STEVE MISSAL - Global Bands

Global Bands

Steve began his connection to global music through Shelter Studios. The global music scene in the 80's was beginning to take notice in a big way. Many of the roots-rock musicians could be found at the studio rehearsing and recording. Steve began producing and performing from Bronx NY venues to world stage concerts with Eileen Ivers, Sean Fleming, Joannie Madden, Jennifer Cutting, Jimmy Kelley and others. Steve joined the Kips Bay Ceili Band and became a catalyst for rhythmic and vocal change in the international world beat perception of style and substance.

COMPILATION OF SELECT GLOBAL PROJECTS

THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATION CONTAINS IMAGES AND INFO FROM SELECT PERFORMANCES AND RECORDINGS WITH VARIOUS GLOBAL PROJECTS

WORLD BEAT PRESENTATION

THE KIPS BAY CEILI BAND

PRESS RELEASE:

A rock-trad cocktail packing real punch -- that’s the debut album by the Kips Bay Ceili Band! Produced by John Simon, famed producer of albums for Bob Dylan and The Band, Digging In is full of chance-taking surprises and smiles from a band who have gained a red-hot reputation all across New York City and beyond. The music of Kips Bay Ceili Band is rollicking, challenging, and never less than riveting. Why else would they take Johnny Horton’s #1 hit of 1959, "The Battle of New Orleans," and remake it in their own rave-up Kips Bay image? The band features four of the best performers in traditional or rock music today: ex-Battlefield Band member Pat Kilbride on acoustic and electric guitars, cittern, and vocals, All-Ireland champion John Whelan on button accordion and keyboards, former Billy Idol bandmate Steve Missal on drums and vocals, and superb rock-jazz session player Richard Lindsey on six-string and fretless bass.

Together, they lend their talents to original songs by Kilbride and Missal, original tunes by Whelan, one galvanizing song written by all four band members as a salute to zydeco great Boozoo Chavis, and traditional Irish tunes spiked in the inimitable Kips Bay style. Blending their own talents into this heady musical cocktail are special guests John McGann on electric guitar, mandolin, and dobro, Tony De Marco on acoustic and electric fiddles, Joanie Madden on tin whistle and flute, and John Simon on keyboards and percussion. Get rhythm -- ’cause Kips Bay kicks out the jams!

ARTICLE FROM VIRGINIA SHOW-https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/lifestyle/1996/07/18/surf-s-up-on-kips/50637813007/ Surf's up on Kips Bay Staff WriterStandard-TimesToday we look back in languor at two weekends and two fierce storms. The most recent, Bertha, came and went with little aplomb. The weekend before, however, we were visited by a real force of nature John Whelan.Those who caught the Irish button accordion champion at Summerfest will attest to his musical power. His performances over the course of the festival were stellar, and the last, in a free-for-all jam on Sunday night just before the fireworks, is now the stuff of legend.But don't despair if you missed it; all is not lost. John Whelan blows into town again Friday night under a different guise, as part of the rollicking Kips Bay band.Kips Bay is the brainchild of guitarist/citternist Pat Kilbride, who several years ago needed to put a band together for a party at the New York City nightclub CBGBs. Besides accordionist Whelan, he recruited drummer Steve Missal (known for his work with Billy Idol and Ted Nugent), world-beat bassist Richard Lindsey and New Orleans keyboard wiz Kinny Landrum.The party was a blast and the group clicked. Several gigs later, Kips Bay had a loyal following and were performing regularly at several NYC clubs, including Paddy Reilly's and Tommy Makem's. The group's powerful sound draws on the virtuosity and unique musicality of the individual band members. This is what veteran rock producer John Simon realized just before agreeing to produce the group's first album, Digging In (Green Linnett No. 1130).The album was a hit, setting Kips Bay off on a two-year musical odyssey that would make them festival favorites across North America and Europe.

SINCE THE Kips Bay Ceili Band released its first album ("Digging In") in 1993, this Celtic-American folk-rock band has shortened its name to Kips Bay, has added New Orleans keyboardist Kinny Landrum to its original four members and has shifted the emphasis in its hybrid sound from Celtic to American and from folk to rock. The result is a second album, "Into the Light," which reminds one of the subdudes much more than the Chieftains. Though the Celtic flavors are still felt, the emphasis is now on the catchy pop melodies and the punchy rhythms. Fortunately, there are plenty of both.The lead vocals are shared by former Battlefield Band guitarist Pat Kilbride and former Billy Idol drummer Steve Missal, but they share the song writing duties with Landrum, bassist Richard Lindsey and all-Ireland accordion champion John Whelan. The lyrics are a bit generic, but the tunes are appealing and the playing is first-rate. What finally puts the music across is the rowdy, bar-band energy Kips Bay captured in the studio with the help of producer Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin).Missal's "Separate Ways," for example, uses an appealing tune to wonder what happened to his ex-lover, but it's the spirited dance beat that communicates his triumph over heartbreak. "Dandelion Girl" is Kilbride's valentine to a musician he loves so much he's even willing to forgive her bad notes; and Whelan's squeeze box surrounds the melody with harmonic sighs of an overcome lover. Best of all is "Arisha," a love song that pits Missal's keening, drawn-out tenor notes against Kilbride's Gaelic chant and Kilbride's mandolin-like cittern figure against a soukous beat. KIPS BAY -- "Into the Light" (Green Linnet). Appearing Friday at Baird Auditorium. To hear a free Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at 202/334-9000 and press 8112. (Prince William residents, call 690-4110

JOHN SIMON FROM BOB DYLANS "THE BAND" PRODUCED "DIGGIN IN" THE FIRST OF THREE CD'S BY THE BAND.

HERE IS A SAMPLE TRACK FROM DIGGIN IN-

STEVE WROTE AND SANG THIS TUNE ABOUT DIXIE WOOLUM FROM CINDERELLA HOLLOW WEST VIRGINIA WHEN THE BAND WAS APPEARING ON MOUNTAIN STAGE (VIRGINIA) THE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED LIVE RADIO SHOW ON PBS.

BROKEN PROMISES

JOHN SIMON PLAYED A FOOT PUMP FIELD ORGAN ON THIS TRACK , THE WOOD PUMP WHICH CAN CLEARLY BE HEARD IN THE INTRO.