Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Steven McCormick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’m not sure there is a more direct path to doing what I do. I was an American Studies major in college, and wrote a thesis about American Music that certainly was a great overview of the types of projects I might encounter. I also studied music compostion and learned to score and orchestrate, again important groundwork.

Beyond that I wrote and continue to write songs, had a publshing deal with a Nashville based company etc. This is a lifelong pursuit and I am always learning more about the craft.

Work as a session musician, also key.

And lastly working everyday in a recording studio, building micorphones, learning how to mix etc.

It is just a very “large” career pursuit. There are lots of different kinds of music producers, but these are some of the things that make me unique.

Perhaps I could have gone to a school like Berklee and fast tracked some of this education; who knows.

The obstacles are perhaps political, and maybe come down to just plain luck. I’m an eternal optimist though and I think you have to be in this business.

Steven, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Huffington post described me thus: “Steve McCormick the Creator of Brilliant Americana.”

I guess I answered a lot of this in the previous question, but I can add to it here.

I built a lot of my own gear, tube microphones, tube pre-amps and compressors. This gave me a really granular understanding of the kinds of things that shape tones in the signal path.

I have worked super hard at the craft of songwriting, and been involved with things like helping to beta test a for subscription songwriting service called Songworks.org (did not succeed). This. experience gave me access to content from other songwriting masters and took my craft to another level. So I can help clients solve problems with their songs before they “hit record.” Things like phrasing, hooks, or lyric imagery. The great songs have it all and many pretty good songs just need a little help ironing things out first.

I am most proud of my overall body of work, which seems to “age” like fine wine. We can get so into the details when working on large creative projects that it can be hard to hear the “forest for the trees.” I love that I can go back and listen to records from 20+ years ago and marvel that they still sound fresh and relevant.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Wow, what an opportunity.

I was in Nashville meeting with my publishers in the early 90’s when a representative from The Harry Fox Agency called all the publishers together to say that the Chinese had created a machine called the “ripper” that would allow perfect digital copies of CD’s and that publishers were about to be ripped off blind and that their revenue stream would be forever altered for the worse.

I don’t think the music industry has come to terms with how inexorably the move to digital changed the industry fundamentally. Revenue streams change time and time again and it just gets worse and worse for anybody trying to make an honest living in the business.

Revenue streams. I used to make a good living as a session musician doing jingle work…that has largely dried up and ad agencies use music libraries instead where the musicians were paid non-union in a buy out. Last year we saw a SAG-AFTRA strike for actors and screenwriters fighting against things like AI–well the same force34s of economics have always plagued musicans.

Spotify and other streaming services paying little to nothing.

And even as an educator we are seeing humanites programs being eradicated in colleges and universities. Less and less music is being taught.

The public, society in general, has moved the needle in the direction of something akin to a sense that musicians do what they do as a hobby and ought not feel they should be compensated for their efforts.

This all needs to change. It all could change.

I personally believe American music is a valuable asset of our country, but it is the liberal, francophilic, “melting pot” ideal of America, and right now that is severely threatened. Arguably it has been threatened as long as I’ve been working in the industry, since the Reagan years.

Banks have been bailed out. The auto industry has been bailed out. The music industry should be bailed out too.

So yes, it is political.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The overreaching story that illustrates my resilience is that I have met the most quality people struggling as I am to carve out a living in this business. Really good people. People of all races. The best of America, but the same is true of musicians from other parts of the world, South America, Africa etc. The best of the world. Musicians and people who support music are the best of the best. They really are.

The people who make music their livelihood, know no other way, would have it no other way. The same is probably true for artists, but speaking for myself I see it in the music indusrty.

We will always fight the good fight and be righteous and work for peace and love.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevemccormick/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevemccormickband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stevemccormick3848

Image Credits

Photos by Denis Hanigan