MP3 Steve K + The Hardwood Groove - Down To Earth

"hot, intricate acoustic guitar work...excellent guitar playing and songwriting" - monday magazine

12 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, EASY LISTENING: Mood Music



Details:
"hot, intricate acoustic guitar work...excellent guitar playing and songwriting" - Victoria's News/A&E weekly: MONDAY MAGAZINE

âeffortlessly surpasses similar attempts by other artists...Steve's guitar playing is exceptionally sharp and accurate.â - (COSMIC DEBRIS)

âHe delivers every word of the story with power, fluidity, and downright tendernessâ¦He made his Larrivee sound like at least three guitarsâ¦a superb rhythm player, a soulful and adept lead player...really good original materialâ- Lynn-Marie Holland [freelance critic: Toronto Star, Victoria Times Colonist]

"Steve is a unique voice as a songwriter and musician. His gifted and skilled guitar playing weaves it's way beautifully through his music - a pleasure to listen to." â ( Juno Award Winner) Shari Ulrich


The title of Steve Kâs new album DOWN TO EARTH says a lot about his music. With plenty of âhot, intricate acoustic guitar workâ and many themes portraying a strong sense of place, Steve Kâs music firmly takes root in the earthy field of contemporary folk music. Drawing on a palette of flying fingers, funky rhythms, and colorful sounds, this Gibsons, BC based musicianâs songs and instrumentals paint a broad musical picture that balances his redneck roots and rat race training. The result? Heâs like a west coast Chet Atkins shaking his booty down the bohemian boulevard.

After growing up in Fishbowl, BC, Steve Kâs professional career began at the age of 18 when he started playing in dance bands to pay his way through university. In 1995, Mr. K (a.k.a. Steve Karagianis) graduated with distinction as a classical guitar performance major and voice minor from the UVic School of Music where â[he] set a new standard in guitar excellenceâ (Dr. Alex Dunn). Through many years of forging a living performing and touring on four continents at concert halls, festivals, cruise ships, bars, pubs, coffee houses, TV and radio stations, Steveâs sound evolved into the intricate acoustic music heard on his first full length album HEADSPACE (2003), acclaimed for its âexcellent guitar playing and songwritingâ - (MONDAY MAGAZINE). In that same year, outfitted with a dry-bagged guitar and his love of the wild, Steve embarked on the State of the Strait Concert Kayak Tour - a 5 week, 420km concert tour in which he travelled via kayak.

Acclaimed guitar playing and songwriting aside, what really defines Steve Kâs music is a sense of place. From DOWN TO EARTHâs opening strains of west coast ethnic fusion in the breathtaking acoustic guitar instrumental âTen Gallon Turbanâ to its symphonic conclusion with the title track, Mr. Kâs adventurous fingers endeavour to depict the peaks and valleys of his homeland. One of the albumâs strongest tunes, âWhere I Belongâ, characterizes the sense of place in his music: itâs an anthemic tribute to Canadaâs westernmost province featuring Kâs earthy baritone alongside the angelic voice of two time Juno winner and fellow Howe Sounder Shari Ulrich. DOWN TO EARTH also features excellent musicians Mr. K performs regularly with: percussionist Boyd Grealy (Uzume Taiko, UVic School of Music grad - Grealy and Kâs musical relationship goes back 17 years, when they paid their way through university in a 50âs dance band and then went broke in a progressive rock band), upright bassist Paul Bergman (Slow Drag, Corcavado, Grant McEwan School of Music grad), and Sunshine Coast fiddler Serena Eades (Brandon University School of Music grad). With production assistance by two time Juno winner Steve Dawson (of Zubot & Dawson), drum kit by outstanding Vancouver session drummer Phil Belanger, additional vocals by versatile Cap College voice instructor Sylvia Zaradic, and engineering work by Juno nominated Sheldon Zuharko and Liam May, itâs an album fit for fans of fine acoustic music and anyone who appreciates a sense of place.