Steve Ono
Steve Ono is a Singer/Songwriter Guitarist/Producer from Fresno, Ca. His self produced album, "Voice of a Friend", has tunes and songs ranging in style from jazz to latin to swing to reggae. and a little funk too all done very acoustically. Check out my other web sites cdbaby.com/cd/ono and www.myspace.com/steveonomusicBand/artist history
STEVE ONO is a Jazz Guitarist with extensive Folk, Folk-Rock, and Blues influences and experience. He is also a talented Singer/Songwriter, arranger and producer. His self produced CD, "Voice of a Friend," is available from Onomuse Productions.
Steve began singing in a children's choir in Fresno California, played the bongo drums, then drums at 13 and guitar at age 14. His early repertoire consisted of Folk, Folk-Rock and Rock tunes of the 60's & 70's, as well as early originals.
He taught himself to read and write music with an eighth grade textbook in order to copyright his songs. Steve took Forensics, Drama, Humanities and Latin but never took any high school music courses.
His first solo public performance was at the 1971 McLane High School Talent Show. The first paid performance was in 1972 in Steenwijk, The Netherlands where he lived for a year as an exchange student.
Upon return to the states, Steve attended Fresno City and State Colleges and started a progressive rock band called "Folly's Pool" with Doug and Jeff Carlson. This collaboration resulted in one album: "West of the Skies".
Steve went solo in 1976 and met Frank Hicks, a swing era guitarist and a founding member of the Fresno Folklore Society. His exposure to Frank and his vast chord knowledge sparked a flurry of study on Steve's part. This study resulted in his 1980 graduation from the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood. He has since worked with a variety of great musicians including former Stevie Wonder Musical Director, Larry Gittens and Harmonica Master Eddie Gordon.
Steve returned to LA in November 1991 with Eddie Gordon and played with Lee Oskar of "War" at "The Baked Potato." Steve and Eddie have also played: Victoria, BC; St. Louis, MO; the Yellow Pine Harmonica Festival in Idaho and the Fresno Trade Club Business Conference in 1994 featuring former US Presidents Ford and Bush.
By 1994 Steve had become one of the best known guitar teachers in the Fresno/Clovis area. Steve teaches all levels of students five days a week at Clovis Music Center in Old Town Clovis and one day a week at Archer's Music at Shaw and Hwy 41.
Songwriting took on new importance in November 1993, with the release of "The Maximus Sessions," a compilation CD of Fresno area songwriters and artists. Steve's song: "Serious Man," was mentioned as a standout by critic Don Mayhew of the Fresno Bee. It also received airplay on KKDJ-FM.
His first all original CD, "Voice of a Friend," was released in December 1996. It features more of Steve Ono's songs and performances by Eddie Gordon on Harmonicas, Point Anderson on Mandolin, Dave Calvert on Keys, Felix Contreras on Percussion and Desiree Astorino on Backup Vocals.
In 1995-96, Steve appeared three times on the CSUF Television Production, "Works in Progress", with Thomas Witt-Ellis for broadcast on Fresno's Valley Public Television (KVPT-18).
Steve's production company, Onomuse, has produced a CD for the Flamenco-Jazz trio Cerro Negro, currently receiving airplay on KEZL 96.7, Smoothe Jazz, with their song "Serenity."Your musical influences
Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Classical MusicPosted by Testy at http://news.mp3.com/news/listnews
The Artists' Equal Rights Organization (AERO) site( http://a_ero.tripod.com/aero/ ) announced this week that COURTNEY LOVE, PRINCE, JENNY TOOMEY, ROSIE GAINES and THOMAS MAPFUMO were inducted as honorary members of AERO on Labor Day. AERO has a PETITION for the Right of Artists to OWN their work vs the RECORD LABELS Right to OWN the Artists work. Please sign it at the url above.All comments (2)
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Nice pickin' Steve. Don