Welcome to STEWARDSONGS.com – home of the multi-genre musicians' consortium STEWARDS ECLECTRIC.

To our valued repeat visitors, followers, and admitted fans: welcome back. It is for your ears we keep old tape rolling, discs spinning, gears meshing, and organic machinery humming. Creativity is unpredictable - which is how it should be. The idea is and always was to make new music and have some fun. We're serious about the music but beyond that... well, see for yourself.

As always, we invite you to listen using the music players at the bottom of this page. They're FREE. If you do not have music quality computer speakers, we hope you might use good stereo headphones if you got 'em. (Our fussy recording engineer thanks you!) There is no obligation, and no saleman will call.

Of course, you may have another reason for being here. Seeking info about some music heard recently, shared, streamed, or on a playlist? Are you searching for info about a particular band [Bobby Comstock Band, Headwind, Strange Brew, Farmhouse Garage, etc.] or about a particular song, recording artist or musician, past or current? Check ‘Bandography’ on the ABOUT page; SONG INFO; pics and artwork in PHOTO/ART GALLERY; and many tidbits both relevant and obscure, hiding in our often quoted if not outright plagiarized Q&A pages, © stewardsongs.com!

Send comments, questions, love and hate mail by using the email addresses on the Q&A page, or the CONTACT form there. We answer many inquiries directly, and if interesting on a broader scale, sometimes post the exchange. Thanks.

FROM THE DIRECTOR: 

Our music is not promoted ~ in the conventional sense ~ but we're happy when you do it by lissning and sharing.  The latest two-sided single is one with local interest, but the songs are for anybody and everybody. (A promise is a promise, Kathleen, so here they are!)

If you have a favorite memory or anecdote about the now legendary Richard's place, send it to us, and we may publish it here, all or  part, with a (first name) credit. {NOTE that  by sending it,  you agree to give gratis release approval for such.}

We've noticed  that 'Bowling Ball Rock' is  yet another musical genre waiting to be recognized... (let's hear from you, Spotify!), much like the word "Eclectric". The dictionary should say:

eclectric |ek LEK trik| adjective: deriving energetically charged ideas, styles, or tastes from a broad and diverse range of sources, as in: their musical tastes are eclectric.

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' ' The music you love is wherever you find it ! ' '     TM

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Reach out, shoot an email, say what you think.

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Enjoy your visit!

~ Steve

The Steward

Q & A of the Week:

 Junior Camel's niece wanted to know about the musicians involved on the recent singles, and remembered many good times at both local establishments, especially, of course, when the Camillus family ruled Camels on Main St. in the 'Burg, (back when the the original Rongovian Embassy was alive and well). Thanks for getting in touch, Eleanor.

Donna writes: Hi Steve! Richard Updike of Richard’s Tri-County Lanes was my brother-in-law and I spent many hours in that establishment! Obviously I have many stories... Both of my children worked there too and love telling their children about what it was like to work for their uncle!! It broke our hearts when he passed, and the demise of his iconic business was almost as heartbreaking. [This burg] has not been the same! Thank you, Steve, for paying homage to Richard’s!

 A. Hi Donna! Very happy to hear from you. Yeah, Richard was a class act. As a regular occurrence, he would visit competing establishments, hang at the bar, schmooze with the owner, and buy a round for the house before moving on. The guy cut a big swath.

 Some lyrics in the songs were lifted verbatim from life and even from the last time I saw him – the previous ‘Jack Blake’ Wed. night league. Sitting next to him at the bar as patrons thinned, he spoke of the new sound system (that I recently installed). The dining room speakers had already been – shall we say – compromised by application of excessive volume. Then the conversation turned uncharacteristically personal, and we talked of things I had never envisioned discussing with him. And he summed it up by saying ”The time of your life, you can never get it back again... so ya work hard, ya play hard, I’m tellin’ you, an’ ya die payin’ taxes…” and I added “So what else is new?” after which he slapped me on the back, leaving a large handprint for several days.

Another bit of trivia: the ‘bowling ball song’ was actually performed live once at the TCLanes. Having offered to temp sub on bass for a few gigs in a friend’s country band, new owner Skip was talked into trying live music there, and ‘Cruise Control’ (including Delta Mike Shaw, Mindy Stevenson, et al) got the nod. We rearranged the song for 4-piece, and I had the bowling ball sound loaded on a cassette tape, wired in so I could cue it manually as we played the music. Definitely a one time only thing, and a short time later, the place was ex.

Certainly, losing him was tough, and, as you say, losing the place (to fire) thereafter was indeed heartbreaking, although later I viewed that as kind of poetic. At any rate, in this day and age we can give thanks that we were there to be part if it all. Many a night, that joint was packed full and jumpin’ – as vibrant as the strings of a Telecaster getting plucked by the joy of humanity – and Richard was Leo Fender!

 Best regards to the Updike family. Thanks, Donna ~ for stoppin' bye.

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