stevens over the years, including pre-production of the debut McQueen Street release, an album with glam legend Michael Monroe, and his unique Atomic Playboys solo effort.  His talent and his obvious dedication to music leads us to believe that there are several chapters yet to come, but in the meantime, fans can find Stevens in his most notable role with Billy Idol at the MTV 20 Year Anniversary Celebration and at a string of east coast dates, which they hope to wind up with an unannounced performance at the Whiskey in Los Angeles.

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