Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere
BIOGRAPHY
Todd Steed is originally from Knoxville but has been meandering around the planet for many moons. Most of that meandering started with his first touring band, legendary post-punk rocker-heads Smokin' Dave & The Premo Dopes. After stints working overseas, and then back the USA with Apelife and the Opposable Thumbs, Steed has now settled down with a very happy little musical unit, the Suns of Phere, located in the city of the Sunsphere, Knoxville.
"This band feels like home. It feels like a warm bowl of something happy and full of daily recommended doses of certain vitamins. It feels like exotic green tea one day, and home brewed beer the next."
Their latest record, 'Eskimo Hair' (Apeville), was released on 8.8.08 at 8 A.M. and is already gathering great reviews. Many fans and reviewers alike are calling this their best record yet.
"I put it all on the line for this one, then threw in the kitchen sink and fridge. And the blue tupperware. In the past, I always had this filter in the back of mind telling me not to share certain things on records. That filter was blown out of my brain by Hurricane Katrina."
Eskimo Hair is journey around Post-Katrina America as well as side trips to Europe and Asia. It's a travelogue with imaginary self help clips and musical diversity aplenty serving as soundtrack.
"The White Album, now there is a damn record! I love the concept of physical and mental exploration with songs as the center. That's what I went for on Eskimo Hair. It's not as good as the White Album, though. But, you got to try."
Eskimo Hair was a labor of love. Steed spent two years assembling the record (with several months off after every three days of recording) and it features some of Knoxville's best musicians as well as the Suns of Phere regulars. The cover and package by George Middlebrook are the most extensive of any Suns release, with photos taken from around the world by Steed and friends.
"I am not sure why it it took so long. Actually, I know, but I'm not going to tell you. That filter is back."
An active fixture on the local and regional music scene, Todd got his feet wet with the legendary Smokin’ Dave and the Premo Dopes, touring the country and releasing several nationally acclaimed recordings during the 80’s and 90’s, earning fabulous reviews in national magazines such as CREEM and MUSICIAN. The Dopes played with an amazing range of bands including REM, The Replacements, Husker Du, Camper Van Beethoven, Loudon Wainwright, NRBQ, The Minutemen, and on and on.
After Smokin’ Dave took a break in the mid-90’s, Todd left the country to work in newly independent Lithuania. He started out as a teacher and somehow ended up being a television broadcaster for Lithuania’s first independent TV station, Tele 3. He also worked for a year in a very tumultuous Indonesia in 1997.
Upon his return he began working for The University of Tennessee, where he is still employed todayat WUOT. He also jumping with both feet in artist management with AC Entertainment, with Abigail Washburn being the main client.
But Steed has always ‘had to play’ and he shows no signs of slowing down.
“Why slow down? Why not record and play while you can? After you kick off, you might have a lot more free time but it’s really hard to work studio gear and musical instruments at that point.”
His current line-up is called Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere. The latter part of that name comes from the famous Knoxville landmark, the Sunsphere. The first part of that name came from his parents.
“This philosophy of the group is that nobody connected to the Suns of Phere is excluded from our live performances. Anybody who is on the record can come down and just jump on stage. And they often do. That doesn’t mean they will get paid, of course.” Steed claims. “And the records are just as open as the live show. RB Morris is in the house, fine, put him on track 1. I hate to go see shows where I pretty much know what the whole show is going to be like after the first song. Heck, I don't like PLAYING shows like that.”
“We like to keep things open so the show can go off in several directions. And there is always room for humor in the songs and performances. Laughing is not uncool. It’s good for you. Laugh at us or with us, we don’t mind.”
What next for the Todd and/or Suns of Phere?
"More music. Write more songs. Make a self-help record. Garden. And play live. After we played Bonnaroo, it really got me jazzed about playing live again. It's still the most enjoyable creative thing out there. I mean, besides Curb Your Enthusiasm DVDs, etc."
Todd Steed and The Suns of Phere:
Todd Steed, guitar and vocals
Ed Richardson, bass and vocals or box and vocals
Dave Nichols guitar or guittaron, vocals
Bob Deck, guitar and vocals
Jeff Bills, drums and no vocals
And others. D.l.l.
DISCOGRAPHY
KNOXVILLE TELLS 2002
HEARTBREAK AND DUCT TAPE 2005
MUSIC FOR BUS STATIONS 2005
ESKIMO HAIR 2008