September 14, 2010

JBB EXCLUSIVE Interview with Steve Gouveia & News on His ‘Shine’ CD!

September 14th, 2010


It was great to catch up recently with JERSEY BOYS national tour’s Steve Gouveia and to chat about his fantastic new solo recording, “Shine”!

JBB: Hey, Steve, congratulations on your new CD, “Shine”! It’s absolutely fabulous!! It’s made my long morning commute a lot more enjoyable during the last few weeks! “Shine” shows your versatility as a vocalist, guitarist, and a composer with some major cuts that truly rock and some great catchy pop songs, along with some softer ballads. How would you classify your music?

Steve Gouveia: Well, I’m glad it got you through traffic. Thank you. I’m glad you like it. Our production supervisor Richard Hester said it got him through a treadmill workout, so I consider both of those comments high praise. Haha. I guess you’d classify it as pop/rock. Honestly, it’s a collection of songs I’ve written over the years at various points in my life that I never got a chance to record. I was really surprised at how cohesive the album sounded once they were all put together.

JBB: I’ve been wondering for quite some time about your beginnings as a musician, vocalist, and actor. Did you first begin as a guitarist and a singer? How did you get into acting?

SG: I’ve actually played guitar since I was about nine years old. Singing just came about because I love to sing. My mom would tell me that I used to sing “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” over and over again when I was a younger which I do kinda remember. I actually got into acting in high school and college, and the rock band thing kinda took a back seat to my interest in theatre. Since then, I’ve continually gone back and forth between the two. I still can’t decide. But these past five years have all been about theatre for obvious reasons. That’s why I recorded an album.

JBB: As a musician and vocalist, who have been your influences? Who are some of your favorite songwriters?

SG: I’m a HUGE Rush fan. I played guitar to Rush songs as a kid every afternoon after school, and I think I really stretched my singing range when I was younger because I was always trying to sing like Geddy Lee. My natural speaking voice isn’t really that high though, and singing like Nick Massi forces me to sing pretty low. Because of all that, I have a pretty wide range. Des (McAnuff) thinks I had an operation on my voice. Haha.

As far as songwriters go, I grew up listening to whatever my big brother had in his record collection–i.e. lots of classic rock. But over the years, I’ve grown to love songwriters like Neil Finn of Crowded House, Paul Simon, Aimee Mann, and Matt Nathanson. And I really like bands like The Fray, Lifehouse, Vertical Horizon, Train, The Tragically Hip, and Porcupine Tree. I think all of that is somewhere in my album.

JBB: Your lyrics on “Shine” are truly spectacular. As a songwriter, what inspires you? Are relationships generally the best inspiration for your lyrics?

SG: Thank you. I generally try to write personal songs without getting too personal, I guess. Some of it’s based on real-life experiences, some of it based on a simple phrase, and some of it’s just me talking to myself. The song “Nicollette”, for example, is based on a girl I met when I was 23. I was traveling around the country, met her in Montana, had a guitar, and wrote the song. “Wonderful” is about my grandmother. “Like She Did” is simply based on a friend who flew Lear jets for a living, had girl problems, and made more money than I did. (“You can fly your Lear to Paris to clear your mind”). But some of it’s just trying really hard to be clever and interesting and musical all at the same time.

JBB: Why was this the right time for you to record “Shine”? Is this your first solo recording?

SG: I’ve recorded other things with my own bands or other people’s music, but this is my first solo album. Honestly, I’ve had some friends bugging me for years to record these songs, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Haha.

JBB: Tell us about the recording process. How did you go about choosing the songs? What about putting your band together? As co-producer, what were your responsibilities? Where did you record the CD?

SG: I recorded the drums and vocals on the album in Tampa, Florida at Red Room Recorders. John Wesley of the band Porcupine Tree owns it, and I really just wanted to work with him. I thought it would be fun to record with a real rock star kinda guy. I had met him a year before when they were playing in New York and I was still in Jersey Boys on Broadway, and he said if I ever got down to Tampa I should get in touch. Well, the tour took us down there a year later and I gave him a call. Mark Papazian (the Jersey Boys tour drummer) and I got together and rehearsed about five songs to record. That’s all we had planned. But after the first day, Wes was so enthusiastic and supportive, that we figured out five more that I had on the back burner and went back to record the following week. That’s why I gave Wes the co-producer credit. He really encouraged me to make it sound good, and had great suggestions in the studio.

As far as putting the band together, I pretty much just asked my friends if they’d like to play on it, and everyone said “yes”. Simple as that. This show has given me access to some amazing musicians, and most of the people on the album are or have been in Jersey Boys. And that really was the best part. It wouldn’t sound nearly as good without all of my talented friends surrounding me.

JBB: Considering you’ve been traveling all around the country playing “Nick Massi” in the Jersey Boys national tour production, how did you find the time to put together such an amazing recording? Did you record it all over the country, or was most of it completed on days off away from the show?

SG: I recorded all of the guitars in hotel rooms around the country with some recording equipment and my computer. I guess I could have done it quicker than I did, but doing the show every night and sightseeing took up a lot of my time. Plus, I hate sitting in hotel rooms. But eventually, I got my parts recorded.

JBB: Speaking of Jersey Boys, you’ve been with the show since the very beginning! Considering you are playing pop/rock icon Nick Massi eight times a week, did playing that role give you inspiration for your current recording and your own live performances? How so?

SG: Well, it certainly does inspire you to show people what else you can do. I love doing Jersey Boys, but it’s nice to do something that’s creative outside of the show.

JBB: Where can fans purchase your “Shine” CD?

SG: The album is digitally available on iTunes. You can pick up the actual cd at local record stores or order it online at cdbaby.com and Amazon.com. The song “Like She Did” is currently being played on radio stations around the country. For more info on store locations, etc., you can go to my website at www.stevegouveia.com.

Steve Gouveia CD Shine

2 Comments »

  1. I love this CD and thanks to Steve for signing it for me in Austin.

    Comment by gladys — September 15, 2010 @ 4:14 am

  2. I agree Gladys. Every song is a winner!

    Comment by Howard — September 16, 2010 @ 9:04 pm

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