Singer/songwriter shows increasing polish on new six-song CD
By Jim Phillips
Athens NEWS Senior Writer
May 1, 2008
As a long-time street busker, Steve Zarate has earned a reputation as a carbon-based iPod. You request a tune, he’s likely to know it – or at least he’ll make a passable attempt to fake it. (He also knows all the verses to Phil Ochs’ “Crucifixion,” which should be mighty impressive to anyone familiar with that epic.)
These days, however, Zarate plays a lot more of his music indoors – he gigs frequently around the area – and also writes tunes of his own. As evidenced by his latest recording, his songwriting skills are getting steadily sharper, as is his guitar playing.
The six-song “Silver Linings” contains a tune or two that Zarate has recorded versions of elsewhere, but this new recording is probably his best-sounding work to date.
He filled out his sound with a band made up of top local players, including singer Laura Nadeau, bassists Dave Borowski and Eric “Junebug” Leighton, banjo player Hilarie Burhans, mandolin player John “Catfish” Juliano, guitarist Tristan Kinsley, keyboard player Bernie Nau, drummer Derrick Nau, and violinists Julia Reeves and Rusty Smith.
Any Steve Zarate record should probably feature a consumer warning label, to protect those allergic to optimism and happy vibes. He didn’t pick the title “Silver Linings” by accident, and it should be acknowledged up front that Zarate writes many songs that are sunny and hopeful.
He tends to unabashedly celebrate stuff he likes a whole bunch, like his former home of Alaska (“Living in Alaska”) or his current home (“Jewel of the Hocking,” with its guileless appreciation of “the College Green at old Ohio U.”)
His stuff isn’t all Kermit the Frog and the Rainbow Connection, though. “The Cell Phone Song,” which kicks off the record, is – amazingly enough – quite funny without ever getting mean.
At this late date, writing a song to satirize the people who yammer endlessly on cell phones might seem a recipe for instant ugh, but Zarate gets away with it. It’s a nimble, clever tune, driven by some tricky guitar picking and a chorus in which Zarate yelps, “Oh my god! I couldn’t believe it!” in flawless imitation of a chattering buffy.
To cover both sides of the issue, however, he makes sure to mention the useful aspects of cell phones, like “if you get in a wreck and need to call emergency personnel.” Fair and balanced, just like Fox News.
“Warren’s Song (Oh What A Ride)” pays thoughtful tribute to the late Warren Zevon, and “Summer’s First Rays” is a sweet little tune on which Nadeau adds a good second vocal.
“Fear Based Thinking” might be a little pop-psych for some tastes, but it’s also musically one of the best-sounding things on the disc, with a little harder-rocking sound than most of Zarate’s tunes, and a tasteful, stinging guitar part from the Princes of Hollywood’s Kinsley.
“Silver Linings” was produced by Bernie Nau and Zarate, and recorded, mixed and mastered by Nau at Peach Fork Studios near Pomeroy.
If you want to buy the CD, you can chase Zarate down at one of his many gigs at The Sandstone in Logan, Rhapsody in Nelsonville and The Galley in Marietta, or catch his street musician act near Athens’ Burrito Buggy. It’s also available at Donkey Coffee & Espresso in Athens. Scheduled appearances and related info are at www.myspace.com/stevezarate.
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