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Steve Balsamo - Sugar for the soul
Country - United Kingdom Player - Colin
| Got a feeling that something's changing There's a new star in my sky Got a reason for celebration This time this time I can't tell you why but it's no lie I'm on a natural high Chorus She's got a love that's good for me It's like sugar for the soul And every day it's a little more sweet Just like sugar for the soul |
I found someone that goes much deeper Always keeps me satisfied Like an angel she'll be my healer Tonight, tonight I can't let her go 'cos now I know I'm on a natural high Chorus I can't let her go 'cos now I know I'm on a natural high |
| Player's comments: | With his distressed denims and unruly hair,
Steve Balsamo doesn't immediately strike you as a major over-achiever. He's too laid
back. Willing to chat about anything, from philosophy to literature, the paranormal to his
time as Jesus Christ Superstar as well as colourful tales of a misspent youth gigging with
bands around South Wales, with Steve you feel very relaxed. It all started modestly enough in Swansea, South Wales when his father, a chef from Venice met and married his Welsh mother. 'A great recipe for a singing child', Steve jokes. Some of his earliest music memories are of his father belting out Mario Lanza standards and his mother's beautiful bedtime interpretations of Jim Reeve's sardonic love songs. However, after a crushing eviction from the school choir, where Steve was told he could not sing, he channelled his creative leanings into art and attended art school to specialise in painting. Fortunately he never stopped singing - albeit in the bath doing Vegas-era Elvis impressions. He needed to prove to himself that he could hold a tune. This desire to was rekindled at the age of 17 when he suspected his girlfriend at the time loved a certain Jon Bon Jovi more than him. An interest in singing and songwriting was born. 'It sounds pretty lame but I can safely say that jealousy motivated me', he laughs. He then set up several bands that toured pubs and clubs doing renditions of classic rock songs complete with over-the-top hair and even more over-the-top performances such as leaping on tables, getting into brawls and generally scaring the hell out of the locals. After a series of 'suffer for your art' not very interesting jobs - taken to support himself whilst gigging, Steve secured a place at Bristol University to study Graphic Art. He turned it down to accept a place at a local music college, where he fatefully played the role of Jesus in a production of Superstar. He quickly realised that the emotion of his 3 ? octave vocal range coupled with a rousing portrayal could bring the audience to tears . So, at the age of 21, he decided to go to London where he immediately landed himself a role in a touring production of Les Miserables that indeed made him miserable. 'It was a bit of a culture shock for me, I'm more of a pints man than a tights man and could not get my head around the whole experience. I came from playing with bands in clubs and the whole theatrical thing was completely alien to me. But even though I hated it, I made some great friends and realise now I had to go that route', he says. 'Everything you do leads you somewhere.' After Les Mis, Steve went back home, picked up a guitar, taught himself to play and continued to write songs, 'I enjoyed writing big emotional tunes, songs to move people.' At that point it was clear his sights were firmly set on the ambition to become a singer-songwriter. Around this time Steve attended a workshop in Cardiff run by The Prince's Trust for unemployed musicians. So successful was Steve's performance, that he was asked to open The Prince's Trust Masters of Music Concert at Hyde Park in 1996. The Who, Alanis Morrisette, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan were among those who entertained the 150,000 fans that day. 'I was scared out of my mind' said Steve, 'But strangely when we got on stage and started our first song everything settled down, the nerves dissipated and I remember thinking, it doesn't get much better than this.' However, it was just about to. Steve won the role of Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Superstar from the thousands who auditioned. His performance was a revelation, the reviews blush-inducing and his face was seen on bus shelters across the capital. On one television performance from the show he not only had Andrew Lloyd Webber weeping, but also managed to sell 160,000 pounds worth of tickets to Superstar in half an hour. Steve says when asked about his debut single, 'Sugar for the Soul', I like music to be come from the heart and be real. People are too sophisticated these days, they see through a fake. For me it's about actual singing and real songs. That's why most of my influences are from the past. Artists like The Beatles, The Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye and big voiced rock singers like Robert Plant and Paul Rodgers. Although I also love the likes of Jeff Buckley, Coldplay, Travis and REM. |