EMQ’s With Steve Purtee

EMQ’s With Steve Purtee

Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with US solo Metal Musician, Steve Purtee. Huge thanks to him for taking part. 

What is your name, what do you play and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?

I’m not a band.  I’m just a guy with an idea.  I am a college Mathematics and Physics professor, not a professional musician.  I play guitar and bass and write music.  

When I was around 18 (1992-ish), I started writing a song about a David Koresh/Jim Jones type cult leader on death row.  He has received his final stay of execution for one week, and he is realizing that he has been wrong about everything.  That idea became the song Out of the Way (The Path Into Heaven Denied).  

Over the next 30 years, I wrote more songs expanding on his background, exploring what factors could drive a man to become someone like this.  His full story will be told in a 3-album length concept album.  I have nearly 40 songs written for the project, and I’m in the process of recording everything.  

I released a 4-song EP as a teaser for the full project.  I play all guitars and bass and sang some backing vocals, and I am very lucky to have Craig Cairns from Tailgunner on lead vocals for the project.  

How did you come up with your band name?

It’s my name.

What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?

I’m in Florida in the U.S.  The music scene is not bad here.  We have many venues that feature local bands, and most bigger tours come within driving distance.

What is your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)

I just released my first EP called “The Way” as a teaser for the full project.

Who have been your greatest influences?

Queensryche (even the new stuff – Todd is fantastic and their newest album is the best they’ve done since Promised Land). Helloween, Overkill, Leatherwolf, Blind Guardian, Bad Religion, Bruce Dickinson (I like his solo stuff better than Maiden.  I said what I said.), Savatage, Metal Church (RIP Mike), Brainstorm, My Chemical Romance (laugh if you want, but The Black Parade is a nearly perfect album), Floyd, …. The list goes on and on.

What first got you into music?

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t into music.  I got into metal when my cousins let me hear Animal by WASP and the album Shout at the Devil.  Then they made me a copy of …And Justice for All, and I was hooked.

If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?

Working with Craig from Tailgunner has been fantastic.  If I could write with anyone, it would be Chris DeGarmo.  He’s my favorite guitar player and my favorite songwriter.  I know he’s retired from music and not current, but that’s still my answer.  

If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?

Well, Wacken of course.  Is there another option?

What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?

I’m just a guy releasing his first EP.  I’ve never received anything from a fan.  

If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?

If I could spread one message, it would be “Believe in science, not in social media.”  

If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?

That’s a tough one.  Do we mean make them suddenly alive again today, or make it so that they never died?  If you save Cliff, you fundamentally change music forever.  You don’t get AJFA (a fantastic album), you don’t get the Black Album (a mediocre album, in my opinion), you don’t get the rise in popularity of metal in general.  That means we probably never get Octane metal, so that’s a plus, I guess.  Instead, we would have gotten much better, but less popular Metallica releases, and everything after changes.

What happens if you save Kurt?  How different would the world be now?  Hell, we have no idea.  It’s possible that saving Kurt could have somehow prevented 9/11 and fundamentally altered the course of history.  

I’m just going to go with the one that hit me the hardest: Mike Howe from Metal Church.  

What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?

I enjoy writing music.  I enjoy arranging songs, putting parts together, and being inspired.  I don’t really enjoy tracking guitars.  It’s tedious.  

If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?

Musicians should be paid a living wage.  I would be more than willing to pay more for streaming services if musicians were paid more for streams.

Name one of your all-time favourite albums?

Just one?

“Nightfall in Middle Earth” by Blind Guardian

“The Warning” by Queensryche if I get two.

What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?

Look, I love vinyl.  I’m a collector.  I love putting on headphones and reading the liner notes while listening to a great album.  But the audiophiles are just wrong.  CDs are objectively better sounding than vinyl.  

What’s the best gig that you have played to date?

I haven’t played a live gig with a band since 1994 or so.  

If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?

I am a college professor.

Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?

I’m assuming they don’t have to be currently alive.  

Richard Feynman, Stephen King, Chris DeGarmo, Leonhard Euler, and Winston Churchhill.

What’s next for the band?

I’m going to keep writing and recording the full project and promoting the EP.

What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people? Please include any links

https://www.instagram.com/steve.purtee.1

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjGoydzQnxczcWAXRMuBTGQ

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tImVCLIgluyTfS2DzmXJK

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/steve-purtee/1687624511

There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss! 

I’ve never had one, but it has the word “cake” in the name, so I’m voting for cake. 

Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Listen to my EP.  Am I claiming that it contains the four greatest songs ever recorded?  I’m not claiming that it doesn’t. 

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