The NYC guitarist, singer and songwriter releases ‘Flying’, off his upcoming solo album ‘Bronx Cheer’.
Steve Conte has unleashed ‘Flying,’ the latest single off the attitude-infused ‘Bronx Cheer’, his first solo album in five years – releasing Friday, November 5 on Wicked Cool Records.
Steve says, “This one goes back to 1994 when I was working on a band that was never to be with Brynn Arens of Flipp. We jammed on this in my rehearsal studio very organically, and I came up with the lyrics later. I did a few demos of it over the years, and it never left my consciousness.
“I always knew it was a winner, and when I played it to filmmaker Peter Perenyi, he fell in love with it and was dying to make an epic video for it…which he has done now! It’s about how a person of strong will can keep going for their dreams in the face of adversity, disappointment, and trauma. Of course, in my case, it could just be that I’m stubborn as hell and can’t do anything else!”
Long known for his memorable guitar work as a member of New York Dolls, as well as former Hanoi Rocks frontman Michael Monroe’s band (with whom he still performs), Steve found international fame in recent years via his collaborations with Japanese composer and artist Yoko Kanno on the soundtracks to several hit anime series, including ‘Cowboy Bebop’.
Of the album’s title, Conte says, “A ‘Bronx cheer’ is what we also call a ‘raspberry.’ Sticking out your tongue and blowing air to make a fart sound. The title for this album works on many levels. First is the fact that I moved to The Bronx five years ago – and I’m lovin’ it! But it all came together when I found the photo, which is on the album cover, of a group of high school kids marching down Fifth Avenue protesting the election of Donald Trump. So not only is the lead kid, Theo Fenton, raising his fist in protest, contrasting the word ‘cheer,’ the title also gives Trump a big fat raspberry!”
‘Bronx Cheer’ is brimming with the spirit of New York, both past and present. “I remember the danger, dirty streets, the garbage strike, sleazy 42nd Street,” Conte recalls of his first visits to the city as a kid in the 1970s. “When I moved here in the mid-1980s, it was not all that different – but it’s very different now. Yet somehow, I still love it – and hate it. To me, that’s what the Blues and Punk Rock have in common – complaining!”
The album’s 11 tuneful new songs, all written by Conte (with one co-written by Brynn Arens), swing like a citified update on The Replacement’s Paul Westerberg or Old 97’s. The first single, ‘Recovery Doll’, is a fast-paced tale of excess that traces descent from fun times to darker spaces.
‘Wildwood Moon’ and ‘Dog Days Of Summer’ are bursting with hot-weather nostalgia and shimmering production. “Liar Like You” is an unabashed Punk rave-up. The core of Bronx Cheer consists of Steve on guitar and vocals with bass by his brother John Conte (Southside Johnny & The Jukes, David Bowie, Ian Hunter) and the renowned Charley Drayton (Keith Richards, Iggy Pop, The Replacements) on drums.
“I knew I wanted to make a straight-ahead Rock and Soul album with New York attitude, but I didn’t want the approach of the drummer to be predictable or normal,” Steve explains. “Charley brings a certain quirkiness to a track that no one else would think of. And John was the only bass player I even considered having on this record.”
Album closer ‘Gimme Gimme Rockaway’ is the one song released prior to 2021, having found success and “Coolest Song In The World” status on Little Steven’s Underground Garage as a 2017 single. For that track, the band consists of Conte with Clem Burke of Blondie on drums and Andy Rourke of The Smiths on bass, with Wicked Cool labelmate Jesse Malin on backing vocals.
Pre-save the upcoming album ‘Bronx Cheer’ HERE
Follow Steve Conte on His Socials
Need More Punk In Your Life?
- Wolf & Chain Have A ‘Taste For Poison’
- U.S. Pop-Punk Band Borderline Native Unleashes New Video
- The Offspring’s Lastest Video Addresses America’s Addiction Crisis
- Since When Did Wine Become Punk? When The Chats Created their own Cask Wine, That’s When!
- San Diego’s Summer Years, Let Go of Self-Doubt on New Single ‘The Picture You Paint’
- Moscow Death Brigade Come Over All Accoustic!
- New Jersey pop-punk quintet Northvale debuted new song
- Paul Cook: “We should’ve sorted out the Sex Pistols court case in the pub.”
Punktuation Magazine For All Your Daily Punk News, Features, Interviews, Lifestyle and more!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
