Steven Alvarado: News

Hi everyone,

I came across an artist in the studio the other day that I really love. Her name is Hope Nunnery. She's amazing and I think you may like her too. I would call her sound "Mountain Music". As you know, I'm big on lyrics and it seems like few people know how to write them anymore. Ms Nunnery certainly knows how. Check this is out:

"Mama got a black eye, she staring out the window
Puffin on a Pell Mell, coffee getting colder, she
Big and fat and pretty, better than a movie star
Mama sweet foot tapping to the sound of the soft guitars."

That's from a song called Little Pink Radio.

You can find her here: www.hopenunnery.com
And see her below.

-Steven

Hi Everyone,

 

There's a great Podcast in the UK called Folkcast.  They just aired their season finally and featured my song See You Again to close the show.  I encourage you to listen the entire show but if you must, you can skip ahead to the last three or four minutes to catch the song.

 

More news later!

 

Steven

 

Hi everyone,


Just a quick announcement to tell you about my new Blog called Monkey Grin.


Here is the description of what it's all about: "Welcome to Monkey Grind, my Blog. I've tried my hand a couple of times at Blogging but never seemed to get it quite right. I think all I was really looking for was an outlet for all the "other" things that I have to say or am interested in. That's what this Blog is all about. To collect & post anything I find interesting. That could mean news, a political issue, music, or a YouTube video I think is funny. I don't intend to post regularly, just whenever I feel like it. So, it's probably best to subscribe if you want to get new posts as they happen. This is my secondary outlet that has nothing to do with my life as a recording & touring musician. But then, on the other hand, I guess you can't really separate the two. This is just a better forum for "everything else" than my music website."


Check it out and leave your comments! http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/

-Steven

Hi all,

My friends over at HomoPod Radio played me on this weeks show.
I even did a station I.D. for them. I've posted the show below for you to listen.
My song comes on second.

Steven

 

  

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

 

A while back the PBS television show Road Trip Nation used some of my music as background on a couple of different episodes.  They have since partnered with Fuel TV and are now doing a Mini Series with short episodes around 7 to 10 minutes or so for television.  My song New York  from Let It Go is featured in episode 5.

 

I've posted the episode below for you to watch.  My song comes on at 3.5 minutes.

 

More news later!

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

 

My friends over at HomoPod Radio have been off the air for a while taking a long break and have decide to re-launch the show on May 16th.  Mark Carnahan the host, puts together a really great show every week with some great music.  The show gets a whopping 10,000 downloads a month!  Mark has an eclectic taste in music and I've been the Featured Artist of The Month a couple of times on the show.  We even did an interview for an episode (I think when The Howl Sessions came out) but unfortunately due to technical problems the interview never aired.  Maybe we'll do a new one for you in the near future.  To celebrate the launch I wanted to re-post those episodes that I was on for you.

 

Look for HomoPod Radio on the internet, May 16th!

 

 

 

PART ONE

PART TWO

Hi friends,

Let It Go came out in April 2008, yet after almost two years, it continues to get good reviews. This one is from the UK from Zeitgeist/Stuart Hamilton. Zeitgeist is a great music review sight describing itself as an "idiosyncratic collection of music news and reviews", to which I very much agree. (http://www.the-rocker.co.uk/)

Mr. Hamilton reviewed my previous album The Howl Sessions to which he says in this new CD review that he "drooled rather unbecomingly over that one". Any music journalist willing to say something like that has my unwavering respect. I offer a tissue along with my humble thanks for that beautifully written and enthusiastic musical evaluation. I also send my thanks for reviewing Let It Go and offering his influential stamp of approval.

The Howl Sessions is definitely the album that sort of put me on the map (I'm still obscure) and it garnered an enormous amount of positive press. I still love that album and all of those reviews are still posted here on my sight. Let It Go has also done extremely well and is still going strong. While both albums sold well, Let It Go surpassed The Howl Sessions total sales after about three months of its release and is still selling (mostly through downloads at iTunes). The new review from Zeitgeist is below as well as the original review of The Howl Sessions.

Enjoy,

Steven







STEVEN ALVARADO
Let It Go
Mott St Records

It's been a while since Mr Alvarado and I crossed path. In fact, it was way back in 2005 when I got more than a wee bit excited about his "The Howl Sessions" release. I drooled rather unbecomingly over that one.

This record sees him creating his "record about heartbreak", which is always fertile ground for a singer / songwriter. Of course, it can also get self-indulgent and narcissistic but that's, thankfully, not the case here.

There are some really delightful tunes here with 'Nobody Knows' bringing back some very unhappy memories. Git. However, he does get a bit more chipper on 'New York', one of the few outward looking moments on offer. He's also put together another top-notch band for this album with Marc Ribot, Kenny Wollesen, Rob Burger and Joe Quigley having served time with the likes of T-Bone Burnett, Norah Jones. Beth Orton and Lisa Loeb, amongst others.

If you only listen to one song before making your mind up, then take a listen to 'Blue'. That should make your decision very easy indeed.

-Stuart Hamilton/Zeitgeist







REVIEW: Steven Alvarado
The Howl Sessions (Mott Street)

Solo album 3, in a recording career going back to 1991 isn’t a frenetic release schedule, but it’s worth waiting for something this good.

His vocal style alone would make this worthwhile, even if he was singing the equivalent of the telephone directory, for his warm, lived in voice, is a treat. However, he knows how to write a memorable tune as well. Amongst the many highlights here are the tragic “Morphillia (A Girl I Knew)” and “Wish You Were Here (Postcards From Hell)”, which show a depth of lyricism rarely heard these days. How can you go wrong with an opening stanza of;

You told me I’m going to Hell
I’m finally here and doing swell
I’ll send you a card ‘wish you were here’
‘umm humm, down here

He is well respected enough to be able to call on some well connected players to help bring his vision to life, with Rob Burger (Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones) on organ, Joe Quigley, (Shawn Colvin, Lisa Loeb) on bass, Mike Presta, (Counting Crows, Melissa Etheridge) on drums and Richard Barone, (Lou Reed, Patti Smith) on bongo's, amongst others.

But it’s to his credit that his songs and voice rise above the backing to make a righteous claim for respect in his own right. A truly excellent release.

-Zeitgeist (LONDON)

Hi friends,

Well it's been quite a winter here in New York City. We've had record snow fall and I can tell you that I am ready for summer. I think we are about done with the snow after this last storm and I am very much looking forward to the warmer weather of Spring. The good thing about winter is that I am forced to stay in a lot and there is not much else to do but write songs, so that's what I've been doing!!

More news later...

Steven

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year!! It's a new decade, can you believe it? And what a great start I'm off to! I wrote two songs last night!

I guess it's official, I'm writing a new album. I usually like to keep that to myself for a while until I have most of it written, but what the hell... I figure I may as well tell everyone since I'm so excited about it.

Well, the songs are pretty damn good (if I do say so myself). I get the feeling this is going to be a really good album. The songs are from the heart, as always. I can't wait to share them with you. I hope to be in the studio by this summer.

As you know, once I get in the groove, I usually write pretty fast, two or three songs a day. Maybe a new album out by 2011? That sounds like pretty realistic to me.

Also, hope you like the minor website update we did. Changed the color and the cover page.

More news later,

Steven

Hi All,

I was fooling around with my camcorder and made this little music video of "Get This Far" for you. I shot it in my living room here in my New York apartment. It's by no means professional, it's just for fun.

I had fun making it so I hope you enjoy it. Go to YouTube and give it a bunch of stars!

-Steven

Hi friends,

I posted this last year and it was a big hit so I thought I'd do it again. It's "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Hope you enjoy it.

Happy Christmas & New Years everyone.

Steven


a charlie brown christmas

|

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note. It’s holiday season. Many in America will be celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend and then comes Christmas around the world. As most of you know, I’m not exactly religious, so giving thanks to some sort of god, seems a little silly to me and celebrating the birth of Christ is just plain vulgar. Especially since Christianity has such a violent and bloody history. I’m mean really—they hate and discriminate against EVERYONE!!

With that said, on the brighter side, I hope all of you spend this time of year enjoying the people, friends & family that you love and that mean the most to you. That’s all we really have in this life I think.

And may we have peace on earth, someday… (because as it turns out, Obama is going to continue both Bush wars.) I guess Lying politicians come in every package.

-Steven

Hi everyone,

So I’ve been considering something really cool. Launching a World-Tour via the internet.

Let me explain. What I’m talking about is a city-by-city tour web-cast from my New York City apartment. You would email me, we would schedule a date, you would gather your friends together at your place, and I would play a show in your living room right over the internet! I would play a different city each night and keep “touring” indefinitely.

You’ll need video-chat capability at home, but that’s easy enough. If you have a web-cam on your computer we could use Skype or Apple iChat/video.

I have always embraced technology and the internet has been an wonderful instrument for me distributing my music around the world. I’ve used it to book tours and sell CD’s & downloads, so it only makes sense that I would do an internet-tour.

Are you intrigued? I know I am! If you want to host an “Internet House Concert” at your place, email me and lets talk about it! You can be located anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection with video-chat capability.

This is an experiment, so if I get enough inquiries I’ll go forward. These shows will be free, so don’t be shy, send me an email!

I look forward to your emails.

stevenalvarado@yahoo.com

Steven

Hi All,

Let It Go got a really great review in LimeWire!  As most of you know, the new album has been out for over a year now.  It's nice knowing that it's still getting reviewed!

Have a look HERE

"On his third album, Let It Go, New York City singer-songwriter Steven Alvarado plumbs the emotional depths to come up with perhaps his most intimate, affecting offering yet. If there's one thing Alvarado seems to have learned over the years, it's the value of concision — Let It Go's ten songs take up less than half an hour. Quality trumps quantity, though, as Alvarado employs his rough-edged, emotive voice on a batch of tunes that dig way down into the dark underbelly of human emotions. The truths he comes up with aren't always pretty, but the sounds with which he frames them are consistently compelling. With a sort of post-Elvis Costello power-pop/folk-rock songwriting aesthetic, he offers indelible melodies to match every emotional sucker punch here. And while much of the album features little beyond Alvarado's own acoustic guitar and incisive singing to put the song across, when he does add other colors, he doesn't mess around: accompanists include Tom Waits' guitar genius Marc Ribot and quirky, inventive drummer-to-the-stars Kenny Wolleson."

 

-By Jim Allen, LimeWire Store

Hi everyone,

Well after just a little over a month I’m bored with that new blog I started and have decided to drop it. I’m not getting much traffic on it anyway, so I don’t feel like doing the extra work to maintain it. I love having my main website and would rather put the energy here where I know I get a ton of traffic from all of you. Anything more seems a bit redundant. I was starting to neglect this site and I don’t want to do that. I was giving away free downloads on that blog so maybe what I’ll do is give away a free download here every now and then.

In other news…

So as it turns out I ended up not touring this summer. I think I needed the break and sort of took an unofficial extended holiday. However, I have been writing new songs and working on getting more television placements so it wasn’t a complete wash. I’ll let you know if I get something new.

Hope you all had a great summer. More news later!

-Steven

Hi Friends!

I just got a great review from a popular music blog based in Newfoundland called The Next Big Thing. Check it out below.

Also, there’s a new post on my Song A Week blog:
http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/

Keep sending me those emails, I love hearing from you!

More news later…

-Steven


Steven Alvarado’s “Let It Go” is his fifth album. On Mott St. Records, it has a crack team of players on it and it’s quite latterday Springsteen although I’d have to say that the songs are better. Maybe it’s closer to Greg Trooper now that I think about it a little more. I don’t see this so much as Americana, it’s more electricity-fused acoustic. Not really pop but courting certain elements of that. Essentially these are stories set in very able arrangements that deserve to be heard. But where? As the planet continues to disappear up its own hind-end, there are less and less places to connect with good, honest music like this. Check it out in the confines of wherever you may be accessing this via the wonders of not-so modern technology.


-Lindsay Hutton

Hi Friends,

So I should be writing songs for a new album. I should be out on the road touring. But what am I doing? I’m headed to the beach again! It’s summer time, so give me a break!!

I’m usually the one working harder than anyone else, so I decided to give myself a break and have some fun for once and goof off all summer long.

I promise that I’ll get back to work soon and start writing some songs and playing some live shows. But for now, let’s all go to the beach!

In the meantime, I hope you have had a chance to check out my new “Song a Week” blog:

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/
Drop by and say hi.

Cheers,

Steven

Hi Everyone,

I have a new posting on my new blog. Hope you are enjoying it each week. Drop by and say hi and don't forget to leave a comment!

-Steven

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/

Hello everyone!

I am very excited to announce my new Blog! This is a new venture that I am very excited about because I am trying something completely new that I’ve never done before.

I’ve heard about a few songwriters out there that decided to post a song every week on their website or Blog and let people download it for free, with the option to buy it.

I like the idea of giving music away for free in order to introduce people to my music that may have never heard of me.

Fortunately, I own the rights to all of my music. I feel that if I let you know that the money goes straight to me every time you buy my music, it will make you feel good about supporting independent artists. So please, download the free song, and then if you like it buy my music! This of course helps me to continue to make music for all the world to enjoy.

Any postings on my new Blog will also be posted here, so don’t worry, you won’t miss anything if you don’t make it over to the Blog.

Please go check it out!

http://stevenalvarado.blogspot.com/
-Steven Alvarado

Hello my friends,

Just a quick update. Not a lot going on at the moment, just enjoying some summer time here in New York City. I took a little holiday and went to the beach for a week. Us New Yorkers go to Fire Island in the summer. It’s a quiet little paradise, as you can see in the photo. I’m going back for more in another week or so.

I’m starting to work on some new songs. I’ll keep you posted on any new plans for recording. I’m just now starting to gather the band together. My friend Kenny Wollesen will be playing drums again and hopefully Marc Ribot will be available again for electric guitar. I’m still working on some more tour dates this year but nothing to announce yet. I can at least tell you that they will be American dates. I don’t tour enough here, so I’m working on trying to fix that.

Thanks for checking in. That’s all I have for now but keep checking back!

-Steven

Hi Friends,

A great radio show in Skopje, Macedonia called Mojo Alt Fridays on National FM Radio is playing songs from Let It Go. Skopje is the capitol of the Republic of Macedonia, a small European country. Skopje is a city of rich cultural history and ancient origins and is located near Belgrade and Athens. Among other things, Skopje is known for being the birthplace of Mother Teresa, and is home of one of the most important jazz festivals in Europe, The Skopje Jazz Fesitval.

More news later!

-Steven

Mojo Alt Fridays 10PM-12PM
94.1 FM Radio 2
Skopje, Macedonia

Producer & Host: Vasja Ivanovski
http://www.myspace.com/440600242
Currently playing:

Steven Alvarado “New York”
Steven Alvarado “It’s Alright”
(CD Let It Go – Mott Street Records)

Hi Friends,

Fausto Fernos & Marc Felion of the very famous website & podcast Feast of Fools featured my song Burning Bridges on their show today. It’s their Cinco De Mayo show. They were off a bit on my heritage (my family origins are from Spain, not Mexico) but that’s OK. I’m just happy they played my song.

The podcast is a comedy show and Fausto & Marc are very funny. Visit the website here:

http://www.feastoffools.net/gay-fun-show/2009/05/07/fof-981-siete-de-mayo-050709/
Play the show here:


The song comes on near the very end.

More news later!

-Steven

Hi Friends,

A great radio show in The Netherlands called Radio Girl added my song "It's For You" to their playlist.  The album is still going strong!

You can click here to listen to the March 28th show, which is what I'm on: http://www.rootsparadise.nl/radiogirl/files/radiogirl.mp3

More news later!

-Steven

 

 

Partial Playlist March 28th, 2009:
The Coal Porters, "Final Wild Son"; Turn The Water On, Boy! (Prima Records, www.myspace.com/thecoalporters)

The Coal Porters, "Idiot Wind"; How Dark This Earth Will Shine (Prima Records, www.myspace.com/thecoalporters)

Mark Boulle and The Haba Dudes, "Wasted"; Music Will Make You Go Insane (Self-Released/Hemifran, www.myspace.com/markboulle)

Sarah Blackwood, "Bad Job Jesus"; Way Back Home (Wolverine Records, www.myspace.com/sarahblackwood)

Luke Powers, "W Road Ghost"; Texasee (Phoebe Claire Publishing/Hemifran, www.texasee.com)

Joe Moe w/ Paul Lacques, "Car On A Hill"; Mainland (Puluphonic Records/Hemifran, www.gojoemoe.com)

Vanessa Peters & Ice Cream On Mondays, "Drowning In Amsterdam"; Sweetheart, Keep Your Chin Up (Little Sandwich Music, www.vanessapeters.com)

Saul Broudy, "Starlight On The Rails"; Various Artists - Singing Through The Hard Times - A Tribute To Utah Phillips (Righteous Babe/Hemifran)

Mickey Clark w/ Jerry Jeff Walker, Robin & Linda Williams, "Goodnight Loving Trail"; Winding Highways (Ear X-tacy Records/Sonic RendezVous)

Chelsea Hotel w/ Ellen ten Damme, "Cherry Red Car"; Don Quijote (Rossinant Records/Sonic RendezVous)

Chris Laterzo and Buffalo Robe, "Holiday Inn"; Juniper And Piñon (Yampa Records/Hemifran, www.chrislaterzo.com)

Steven Alvarado, "It's For You"; Let It Go (Mott St Records/Hemifran, www.stevenalvarado.com)
Ben Lee, "Sing"; The Rebirth Of Venus (New West Records/Sonic RendezVous)

My Brave Love, "Another Souvenir"; Heaven In Your Arms (Self-Released, www.mybravelove.com)

Hi everyone,

My friend Cariad Harmon has her first album coming out and did a show here in New York to celebrate it. I shot some video for her and wanted to share it with you. I think you'll enjoy it!

-Steven

..

Hi friends,

Let it Go has been out now 11 months, and still the reviews keep coming in from around the world. It's pretty exciting that the new album has done so well and garnered so much interest.

Here are a couple of new reviews to share:

Steven Alvarado - Let It Go (Mott Street)

Met ‘The Howl Sessions’ raakte Alvarado drie jaar geleden uit de obscuriteit. De singer-songwriter die opgroeide in Los Angeles was in 2001 via Nashville in New York City beland en had voordien in eigen beheer al twee langspelers uitgebracht. ‘Let It Go’ is een wat somber klinkend werkstuk waarin Alvarado zijn zielenroerselen blootlegt met rauwe klagelijke zang.

Dat gebeurt meestal op een rustige manier, met uitzondering van de forse opener waarin percussief akoestisch snarenwerk van Alvarado het gezelschap krijgt van de rinkelende elektrische gitaar van Marc Ribot, bekend van zijn werk met Elvis Costello en Tom Waits. Naast een percussionist uit het entourage van Tom Waits is er een ritmesectie met connecties bij Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones en Shaw Colvin. Pianist Rob Burger kennen we van zijn recente samenwerking met Lucinda Williams. Deze gereputeerde muzikanten vervullen hun werk meer dan voortreffelijk en het puike songwerk krijgt nog meer glans met subtiele accenten. In het treurige New York herinnert de stem van Alvarado enigszins aan de rasp van Waits, maar dan in een soort light versie, evenals bij ’It’s Allright’, dat op sloom twangend snarenwerk drijft en waarin Steven terugblikt naar zijn verblijf in Nashville. Het vroegere werk heb ik even fragmentarisch beluisterd op het net. Niet onverdienstelijk, vooral ‘The Howling Sessions’. De tien nummers van ‘Let It Go’ klinken ongetwijfeld stuk voor stuk meer beklijvend. Ongetwijfeld het beste dat we tot dusver van deze getalenteerde songwriter gehoord hebben.

-Cis Van Looy, Keys & Chords Magazine

Google Translate:

With The Howl Sessions Alvarado was three years ago from the obscurity.

The singer-songwriter who grew up in Los Angeles in 2001 by Nashville in New York City and brings in his own administration had previously been given two long-players. Let It Go is a rather gloomy sounding piece which Alvarado his soul stirring principles exposed complainant to establish a raw vocals.

This is usually done in a peaceful way, with the exception of the strong opener which percussief acoustic strings work of Alvarado the company receives from the tinkling electric guitar of Marc Ribot, known for his work with Elvis Costello and Tom Waits. In addition to a percussionist from the entourage of Tom Waits is a rhythm section with links to Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones and Shaw Colvin. Pianist Rob Burger, we know of his recent collaboration with Lucinda Williams. This renowned musicians perform their work more than excellent song and a very fine piece of work gets even more shine with subtle accents. In New York, the sad voice of Alvarado slightly to the rasp of Waits, but in a kind of light version, as in 'It's Allright ", which slow Twan ing strings work drives and Steven looks back to his residence in Nashville. The former work, I just listened to patchy on the net. Not full service, especially 'The Howling Sessions. The ten songs of "Let It Go 'sound certainly all more persistent. Undoubtedly the best we have so far heard this talented songwriter.

-Cis Van Looy, Keys & Chords Magazine


Steven Alvarado – Let It Go
Ook Steven Alvarado heeft op Let It Go een paar prima gasten, waar Marc Ribot de opvallendste van is. Ribot voegt met zijn electrische gitaar op elke plaat waar hij op meespeelt iets toe, hij zet de boel op scherp, zorgt voor het ruwe randje en zorgt ervoor dat de andere muzikanten wakker blijven. Zo ook hier. De tien zelfgeschreven nummers zijn vrijwel allemaal droevige liefdesliedjes, al worden ze soms in een swingende rockversie gebracht. De cd is alleen wat aan de korte kant - een krap half uurtje.

-Moors Magazine