About Steve

Who is Steve Starke?

I am a Kiwi father and stepfather of 2 boys, my wife and I live in rural land in South Auckland. A Real Estate nutter by day, I have been writing my own lyrics since before I turned 18 – and started recording my own work on a four-track some a very long time ago!

My first recording work was pure instrumental electric guitar solos played to backing tracks I programmed on a genius little sequencer by Yamaha - a QY10. This introduced me to the fear and joy and pain and exquisite high of recording my own soul at work in a studio.

Since then I have recorded with bands The Burn (an unreleased 5 track EP) and Days of Twelve (in a self-titled 11 track album release, and an incomplete EP). In addition, I have previously forayed into solo work using studio musicians for two tracks (circa 1990's) Whisperscream and Ten Stories Down. These were not released as such – although Whisperscream has had quite a bit of internet airplay.

Latterly I released a lament as a result of my first year collaborating at Outland Sessions (2018) in a track named Until the Sun's Death Kills Time. This features co-writers principally Keighty Maught'n and the same rhythm section found on my upcoming new track. With Luke Finlay featuring on guitar – and being the principal engineer I was very grateful to be in skilled hands.

Since then I have certainly not been content to sit on my laurels and still work hard at learning and improving my guitar vocals and musicality.

Musical Influences

The very first album I ever had was given to me by my parents – John Denvers Greatest Hits Volume 2. Prescient in its reach, Annies Song and the ode to the work of the Cousteaus (Calypso) were important in opening wide my musical vision.

I went through phases with bands of the 80s such as Men at Work and The Narcs, and got into Twisted Sister and Bryan Adams (Run to You was a strong tie in for me of guitar and vocals at full cry – as I thought then). This progressed to the wonders of AC/DCs incredible work – Back in Black was not long out when I heard them for the first time – fantastic forever. I also caught Led Zeppelins film Song Remains the Same but this was more subtle to me and I was hooked into the guitar and vocals of AC/DC.

Blues made its terrible way into my heart and playing around age 23 and is still a true colour in my work. Eric Claptons "Just One Night – Live In Japan" double album was everything for a while – that and the New Zealand work I was being introduced to in my first and only durable covers band – RBM (Hamilton).

Since then I've only performed my own music from various bands – with covers used for learning/performance evaluation. I delved also into Stevie Ray Vaughan, Blind Faith, Cream, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Chris Cornell.
Apart from one short season as a choir member in Jesus Christ Superstar, the only musical theatre experience I have was in my theatre lead role. This was with Pukekohe Performing Arts where I performed as the Reverend Shaw Moore in the musical Footloose – a role I accepted for learning only – honestly, it's not my kind of music.

In the present day then, I am an eclectic mix of old and new music, with a bent to fairly quick and wide steps melodic progressions – with a fondness for guitar solos sitting under or around the vocal mix as a song develops.

I love the work on Glenn Hughes latest album Resonate – along with the Supergroup Black Country Communion. And I am still heartbroken by Chris Cornell and his last album Higher Truth.

So you can see the "heavy and the high" is still very much key to musical me.

But always in life we are learning - and now the wonders of such beautiful musicians like Porcupine Tree, Stephen Wilson, King Crimson and more are what I listen to daily.