Steadman
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 From left to right: Russel, Chris, Simon, David, James.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Hastings, England |
| Genre(s) | Britpop, Indie, Alternative |
| Years active | 1998 – 2005 |
| Label(s) | None |
| Website | http://www.steadmanband.com |
| Members | |
| Simon Steadman Russel Field David Walton James Board Chris Murphy |
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Steadman is a British indie rock band, formed in Hastings in 1998. The band's original name was The Dharmas, but they changed the name after they canceled their contract with the label Arista, and signed with lead singer Simon Steadman's own label, Freeloader Recordings. Steadman's first album, Loser Friendly, was released in the United Kingdom in 2000. Steadman released their second album, Revive, in 2003, which was produced by Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider. The current lineup employs lead singer Simon Steadman, guitarist James Board, bass guitarist David Walton, drummer Russel Field, and keyboardist Chris Murphy.
Steadman's sound is clearly influenced by the Britpop-bands Oasis and Radiohead. The band has also been compared to Richard Ashcroft's band The Verve. Though Steadman has not seen much success, the band has got many good reviews, most notably from Sir Paul McCartney, who endorsed the band in a handwritten note handed to them after having showed up at one of their gigs in the United Kingdom.
Mid 2005 Steadman said "Steal this Music!!" and released their music as free downloads on their website under a Creative Commons licence.
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[edit] General information
Steadman's website remained dormant from 2003 to mid-2005. Mid-2005, Simon updated the site with all new songs, videos, pictures, info, a forum, and more.
Steadman's myspace can be found at this address: http://www.myspace.com/steadmanband
Various quotes praising Steadman:
"Oasis without all the assholishness" - Stuff
"One soaring, uplifting anthem after another" - Paste
"Vibrantly buoyant and defiantly bright, sparkling with confidence and soaring with soulful sincerity" - Flaunt
"Dreamy power pop" - Blender
"Eminently listenable Britpop (a rarer thing than you might think) with charm, grace and killer set of vocal cords." - Alternative Press
"Pure ecstacy for the ears" - It's All About the Music
"The band Steadman have the songs, the musicianship, the energy and the enthusiasm to blow the top off any club, or arena, and, if given a listen, have that rare quality - Sir Paul McCartney
"McCartney isn't kidding. This band is great." - The Media Fix
"Falls somewhere between Oasis' anthemic tendencies and Coldplay's emotional deliveries, but with the rough edges intact, tapping a visceral nerve in the process" - Mean Street
"Bloody Brilliant" - CMJ
Steadman has played shows with:
Jason Mraz
Jet
Ash
Ian McCulloch (Vocalist of Echo and the Bunnymen)
Feeder
Michelle Branch
Stereolab
Junior Senior
Year of The Rabbit
Josh Kelley
Michael Tolcher
[edit] Revive (2003 Album)
Revive has, thus far, been Steadman's most popular album to date. The track "Wave Goodbye" on this album has been featured in television shows, movies, and soundtracks such as Smallville, and New York Minute. The track "No Big Deal" has also been featured on Charmed.
This album has also garnered much attention from the world renowned Sir Paul McCartney. McCartney expressed his interest in the band's song "Carried" above all others. A written quote from McCartney is posted on the Steadman website, it reads:
"The band Steadman have the songs, the musicianship, the energy and the enthusiasm to blow the top off any club, or arena, and if given a listen, have that rare quality
--the ability to deliver!--
I like this band!
P. McCartney"
Tracks include:
- The Bitter End
- Carried
- No Big Deal
- Good to Go
- Wave Goodbye
- Live It Up
- Come Alive
- Sun Lotion
- Two Together
- Create Your Fate
- Next Life
- Revive
- Hidden Bonus Track: City of the Living Dead
Band members at the time of recording were:
- Simon Steadman (current lead vocals and guitar)
- Russel Field (current drums and vocals)
- David Walton (current bass)
- James Board (current guitar)
- Chris Murphy (current keyboard)
- review on all-music guide
[edit] Loser Friendly (2000 Album)
Loser Friendly was Steadman's first album. This album was released by Steadman's own label, "Freeloader Recordings", in 2000. Loser Friendly sold approximately 2000 copies through Freeloader Recordings.
Tracks include:
- Cut Me Loose
- Let Down
- No Control
- Life of Leisure
- Oceans of You
- World Too Late
- Satellite
- Whirlwind
- No Big Deal
- Short-Term Memory Loss (STML)
- Saviour
- Love/Hate Everything
- Come Alive
Band members at the time of recording were:
- Simon Steadman (current lead vocals and guitar)
- Russel Field (current drums and vocals)
- David Walton (current bass)
- James Board (current guitar)
- Ellie Wyatt (former strings and keyboard)
- review on all-music guide
[edit] The Sims 2: University
Under contract with Electronic Arts, Steadman released a song called "Come On" for the College Rock radio songs for The Sims 2: University.
The song has yet to be commercially released in an English-language format.
[edit] There.com
Steadman played a concert in a virtual world MMORPG known as There in November, 2003. The concert promoted the online world as well as Steadman's latest CD, 'Revive'. The band played their songs on a stage in the There Headquarters while their corresponding avatars played virtual instruments and sang in There. The concert was streamed through Shoutcast radio stations so people could hear it even if they weren't at the HQ at the time of the concert.
The band's avatar names are:
Superlungs (Simon Steadman)
Drummer_Queen (Russel Field)
Tiger_Tiger (David Walton)
BILLYBOBBOAB (James Board)
Baby_Gravy (Chris Murphy)
The concert took place on November 16, 2003 at the "Steadman" Funzone on a wooden stage.
Shortly after the concert, the avatar Virtual_Vikki released a music video of their performance of the song "Sun Lotion." Virtual_Vikki took various clips and screenshots throughout the concert and during rehearsals to attain the clips and pictures used in the video. The video can be viewed on Steadman's website.
The entire concert can be streamed from the Steadman page:
[edit] Television/Media Appearances
Steadman has appeared on several television shows, talk shows, radio shows, and other forms of media.
Talk Shows
Television Shows
- American Dreams (As the Dave Clark Five)
- Smallville (As themselves)
- Charmed (As themselves)
- Las Vegas
- Judging Amy
- Black Sash
Radio
- Napster Radio (Los Angeles)
- Sirius Satellite Radio (New York)
- KPRI (San Diego)
- KRSH (Santa Rosa)
- WBOS (Boston)
Movie/Cinema
- New York Minute (Featured Song: Wave Goodbye)
- Failure to Launch (Featured Song: Forget My Heart)
- Slither (Featured Song: Sad World)
- According to Spencer (Featured Song: Come Alive)
Other
- Clear Channel
- Extra Lounge
[edit] Noteworthy Performances
Below are listed some of Steadman's auspicious performances.
- Live at Hotel Cafe (2005-11-01)
- Live at The Wiltern Theatre (2003-11-07)
- Live at Bridges Auditorium, Claremont Colleges (2003-11-09)
- Live at The Wiltern LG (2003-11-07)
- Live at Ryder Center, Saginaw Valley State University (2003-10-25)
- Ball State University, Indiana (Halloween)
- Live at the Viper Room
[edit] Discography
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Official Forum
- Steadman Myspace
- Steadman Live in There
- Steadman collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
