We recently connected with Steven Volor and have shared our conversation below.

Steven , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I had never thought about being an artist of any sort. I learned guitar honestly, in some ways on accident. My brother tried the guitar, but quickly realized that it wasn’t what he wanted to do compared to being a singer instead, so he had me try it. When I played it, it felt absolutely right. Coming home from school and playing guitar for the next 8-10 hours as a kid was the best part of my day. As soon as I picked up the instrument, I knew this is what I wanted to do professionally. I never saw it as a pass time or a hobby, and as cliché as it may sound, I saw it as an opportunity to help keep the spirit of rock & metal going. My blood boils with joy and excitement when I listen to music. it’s hard to explain, but I was also not happy with the state of music then and now with most of the greats retiring or passing away it’s even worse. And that’s not even just related to the music it relates to the attitude, the vibe, the personality, the danger. Where is it in music anymore? Rock N’ Roll isn’t dangerous anymore. To give you an example, we just did a show and one of the bands on the bill was playing frisbee out back… I don’t mean to knock the activity, but that’s the least rock ‘n’ roll thing you could be doing prior to a hard rock and metal show. That’s also not to say you have to go out and get wasted, but come on. Where’s your sense of fun, you have the coolest job in the world playing music and that’s what you do? Anyway, the better I became as a musician, the better the musicians we played with and the more the band grew to playing more frequent and better shows, and that’s what’s kept me going, knowing this is what I want to do. Performing as an artist and running this business despite the work it takes, is my true passion.

Steven , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Steven “PÖLLIXX” Volor, or PÖLLIXX also known as the Glampire (You can thank Lou from the all female Minneapolis rock band Rebel Queens for that brilliant nick-name), and I am the lead guitarist and co-owner of the Minneapolis based hard rock & heavy metal band CASTER VOLOR. I am also a multi-instrumentalist for my personal project, PÖLLIXX. I started playing guitar in 2009 when I was 14 years old and my brother Alex and I formed Caster Volor right then and there. We spent the next few years learning how to play our instruments and we played with lots of different musicians getting better and better. The group officially formed in 2015 as we began playing shows professionally to where we got the chance to open for 80’s legends Stryper, and were recording an EP. The line-up had changed, but in 2018 we recorded and released our debut EP, A Prelude To The Freak Show marking the beginning of our discography, and have been actively, writing, recording, and touring since. What I am most proud of is that despite all of the complications, criticisms, set-backs, and arguments a business and/or band can take, my brother and I have been able to work through them together to build our brand and continue building it. We have played in front of no people, we have played in front of a thousand people, and the story continues.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

In my industry, the best way society can support artists is to help them get seen and then go see them. What does that mean exactly? It means go out and support live music. Most importantly support original live music. Those who create. It means, buying merch, and at the very least supporting artists on social media. Liking a post, sharing it, commenting all of those little things go a long way to helping artists grow and create better material.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think what keeps most artists going is the feeling of changing a life with your work. It doesn’t matter if it’s one person or if it’s a million people. If something you created changed someone’s life for the better or even just for a night, I believe you’ve done your part as an artist. Now, do it again. For me, it’s just that. And it’s addicting, with each person, or crowd my desire is to make an even bigger impact each time and so forth.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.castervolor.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castervolor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/castervolor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/castervolor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@castervolorvevo8657

Image Credits
Bud Ingram-Lile.