PipemanRadio Interviews American Idol Finalist Oliver Steele

0:04 Hey, you have done to censure? Wow crazy your whycoume America. It's time for the Adventures of Pipe Man on W four c Y dot com. West pomp Beats is number one internet radio station. Here's your host, the White Man. Is it too soon? Too soon to say of you?

0:50 Too soon? Te you? It's the pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W four c Y Radio. And I'm excited about our next guest because not only is he a badass artist, but he's in the music business for a great reason or at least a great story that I know. And he's going to be performing in Jersey and that's the best part of all since I'm a Jersey boy. So let's welcome to the show. Oliver Steel, how are you. I'm doing well, my friend, how are you? I'm doing great? So yeah, one of my favorite places seabright, You're going to be at Drift House by David Burke. That's pretty cool. Yeah, you know, I'm so excited. I one of the ways I love to explore, you know, local culture is by food. So the fact that I get to do not only what I love like doing music, which is another part of the culture out there, but get to have some incredible food and go to a place that I've never been. It's just, man, it's awesome. I think it's cooler than being I American Idol. Just saying, but maybe because I'm a Jersey boy. You know, I didn't get to meet an award winning chef when I was on American Idol. So you got that, that's for sure. Say there you go. I love it. Uh And so have you tasted any of his food yet? I have not? I have not. I'll be honest, I hadn't. I didn't know who chef David Burke was until I was contacted to come out there and and and do this gig at the Drift House. But but I did

2:23 my research after I was contacted, and man, he looks like he looks like he creates some incredible dishes. Did you guys see a dish when you were checking him out that like was the dish you would want to have? Ah? Man, I mean I was very intimidated by a lot of his dishes because it seems like he's like super gourmet ability and I am like a home cook, so I can't say that. I mean, yeah, I just it's a little like, oh, man, what would I even would I even begin to try you know what I mean? I think it just need to try it all, that's all. I agree. So tow our listeners who possibly didn't see you on American Idol, possibly don't know who you are, how your musical journey started, because I think that's a real cool story. Yeah. So, I mean I grew up with a dad who kind of was just involved with a lot of legendary people when he was coming up, played for a lot of legends, like opening for David Boat or starting not David Bowie for BB King. Why don't have David Bowie on the brain? Yeah, he opened for BB King always Because I was talking about Stevie Ray earlier. He opened for BB King and he had Leon Rhodes at the Texas True Doors mentoring him and got to go to the Opry a lot, and just you know, I had that around coming up growing up, and there was always music in the house, guitars everywhere, there was a piano in the house. It's just kind of where my story started. But it took me a while to pick it up on my own. You know.

3:54 It was not until I was in early high school that I really started to sort of pick it up and step into that world. So, was there a moment that happened to you in that in those high school days that made you like drew you to pick it up? I had. I So, my my biggest influences are so my dad and then you know obviously, but then there's there's John Mayer Jack Johnson, which is arguably my biggest influence, and then Ed Sharon And it was the first it was I heard the A Team by Ed Shearon. I really wanted to learn how to play it and sing it, and so I picked up a guitar and that was the first, the first song I ever learned how to play. Nice And you know, I wanted you to tell a story because of course it's always cool to know somebody's background, how they got to where they are, but also because I think everybody has to go to your Facebook at the very least probably your Instagram too and check out the video of where you played for your dad on American Idol, because I know for the coaches or to judges, it was definitely like a heart moment for you, It was a heart moment for me. Just watching it was a heart moment. I couldn't believe it.

5:14 Yeah, I mean, you know, my dad had a stroke a couple of years ago, so it kind of takes away a lot of his ability. Can't really get around that well, can't play guitar like he used to. And there's no other person I would want playing beside me more than my dad, but unfortunately can't really have it that way. So getting to play in front of him, in front of the judges was it was definitely a very emotional emotional moment for me. Yeah, probably something that when you're like eighty, that'll be the story you tell, right, Oh yeah, resent. So what did your dad have to say about that? I mean he was just over the moon, excited and happy. I mean he was just like, it's cooler than anything I've ever done. And I'm like, I don't know if that's true, right, but you know, he just so I was just very proud, still is and he's always been been a supporter and been behind me for everything. So I think it just really really made him happy to see that happen for me. See, and that's why it's so cool to me, because that's not always the case, you know, and so it's always cool to hear stories where like even what you just said that, you know, like the dad saying to the kid that you know, well, I've never done anything. That's cool as that. It's like one of the biggest compliments that you can get. And you know, not everybody's like that, not every parent is like that, So it's cool that you have that support system there. For the record, I don't think that's

6:45 true because some of the stories that he's told me are absolutely insane, but you know, it was nice to see that, right, Oh yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure you heard lots and lots of stories growing up. Is there one story in particular that's like your favorite that your dad told you? Well, they all kind of okay. So here's one that I love. So he's got a guitar that's signed by many people. It's got Percy Sledge, like Bill Monroe, Greg Alman, Charlie Daniels which I actually got that zig injured for him, Nice, a couple others, and then it has BB King on there. The story behind that was he opened for BB King. And this guitar my dad has is it's a Teley shaped guitar, but it's a custom made guitar. It's not a Fender. So when he was done, BB approached him and said, oh, you know, Tobe, you did an amazing job tonight. I thank you. And my dad was like, mister King, would you mind signing my guitar? And BB said, oh, I can't sign a Fender. I'm under a strict contract with Gibson. And my dad just said, well, mister King, with all due respect, do you see Fender on the headstock of this guitar?

7:51 And BB just shrugged and said, I guess not, and he signed the guitar. So my dad's got a telly shaped guitar are signed by BB King. So wow, Yeah, that's one of my favorite story. That is a pretty cool story for sure. So maybe you could tell the listeners who haven't heard you or or would rather hear who you are as an artist opposed to somebody that was American idol. How do you describe yourself as an artist now today? I really kind of just describe myself as an amalgamation of all my influences. So it's like a lot of somewhere between folk and soul. You know, there's there's a there's a rawness to what I do. It's very it's very personal, it's very emotional, and it's just it's something.

8:39 It's anytime I do something, whether it's especially if it's a cover, I try to make it my own. I try to do it to a point where you can just feel the emotion. And who I hate talking about myself, you can you can feel the emotion and what I do. I just try to be an honest guy, genuinely, and I try to do that with my music. I just try to come from an honest place. Even if I'm doing a cover, I try to do it from an honest place. Really. That's the only way somebody should be an artist, really, because like it portrays, it portrays from you to the people that are seeing you perform, hearing you perform, and like, to me, some of the coolest things is like even going on your social media and seeing you just hanging out on the stairwell playing. To me, that's what's cool. It's like, I think of two the way you play. I think of sitting around a campfire or bonfire and just a bunch of people just jamming out having a good time. Yeah, I mean that's for me. Some of those moments, those little moments are some of the best moments in life. You know, it's often get we get caught up and chasing really really big dreams and achieving really really big things, whether it's money or fame or whatever.

10:03 But it's easy to forget that it's the smaller moments in the journey that often mean the most and that you'll remember the most looking back. So no doubt, no one. So you play a bunch of string and instruments that I've seen, Like, how many instruments do you know how to play? I really don't. I only play guitar. I mean I dabble in piano a little bit, which I barely. I just play guitar, man, I mean I play I have well, I mean I have an ukulele. I can play a little bit ukulele. I'm getting better, but mainly just guitar. And it's really my main instrument. And so you got this performance at the Drift House. It's December third. You have anything else going on towards the end of the year, or I do next year? I do so.

10:54 Actually, the day before I'm at Drift House, I will be in Baltimore, Maryland at the Lyric Theater. PRS has invited me to come and play for the John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center fiftieth anniversary event. Wow. And I actually I actually received a call from Paul Reid Smith himself yesterday asking if I would sit in with him and his band at the end of my set and perform Change the World, which was an honor just to hear from a legend like Paul Reid Smith himself. So, I mean, that's that's literally the day before Drift House. And then when PRS asked me to do the gig, They're like, can you do this on December second? And I said to them, I said, well, I have to be in Jewsy the next day, and they said, oh, don't worry, we'll get you out there. Well make sure that you don't miss it. I'm like, thank you, so nice. That's the other thing I have going on.

11:46 Well that's a great cause too. So that's really cool you're doing that. And so how does everybody reach out to you on socials on the web, How did they buy tickets for the Jersey event? How they find out information about anything else you're doing. I believe that the link to the tickets or in my bio on Instagram and Oliver Steel music under my link tree. You can follow me there, follow me on Facebook under the same name Oliver Steel Music. You can also get tickets to the Drift House event, I believe on their website, which you can you can google drift House, and it should be it should be one of the first things that comes up.

12:28 But yeah, yeah, that's where that's where you can follow me and find those tickets to that event. Yeah, and I'll tell you what. The VIP is pretty cool for that event because it includes a soundcheck experience, which I always think that's cool. Like I go on tour and I do music festivals and my favorite time is going there early in the morning when nobody's there and listening to soundchecks. That's the coolest part. And then and then they get to do a meet and greet, so that's like, that's like the best VIP ever. Yeah. No, it's funny because like to the average person, that's like an incredible experience. But then, like me as an artist, the idea of someone coming and listening to me mess up work out the case is like a little scary. But no, I do think it's gonna be a really really cool experience. Love it. Any final words you want to leave our listeners with that we haven't touched on yet that you would like them to know. I'm gonna be I still don't have a release date for this, but I'm gonna be putting out a record here soon that is a it's a cover, it's a Jack Johnson cover. We're gonna be doing some very special things with that. We're gonna be doing a little bit of a campaign push to raise funds for the Maui wildfire relief. But when that record comes out, whatever the proceeds are, whether it's ten dollars or ten thousand, I'm gonna try to donate as much of it as I can back to the Maui Relief. So it's just something that's near and dear to my heart and I'm very excited excited to do that. Yeah, that is way cool of you, and man, I love what you're all about. Love your music. Everybody's got to check you out. Keep rocking, and thanks

14:01 for being on the Adventures of Pipe Man. No problem, man, Thank you so much for having me music soon. Hey, this is Oliver Steele and you're listening to the Pipe Main on W four C Y ray too soon. Thank you for listening to the adventures of pipemin on w for c u I Radio