Meet Steve Conte | Musician, Songwriter, Singer, Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Conte and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
My Italian-American family came from Upstate New York, moved to New Jersey when I was 9 and when I was in my mid-20s, I moved to NYC. I grew up in the classic 1970’s broken home in which we were quite poor, I saw music as my way out. Not to make a million dollars but the whole fantasy of life on the road, making records, wild parties, girls, you know, things you think about as a kid. These days it’s more about making the best music I possibly can because the business has declined so much over the past few decades that making money should not be the goal. My goal is self satisfaction, art, and hopefully, the end product will please my audience. My mother was a jazz singer and since she was working in clubs to make money to raise her FOUR children as a single mother, I thought, “well if she can do it, then I can.” And I got some of my best musical training from working with her , playing guitar in her band when I was a teen.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It has been a lot of ups and downs as it is for any artist. I grew up having a dream of being a recording artist and I knew I’d have to be in NYC to make things happen. Luckily I was well-educated as a musician but still retained the raw power of my self-taught early years, which made me versatile enough to work in a variety of situations.

Within 1 month of living in NYC I played on my first major label album as a session guitarist and would move up from there; film & TV soundtracks, commercials, industrials, tours, Anime soundtracks and eventually I did get that record contract with Mercury Records for my own band, Company Of Wolves. But as happens so often in the biz, that band didn’t hit the big time so I had to reinvent myself many times, going on tour with rockers, Billy Squier and Willy DeVille, singing with Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, being musical director for Prince & The Revolution singer Jill Jones, joining the legendary proto-punk band the New York Dolls and then moving on to write, produce, record & tour with former Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, before getting myself another record deal with Little Steven Van Zandt’s label, Wicked Cool Records. The main thing is not to give up – and to keep your power. Nobody can stop me from doing what I love to do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
In Manhattan I’d take them to Bowery Electric or Mercury Lounge to hear music, Cafe D’Alsace for dinner, dba bar for drinks. In the Bronx, An Beal Bocht for brunch.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My brother John Conte who has been the bass player in nearly all of my bands – he’s always supported and believed in my talents. And of course my mom, Rosemary Conte. She raised me to be a musician and I wouldn’t be such a good one now if it hadn’t been for the training I got playing in her bands as a kid. Not to mention that she was singing to me when I was in the womb and played great music around the house my whole life, so I soaked up all of that musical knowledge. In appreciation for all she did for me I gave her the gift of making her old recording sessions into an album, “But Beautiful” which is out there on all the usual web shops and streaming services.

Website: www.steveconte.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steveconte

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveconte

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveConteNYC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveConteNYC

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SteveConteNYC

Image Credits
Photo by Anja Van Ast