Stephen Heller tour dates for 2009

Born in Baltimore and raised just outside of Annapolis, this Maryland native has been surrounded by music his entire life. His father played guitar and sang original 70’s rock, his grandfather played drums in a jazz band, and his uncle was a drummer in numerous progressive bands.

At the age of 7, Stephen received his first set of drums. After beating on that kit for awhile, and after getting bored with it like most kids do, he turned to sports. He soon realized sports were not his passion and so his freshman year in high school he returned to the music scene. “There wasn’t a specific point in time that I decided I just wanted to entertain. It was more like a domino effect of events that lead to it.” Stephen’s grandfather loaned him his 1950 Ludwig drum kit and there was no turning back.

Stephen began playing in a few bands alongside his brother Nate, who was a bass player. This duo made an outstanding backbone for any band and made it easy for guitarists to click with them musically. Stephen also began picking up management duties for these bands, from setting up practices to booking their shows. However, after a few successful years of playing together, Nate left for the marines and Stephen moved away to begin college.

Stephen’s parents persuaded him to go to college and it turned out to be one of the best decisions “he never made”. Stephen attended school in Columbus, OH and while he tried to continue playing music, he found that drums were not welcome in apartment buildings. This led Stephen to pick up his guitar and start progressing on what he had already learned. During a night of partying in college, Stephen found himself at a karaoke bar singing a few songs. Later that night he spoke with the host of the show who decided to hire him on to host his own karaoke shows. Besides being a job he enjoyed, singing karaoke helped improve his vocals while solidifying his desire to be a front man.

After graduation, Stephen headed home to Maryland to start his “professional career” with his degree in electronic engineering. However, after three months at his job, he decided it was not for him and returned to music. Over the next three years he fronted two separate punk bands while also covering the majority of the management duties. All of the added pressure of managing took him away from concentrating solely on his music, so he moved on.

After he parted ways with his previous bands, Stephen took some time to gather himself and re-establish his musical identity. During this time he started writing songs on acoustic guitar and found himself conveying a message through his lyrics with less aggression and more meaning. “I definitely did not think this is where I would be today musically five years ago, but I feel like my dream is at my finger tips and no one can really stop me but myself.” It’s this thinking that continues to drive Stephen Heller’s new music across the country.