I met Steve Shelton a few years back at a gig he was playing with The Reactions at June’s Outback in Killingworth, CT. I had gone out to see my friends Bill Carroll (lead vocals and guitar) and Denise Parri (lead vocals) and met several musicians in one fell swoop who would become powerhouses later in my life. The rest of the band was Joe Pecoraro on drums, Bill Bailey on bass, Steve Shelton on guitar, and Rick Comes on lead vocals.
After that time, Steve must have started coming out to the Acoustic Open Mic I run at the Country Tavern in Guilford, CT because he soon became a large musical figure in my life, especially after he started bringing his daughter Dana to me for voice lessons. We quickly bonded!
I remember working with Dana on a particular jazz standard at that time and saying, “Well, unfortunately, the very best key by far for you for this song is G flat. Ask your dad if he’s willing to play it in G flat. Oh yeah, and see if he’ll write the chart for you.” I cringed waiting for his response the next week, but she came back with a beautiful chart and said, “No problem!” So I took a breath. But when I saw him the next time, he said, “G FLAT! Really?!?!” Ha ha! But they sure sounded great together.
Since that time, Steve has become lead guitar player for The Muddy Rudders as well as John Leibler’s project The Racket Downstairs.
You can read more about Steve’s musical background in a full-length interview I posted on Shoreline Musicians. You have to read it if only to find out about the dragon pants.