Steve Unruh

[Michael Baryshnikov]

Hello All!

22 октября был день рождения у замечательного современного музыканта, участника
групп Резистор, Самураи Прога, Объединённое Братсво Прога и других - Стива
Анру.
Нигде в интернете не говорится о том, сколько именно лет ему исполняется, но
это и не важно. Он молод, и будем надеяться, что у него ещё будет много лет
успешного творчества.
Удач, Стив!

===
Steve Unruh biography
Born Oct 22

Steve UNRUH has been producing some of the deepest, most organic true-to-life
music around for nearly a decade. This one-man band draws influences from '70s
progressive bands like YES and JETHRO TULL as well as the folk and bluegrass
scenes. Blending an earthy, acoustic three-piece band sound with soaring
violins, cheerful mandolin, flute, the occasional keyboard and electric guitar,
and a voice falling somewhere between Jon ANDERSON and Ian ANDERSON, Steve
UNRUH is sure to appeal to fans of any genre of rock, folk, bluegrass, and
progressive music less abrasive than DREAM THEATER or SAVATAGE.

Steve UNRUH released "Believe?" in 1997, opening the door to a whole new genre.
"Believe?" is Steve's most organic album to date, almost carrying the feel and
dynamics of a classical album (don't worry, this is NOT a sleeper album!).
"Believe?" is divided into two sections, the first resembling journal entries
from a relationship on the rocks and the second the eventual resolution of the
problems and a lifting of spirits. Highly recommended.

In 1998 came "The Beginning of a New Day," in which all the elements introduced
on "Believe?" were honed and demonstrated in top form. The multi-layered vocal
harmonies, the earthy rock feel, the well-timed massive orchestrations... all
the cards were laid on the table here, and "The Beginning of a New Day"
absolutely shines. For anyone looking for a place to start sampling STEVE's
music, this is it. The entire spectrum is represented here, and beautifully so.

In 2001 came "Two Little Awakenings," essentially an album of mini-epics (and
one not-so-mini epic) showcasing STEVE's intricate guitarwork and
orchestration. The instrumental and thematic interplay on this album supercedes
most mainline progressive concept albums, and the depth and beauty (oh, those
violins!) will keep any listener entranced. For those looking to get at the
heart of what STEVE UNRUH is about, who enjoy epic-length works with a lot
going on under the surface, this is your dream come true.

2002 brought "Invisible Symphony," an instrumental album blending Classical,
jazz, folk, world music, and rock in a sound both signature to Steve and not
quite like anything else he'd recorded thus far. Fusion fans, take heed: this
album rocks. There are both musical and emotional journeys to be had on this
album. Very highly recommended.

2004 brought a departure from normal, the album "Out of the Ashes" that stands
apart from the rest of Steve's material as the most focused and direct. On "Out
of the Ashes" Steve takes a long, hard look at the war on terror/Iraq and finds
more than a little lacking in the mainline explanations for what's going on.
Despite the theme Steve manages to pull of some of his most beautiful and
catchiest melodies to date, and the songs transcend the situation to leave
lasting lessons. For those who like their prog deep, catchy, and heavy (not
METALLICA heavy, but "2112" or "The Gates of Delirium" heavy), this album will
appeal to you.

In 2005 Steve took the best elements of "The Beginning of a New Day," the high
points of "Two Little Awakenings," threw in a sprinkle of "Moonflower"-era
SANTANA, and released the soul-searching journey "Song to the Sky." While all
of Steve's work is aural bliss, not since "The Beginning of a New Day" has so
much ground been covered so flawlessly on a single disc. With "Song to the Sky"
Steve shows that he's just a guy like us all, that he's going through the same
things we all go through, and expresses the emotions so beautifully through
music that one can't help but listen to what he has to say. This album is
highly recommended for anyone interested in Steve's music.

(c) Christopher D. Frick
===
Resistor biography
Founded in Providence, USA in 2005

RESISTOR is the rock quartet of Steve UNRUH, Fran Turner, Barry Farrands, and
Rob Winslow. The band's sound is characterized by merging modern progressive
and rock song structures with an organic classic rock sound. Their classic rock
sound is probably due to their preferred recording technique of having everyone
play the basic tracks in the same room at the same time, like bands did the
"old days." This allows RESISTOR's recorded music to "breathe," as you can hear
the band members adjust to each others' energy, tempo, and feel in real-time.

Personnel personal history: Steve Unruh is a prog-folk multi-instrumentalist
with several solo albums of adventurous acoustic-oriented music. RESISTOR began
life in 2005 when Steve decided to play more electric guitar, and started
spending lunchtimes jamming with fellow electronic engineer and friend, Rob
Winslow (bass). Rob had developed his trademark "groovy feel" by playing in
bands of many different styles for years, but had never been professionally
recorded. After several months of lunchtime jams, Steve and Rob heard through
the company grapevine that the maintenance electrician was a good drummer, so
they contacted him. Barry had actually quit playing drums a few years prior,
but said he felt a gaping hole in his life where music used to be. So, upon
hearing of an opportunity to jam over lunchtimes, he auditioned with Steve and
Rob. When Steve and Rob heard Barry play the drums, they were stunned at his
energy and skill, and a rock trio was formed. They spent lunchtimes jamming for
the next year, and Steve began composing original music for the trio. Some of
these songs eventually became the basis for RESISTOR's first album. The trio's
skills were gradually getting better, but they all felt the music needed
another layer. They assumed the 4th layer would be a keyboard player. But, be
it by coincidence or fate, Fran was soon hired to their same company, and
introduced himself by submitting a copy of his album, "Desert Voyage." Upon
hearing Fran's album (which is filled with melodic guitar playing and odd time
signatures), the trio knew they'd found the final member of their band. Steve
says they named themselves RESISTOR because, "We're a band of 3 electronic
engineers and an electrician, so we picked one of the cooler sounding
electrical components, and because the word 'RESISTOR' has overtones of staying
true to your roots." The quartet moved beyond short lunchtime jams to regular
rehearsals in Steve's garage, shaking the rust out of their playing, upgrading
their equipment, and gathering momentum.

In 2008, Steve and Fran pooled their recording equipment and knowledge, and
recorded the debut RESISTOR album in 2008. The album got rave reviews, most
notably a 10/10 at dprp.net, stating, "the Resistor album is by far one of my
favourite albums of the year so far and, depending on how one views these
things, is up there in the list of outstanding debut albums."

RESISTOR's second album, "Rise" (released 2010), is billed as "a double album
on one CD." With boatloads of odd time signatures, unusual tonalities, and long
songs, Rise sees RESISTOR heading in an ever-more-proggy direction. "Rise" also
boasts the epic suite, "The Land of No Groove," a tongue-in-cheek tale of four
travelers (modeled as caricatures of the band members) who are sick of bad
music, and thus pack up their instruments and go on a Homer-esque odyssey to
find a "lost land of art." The album artwork humorously features a follow-along
map of the epic journey by the band's "fifth member," graphic artist Sixten
Abbot of Studio610.

RESISTOR lives and plays around Providence, Rhode Island (USA).

Mixing few genres together, Heavy Prog (even not as heavy most of the times),
some Folk elements which leaves it as fine Crossover addition.

(c) Bio written by Marty McFly & Steve Unruh
===

С наилучшими пожеланиями, Michael Baryshnikov.