Steve grew up in a musical home (the middle son of two music teachers/performers) hearing constant music on the piano or hi-fi from his earliest days. Singing was encouraged; piano lessons required. Vocal music and jazz were the preferred genres of his parents, and the house seemed frequently awash in the sounds of good choral literature, the Hi-Los, Dave Brubeck, and show tunes of the times.

After choosing drums in the school band, Steve began to mess with his older brother’s guitar; shortly thereafter he heard Three Dog Night’s version of Elton John’s “Your Song” and set down at the piano to figure out it’s opening and chordal structure. These two experiences started his “playing by ear” career. The result: he is now a terrible piano reader! A staunch admirer of Brian Wilson’s genius, his discovery of groups like the Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer, and the Four Freshmen gave him further love for the vocal harmony that he had heard so much as a youngster.

High School and college days provided playing opportunities with groups like “Surfs Up” and “Omni”—both of these in the suburban Minneapolis and Eau Claire areas. After completing his degree in instrumental music education at UWEC in1980, he began teaching band in Spooner, Wisconsin. Subsequent jobs took him to both Columbia Heights and Wayzata, Minnesota. In July of 1990, he and the fam moved to Eau Claire, in whose public schools he has taught band ever since. That same fall, a fellow musician recommended him to Pete, who was searching for a guitarist for TSR. While picking up work with various other groups since then, TSR has remained his steadiest of playing gigs.