In December 2019 Stephen sat down with Dom Familaro in Studio C at the famous Criteria Studios, Miami Beach, Florida and chatted about his world of music.

 

STEPHEN :: Find yourself as soon as possible and do what ever you have to do, play with as many people from different backgrounds, don't ever close your mind off to any potential scenarios. The people who succeed in this are just the ones who never quit and they never quit because they love it more than anything else.

[Opening title sequence]

DOM :: Oh man this is incredible Stephen to have you here, man this is fantastic, thank you for joining us. You have this story book life to speak about, that really is kind of interesting because you have created your individual sound in the scope of this bigger, you know, royalty that you are involved with in the music industry. It really is fantastic, and you have performed with so many great bands in almost a heavier rock sound.

STEPHEN :: Yeah, yeah.

DOM :: Which is how you interpret your music, which is very different to what your family has done in the past, but you have captured a sound. But you have also had some incredible influences, so I kind of want to capture all of it if I can.

STEPHEN :: Absolutely.

DOM :: Was guitar...I know you started piano early on.

STEPHEN :: Okay, I moved here to Miami when I was probably about five years old. Maybe when we first came I was much younger because I took my first steps as a baby at 461 Ocean Boulevard.

DOM :: Oh! Interesting.

STEPHEN :: Which is a little fun little side note. But I grew up in this studio. I was surrounded by music obviously and that was my normal, you know, my normal was pretty crazy, but it was a beautiful thing to grow up around people who were just so creative and so fearless with it.

DOM :: And these characters that you were involved with that all had these incredible personalities that were huge that you were influenced by as a young child.

STEPHEN :: Yeah, well I remember where things kind of took off for me, as far as my interest in music, like a lot of kids you go take some piano lessons, learn and what ever, it was just something to do at school really. I never bonded with that instrument but it helped me understand music, I guess. When I was six years old I was super into Kiss, I was probably into Kiss because they were like cartoon characters. The music was part of it, for sure, but it was definitely the whole imagery of it and like, oh my God this guy is a demon and this dude is from the stars and Ace is from space and I really bought in to it and really loved it, and my dad took me to go see them on the Dynasty tour at the Hollywood Sportorium. I was six years old, I went to the show and I remember seeing Ace Frehley and there is smoke coming out of the guitar and at that point I was like, well I don't know what that is but it's the coolest freaking thing I've ever seen. At that point in my life, and I remember just thinking I wanted a guitar, I wanted a guitar. After that we went backstage and met the guys in the band and when we went back there they were already taking the make up off. And it blew my mind because they were just guys, regular guys, from New York, you know, it shattered all the illusion very early on for me and I was like, oh I get it, it's just show. It kind of messed with me a little bit but it kind of made me get more interested in the music and not so much the imagery. Gene Simmons even said, well maybe Gene or Peter said something like ‘do you know who your dad is?' And I was like (growl) I don't care, you guys are Kiss! It didn't really matter when you were a kid. But, when I saw Van Halen live for the first time, years later, it was like, okay, that's where I'm going, I don't know how to get there.

DOM :: So musically that was the one that reached you even more.

STEPHEN :: So that was the one that went like ..... Boom!

DOM :: What do you think it was about Van Halen? What was it about the music?

STEPHEN :: There was just a sense of freedom and joy and expression and fun, and they were larger-than-life. I mean I have grown up and seen some amazing musician, I mean, I have been very blessed to see some of the greatest of all time and it's never lost on me, I am grateful for all of it but seeing Eddie Van Halen in his prime, you know, with the original lineup, that was, if you were a 13/14 year old kid that was mind blowing back then, and it definitely did a number on me and that's what got me, okay I gotta do that, so...

DOM :: Pretty powerful. I got to know Alex and just be able to hear the band at those years and just to hear the intensity musically of how they played and just the excitement that was created musically. Here you are now experiencing this, what was next?

STEPHEN :: At that point I wanted to find, you know, somebody in my neighbourhood or someone who could play, you know, play like Eddie, teach me how to tap, teach me how to do what ever. And I started hanging out at Ace Music here in North Miami just bothering guys who could play, be like, hey man can you show me how to play crazy train, can you show me how to do this. An interesting thing happened, I hadn't been playing guitar for very long and I was in the UK, my dad had something going on over there at the time, you know, it was summer time, and Zakk Wylde had just joined Ozzy Osbourne and nobody really knew who he was but I had seen him in Metal Edge or what ever, as I used to read those kind of things, and I am in a hotel lobby and I see him and Randy Castillo who was a fantastic drummer.

DOM :: Fantastic drummer and a close friend of mine.

STEPHEN :: Beautiful human being and they were like, hey man want to like come hang out with us, and I was just like huh! Here I am this 14-year-old kid and these dudes in Ozzy's band want to hang out with me? And you know I stayed friends with Zakk and we would hang out periodically when he would come to town. So he was the guy who, to many was larger-than-life, but he was this guy I just met by happenstance one day in a hotel gift shop or whatever. The next thing I know we are drinking beers and listening to Metal. It's like okay I can do this, you know, I can learn some stuff hanging out with this guy and he's been a great friend. I have learnt a lot of things from that man.

DOM :: You've had a chance to play with him to, right?

STEPHEN :: I did. I was the bass player in Black Label Society for a few years there.

DOM :: Playing bass as opposed to guitar, what was that like?

STEPHEN :: Well, the thing was at that time they already had a second guitar player in the band and Zakk was like, hey we are looking for a bass player do you want a tryout? And I said, well I don't play bass and he goes dude… Learn the tunes, get a bass, learn the tunes, we will run through them and if it works, cool. I was like, okay. So I went over to Guitar Central over on the Sunset Boulevard, bought a fender precision bass for like $400, went back to the Oakwood Apartment and learnt the songs and then I went and auditioned with him, if you will. It was more like a beer drinking contest that ended with us jamming through the stuff and at the end he goes ... okay ... cool ... will let you know, and I was like alright ... cool ... he kind of let me hang for a little bit before he goes I'm just messing with you, you've got it. We're going. So that was like how I kind of got my big break.

DOM :: Did you guys hit the road, where are you travelling?

STEPHEN :: I picked up a bass and maybe about a month also later we were in Japan and it was like, okay this is the new normal. It was a great time in my life, crazy.

DOM :: When you speak about with the new normal, I mean, you had, you are probably continuing to have, new normals in your life?

STEPHEN :: Oh yeah.

DOM :: It really is that way?

STEPHEN :: Absolutely.

DOM :: After that band so you were playing bass. Did you connect with playing bass guitar at all?

STEPHEN :: You know I actually love playing bass, I wouldn't necessarily refer to myself as a bass player, I am at a guitar player who plays bass and I enjoy that, that's fine for me. But if you want me to play funk or anything like that I am not the guy. There are plenty of guys out there who can really play the bass. I was the right guy, for that gig, at that time, is what I believe. And that made me a better guitar player. I am always intrigued by, like right now I am playing a little bit more piano and that's making me a better guitar player.

DOM :: Beautiful, just beautiful.

STEPHEN :: Do you know what I mean, and for a lot of years I played a lot of slide guitar and that made me a better player because it made me play less notes. And then, now I am singing more, it's just strange how all your influences over the years converge and it's like, oh wow I didn't know I had all those, all that voice inside of me. You know, but I do think it is a really good idea to familiarise yourself with other instruments because I think it changes the way you approach your instrument eventually.

DOM :: So singing wise, you weren't really a singer, you are playing guitar and you kind of get involved with singing but your voices quality is very different to that of your families.

STEPHEN :: I am obviously influence by very different things than my family was. You know my dad and his brothers were influenced by singers like Roy Orbison, the Everly Bros, Elvis Presley, the Beatles obviously. All those things and growing up not just the son of a great singer but in a family of incredible singers it always felt like ... yeah you don't want to go down that road Steve, you know. I was like a soprano in my eighth grade chorus at school and then when my voice broke I didn't know what to do with it so I was like I'm just not going to sing, I'm just gonna go into this guitar thing, I kind of burrowed myself into the guitar and was like, that's going to be my thing that. I'm going to separate myself from singing because, I started to get this hunch that, because I got a lot of people saying things to me like, oh you should just go on into music, it's gonna be so easy for you, it's gonna be so easy for you and I started to figure some things out that the truth might be the opposite.

DOM :: Absolutely man, you are going to have way more challenges than other people have.

STEPHEN :: Yeah it's like it may get you in the door but it might get you in the wrong door too, because there becomes expectations attached. Immediately it's like, oh your last name is blah blah blah you must ... and I'm like, let's just take that right of the table. Nah, I don't do that at all, I play guitar and mostly heavy metal and eventually people were like oh he doesn't do anything like that and it was actually Zakk Wylde who told me in the beginning, change your name bro, let's carve out a world for you that's just yours, make it on your own

DOM :: Interesting, that's really interesting advice.

STEPHEN :: He's a really smart guy. You might never know it from some of his interviews but he is a very very smart guy and he's given me a lot of good advice over the years and that one thing, at that time, it felt so strange to me because I am very proud of where I come from. My dad and his brothers they were incredible and my dad thank God still is. You know it felt odd, like I am turning my back on my family, on my heritage, but it was almost as an attempt to self preservation and also that old saying you know, a man isn't a man until he killed his father. I kind of had to separate myself and create something that was mine, you know and that's a dicey game because it can take you down some dark roads too and it definitely did that for me. But what I am grateful for is that I took a lot of risks and a lot of them were, quite frankly it could have been deadly for me. But I took a lot of risks to go into like that forbidden area of life and of music, and okay I am going to go dark, I am going to go do this, I am going to play this kind of music and this kind of music and what ever, because I like all music. When you are young and you are pissed off and you don't know why, it's like I'm just going to get into the heaviest metal there is. That for me was a great place to learn about how to really rough it in this business too. That world, whether it be in the early days of Black Label Society or Crowbar or what ever, that is a no-frills part of the music industry. So I am very grateful for all those experiences, those were some of the best times of my life.

DOM :: Well it looks like what you did with those bands to, and even like with Skillet Head and bands like that, when I look at what you did, when I hear you playing, you will widen the family musical palate.

STEPHEN :: All I ever tried to do is, no matter what band I'm in, it's like I've always felt very much alone and I don't know maybe that's just how everybody feels sometimes, maybe because growing up the son of a celebrity I didn't grow up around kids that had the same experiences as me. I grew up here in Miami, I was the only one so I felt singled out and I felt alone, and it was all like I didn't really play sports, you know, until much later on. I didn't feel that there was a place for me, for me it was like once I found a group of guys who could play music I found somewhere to belong, and that's a powerful thing and it's kinda bigger than the music in a way. It was like a big draw for me. What I have always tried to do is be indispensable, be helpful, know my place, and deliver. And no matter what, I've never been somebody who is out for themselves. I don't really identify with that mentality. You know it's like I'm arising tide, you know a rising tide raises all ships and I take my associations with every band I ever been in as like these are all my brothers. I am grateful to say, as far as I know, I don't have any enemies. And that is because I love and respect everybody I have never done this with, because I know how precious this is, because I've had it and lost it, had it and lost it, watched people who have it and lose it, so much. Any day you get to walk into a studio and play music with people and make something that didn't exist an hour ago.

DOM :: To create.

STEPHEN :: Yeah that synergy, that energy, that joy of them like, you go dude whoh did we just you know or the drummer starts drumming his groove and are you are like oh Woah, dude, jump on that, let's go, like you know, that still excites me as much as, it excites me more than anything. And playing at great shows like if you play a great show, hell I'll take a bad show, it's still better than anything else. You know, so it's like I am so grateful for those moments because as for all of us as we get older, it gets harder and harder to find those moments and some of those gigs nowadays are becoming much harder to come by. So any day I get to be around people and make all this stuff happen.

DOM :: But there is this beautiful sense of gratitude that you have which is not a very common personality trait. Gratitude is important because you are grateful that you have this right now. You are living in the moment, enjoying each of these creative ideas, but I guess that had to come from your parents to some degree, right?

STEPHEN :: My parents being, my mother is Scottish my father is British Australian, their generation are very respectful, I was raised with good manners, I was raised to always be respectful. My dad to this day is painfully humble and that's been an example I've seen throughout my life. I mean I've never seen him ever say no to an autograph or a picture or shaking someone's hand or taking the time out for anybody. He knows why he is where he is and I feel I owe a debt of gratitude to those people too because obviously I have benefited from the fact that so many people love that music. When I was a kid I had a chip on my shoulder about it, you know, because there were things I didn't like about being the son of Barry Gibb but that stuff, that is kids stuff, when you don't really understand how the world works it is easy to get angry about stuff that really doesn't add up.

DOM :: The older Stephen speaking to the younger Stephen I am sure would have some real real deep wisdom and advice, I am sure.

STEPHEN :: Oh God! You take all my money, show me the Time Machine, please Dom, I really want to go!

DOM :: Your influences. When I go back and look at influences Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy. It seems really interesting, you seem to have some really influential music in your life that's really got into the core of who you are.

STEPHEN :: That is definitely the core of who I am for sure. A lot of that was growing up in the time period I did which was the late 70s, 80s, early 90s was kind of like where all my influences were, definitely up into the 90's. Growing up in South Florida at that time like Allman Brothers and Lynard Skynrd were like a religion down here. Do you know I saw the Allman Brothers on the Seven Turns Tour, that was like I guess at that incarnation of the Allman Brothers, I didn't get to see them earlier on but that was massively influential. Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, Duane Allman, there has been so many great players in that band, Dan Toler. I love music that was made in Florida, I do. I got a thing for stuff made in the south, I grew up here. You know Black Sabbath made their records in this building. The house we used to rent, Black Sabbath moved in to after we did and made Heaven And Hell. And I now live in a house two doors down and across the street from that Heaven and Hall house. It's all like all this stuff is like in my ... I have these weird connections to things that you couldn't have planned my life.

DOM :: Well listen heaven and hell was recorded in this room.

STEPHEN :: In this room, yeah yeah yeah you're actually right. But also this was a period of time where, the 80s were a weird time, it was a good time to learn the guitar but in the 90s you had to unlearn some of that stuff and get into songwriting and you know, it was a little bit more about the riff and kind of about recapturing that sense of freedom again and angst. But there was a guy that I saw with Johnny Winter by the name of Chris Whitley and I saw that guy play with a dobro and a wooden box and he ripped my heart out, in a bar in Miami Beach, one night, and that changed me forever because where you can see a guy just to do that and the songwriting is incredible, his voice was incredible, his guitar playing was other worldly and his sense of rhythm and on time was just, everything about his feel was just so greasy and nasty and beautiful, when you see something like that it was like the next phase of okay brother you've got to open your mind up, there is a lot of great stuff out there, that was a pop for me.

DOM :: Well it's an emotional journey you've been on. Allowing yourself to be opened enough, to allow yourself to be emotionally open enough to again be moved by the power of music.

STEPHEN :: I think it is the most powerful thing on this planet.

DOM :: Agreed, absolutely, 100%. Have you been moved, emotionally moved to tears at any concerts?

STEPHEN :: Absolutely, twice, and both times I was with Dan Warner who you interviewed. He was one of my closest friends. First time was seeing Tommy Emmanuel play, just being able to see that close. Tommy is a beautiful human being and is a beautiful player. Dan and I turned to each other, tears rolling down our face and was like can you believe what this guy is doing right now. And seeing that guy play, just by himself is one of the most magical things you could ever experience. The second time was at the Royal Albert Hall watching David Gilmour, with Dan again, and again he floored us, he may have made us cry a couple of times that night.

DOM :: Talk about Dan for a second. I had the opportunity to interview Dan a few months ago, actually it was a few days before he passed away. We captured his story and it was just so emotional and he was just such a great musician. When he played the guitar it was just, he had the ability to pull emotion out of any situation whether it was with your dad or Barbra Streisand, no matter whoever it was.

STEPHEN :: He's probably the most effortless guy I know.

DOM :: And what was your relationship like with Dan?

STEPHEN :: Dan Warner is one of my best friends. I have to say that from the very first time I met him which was probably when he did the guilty pleasures record with my dad, which I cowrote with my dad. You know there are a few people in your life who, if you meet them and from the moment you first come into contact with them, you are like that's my kind of guy and me and him just connected. There was never anything but love and laughter and music for me and him.

DOM :: How much more can you ask for in life than to have met someone like that and to learn from and experience with and emotionally connect with their conscience.

STEPHEN :: Absolute blessing.

DOM :: You mention Tommy Emmanuel. Tommy Emmanuel who I've heard many many times perform is such a spirit in how he plays, and he is such a very very deep person, incredible to have experienced. What motivates you?

STEPHEN :: What motivates me, wow. That's changed over the years, you know, I think that for a long time especially growing up in the world I grew up in, and I think this is probably the same for most people, and also it's a bit of a male thing but I always had this sense that I had something to prove, and I don't know if that was just ego. You know when you are younger it's like I want to get in the game, I want to compete with you guys, I want to be part of it. I've always had so much love and admiration for music, of any kind really, but I just always wanted to do it. I think over the years particularly once I got sober my motivations for many things in life changed. But I realised not long after I got sober that I am just as happy to sit on a chair, with my guitar, alone in my house or anywhere, I am just as happy being there as I would be playing a gig, the guitar is just my thing. I just love it, I don't even care if I am any good at it! I just love it. And I think that is something that I hope I don't just die without getting the music out that needs to be out. I think that, and this is something I have kind of picked up from my dad and I've come to agree with him over time, is that I think that music is all around us and it is accessible to all of us. All of the music is accessible to all of us all of the time and I think that some people just have certain antennas for certain things. And the way we sharpen that signal, that frequency, the way we tune in, everybody tunes in a little differently. You may have to practice playing the guitar for 20 years before you pick up that frequency and like all of a sudden you are, oh there it is. I mean I remember practising Van Halen licks in my room for years and they were terrible and I would play along to the records and I knew it sounded terrible and one day the dots connected and all of a sudden that opens up that channel and so it's like a new frequency or new neuro pathway connects with the universe or something and it's like, oh that's over there cool, I'm gonna tap into that, because it's like my dad always says I just have to tune into that frequency, get into that space, the flow state, what ever. But the thing is I think you have to not be afraid of it. I think as an artist, as a player sometimes, the worst thing you can do is get inside your head and get in the way.

DOM :: Allow fear to be part of it, absolutely.

STEPHEN :: And that has been a problem for me at times in my life, particularly as a singer, I am like I don't want people to hear that. If you practice and you get it to the point where I can do it without making a mistake, I can't not do it and make a mistake, that's where you need to get to and it's like, oh cool yeah I can just do that. That's the best feeling in the world. I can watch a YouTube video of myself or what ever and I'm like, I'm thinking, that's terrible, I can hear myself thinking and you can hear people think.

DOM :: That's a very very powerful line. It's like thought is the enemy of flow. How do you put yourself in the moment, to allow yourself to put the antenna up, to find that frequency?

STEPHEN :: One of the things I am a big believer in now, I definitely think waking up early is big, not drinking too much coffee. The best days and the most productive days are when you roll out of bed and get to a guitar as soon as possible and just stay out of the way. It doesn't matter if you start playing scales, whatever. Some pretty decent idea will usually happen, at that point it's like okay I can get my iPhone out or what ever and sometimes I'll just hit record and play for a while and it can be nonsense and then I may not even listen to it for a couple of days a month even and then I go back and listen just for fun and I go, oh there is something. Once you kind of identify with the thing in there, that's like cool, you start building stuff, you call a friend hey let's jam let's do this, let's get it going and just not be afraid. I think I've just been afraid for a long time too.

DOM :: What was it you were afraid of, what was the fear?

STEPHEN :: Well I think that for a long time I had it fear that maybe I was not good enough, that this was not going to work out for me because of where I came from, the odds are stacked against me, it's too much pressure, all that stuff is, that's just garbage. It's not real, you know. There is a book by a guy called Stephen Creswell called the War of Art, not the art of war, the war of art. Turns out this is a common theme you know a lot all us artists, musicians, have this imposter syndrome on some level, or we start to feel less relevant or maybe our ideas are not good anymore or we have lost that spark and so for me it's really about, I think it's about living life and I think it's about being less selfish and being more involved with other people and being inspired and exposing yourself to things because you can play the drums, I can play the guitar but if you don't live your life what are you going to write about, what are you going to be inspired by. Sometimes I can be watching it a freak in the commercial on TV and you are just saying song sing and so like the way these two people are interacting and it's like there's an idea and you go wow that actually, I cannot believe I am saying this but that commercial is making me think about it the relationship between my daughter and I. And maybe there is something in that that is worth exploring, you just have to be aware. And I think that meditation is important, for me, I like the effect it has on me over all, taking care of your body, keeping physically fit, eating well, and trying to clear the negativity out of your life. It's a big challenge for anybody and I think that when you get into this music thing, things are flying at you all the time.

DOM :: There's a lot of disappointment, there is a lot of creative things that happen, absolutely.

STEPHEN :: And I think it's easy to get burnt out, it's easy to get jaded by things, I think the thing for me like I was saying to you earlier is that even if it is a bad show I still get to do this and if I am lucky someday I'll get to look back and be like well that was an interesting ride. I think the thing that makes me the saddest about music is that people don't value it the same way anymore and I don't know if that is cultural, I don't know if it's just getting old and crotchety about stuff.

DOM :: Well it is changing, however people listen to music is changing, how we relate to music.

STEPHEN :: Yeah but I think it is something that is happening all around us and I think music is getting, it's just part of it. I think for me personally I just know what is valuable to me, I know the music is valuable to me, I know that family is valuable to me, I know that friendships are one of the greatest values in the way you interact with another human being, whether you know them or not, is valuable. You can change somebody's life just by talking to them, music has the ability as well, music has the ability to connect with someone when nothing else can. I think why we doing this is because it connected with us once upon a time, in a way nothing else would and it made us feel something and it made us want more of that, what ever it is, I got to have some more of it, I've got to figure that out.

DOM :: It's also purpose. It seems like you have a real purpose, you are purpose driven. In a way you sense your responsibility that in the music industry there are going to be people who are influenced by your playing, and your music, as a way of lifting people on this wave, there is power of music, that's really very important to do.

STEPHEN :: It's incredible. I mean I can tell you what I've seen, you know it is one thing to be off stage and watch the Bee Gees over the course of my life and see them do that was amazing but to then be on stage with my dad, which is pretty cool in and of itself.

DOM :: That must be wonderful, that must be such a joy for him.

STEPHEN :: I think it's been one of the most beautiful things that's ever happened for me. I'll speak for myself, for him I think he enjoys it too. I think that is the only way he really knows how to connect with people is with music, so we have that bond because of music and I am incredibly grateful for that and we've gotten to have some pretty incredible memories doing that. And you know, I feel incredibly honoured to be standing anywhere near him, musically. I just want to see him continue, to see him continue to give his gift, it's his gift. If I can be helpful in any way I just want to be there to help, it's not about me, I just get up there and say go Pop, go do your thing, it's a beautiful thing to watch and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

DOM :: You are in a very special situation Stephen, you really have a unique situation in the fact that you are creating your own thing, you've got your own thing, inside this bigger thing but your own thing is really growing and has a voice that is clearly Stephen.

STEPHEN :: Yeah, I think I am finally ready to unleash that. I've been a supportive player for I guess it's been the past 20 years now, I've stood next to some giants in my eyes. I've been very fortunate to play with some very great people over the course of my life and I've enjoyed the experience of playing a supportive player and the opportunity to learn, everything is an opportunity for me to learn. I know that for me the best feeling is like oh I don't know how to do that and I'm probably going to make some mistakes on the way to figuring out how to do that but on the other side of that it's going to be pretty awesome and that ride is going to be pretty cool, if I can just drop the fear and go. And so now after doing that for a number of years and I am obviously, I am always willing to lend a hand anywhere but I think it is time I release some of my own music finally. I think I have sat on it long enough. I am just starting to find myself as a singer. It's time for me to begin to explore my own kind of thing and what ever happens with it is what ever happens with it.

DOM :: Wherever it goes the fact that it comes from the core of who you are, that's going to be present, that's going to lift it to the next level. This is the joy of music.

STEPHEN :: It is just a beautiful thing to be able to do. I think I spent enough time in silent judgement of myself. Like whether or not your songs are not good enough or your voice isn't good enough or this isn't good enough and more of those things are not true and it's getting back to that war of art thing. There is this thing inside of me that doesn't want me to do what I was put here to do, what is that. I don't think it's like that for everybody that creates but I think it's like that for a lot of people who create. I think that crippling self-doubt is a thing and some of that is cultural too, it's like people like to punch down sometimes and sometimes you just punch down on yourself and that is no way to do it.

DOM :: That you have spiritually evaluated yourself this way, that you have come to these terms and that awareness in and of itself is pretty pretty powerful.

STEPHEN :: Well, I appreciate that. Well that's from getting clean, definitely, makes a big difference.

DOM :: How beautiful that is when you think about it, you know. We have these young kids that listen to these interviews from 50 to 60 countries, it's amazing, and the comments on them and the inspiration they get from them, to hear you speaking and your spoken word, as they go back and re-search your music, they will do their homework in what they do because your message is very very strong for them to hear. In closing at Stephen what would you say to me at this next generation in so far as what Kim regards them along the way, so maybe they cannot have to experience or maybe they should experience some of the journey you mean three. What would you share with them.

STEPHEN :: Be a sponge, learn as much as you can and practice as much as you can, for as long as you can while you are young, because those big chunks of time become less common as we get older just from being alive. There is a lot of responsibility especially trying to carve out a career in this business but I would say find yourself as soon as possible, do whatever you have to do, play with as many people from different backgrounds, don't ever close your mind off to any potential scenarios. If someone says hey I have a reggae gig, and you don't know anything about reggae, go do it, because when you are done you'll know something about reggae, even if it's you don't ever want to play it again. But I think that when you are young don't say no. If you are lucky enough to carve yourself a career, you grow up to be able to say no every once in a while but I think if you are doing this for the right reasons, then it will be the right thing for you. I think we live in a time when a lot of people get into music because they think they can they are going to be rich or they are going to be famous and it's like trust me, that not going to be fun part of this. I don't know anybody who has those things that wants them. Money is nice but the people who succeed in this I just saw one that's never quit and they never quit because they love it more than anything else. And if you really love this and this is where you feel safe, this is your world, music, then just open yourself and go. And don't let anybody else tell you you can't do it, because some of the best stories we ever hear from people who were told they can't do it.

DOM :: Absolutely beautiful and Stephen you have reached a level of individuality, your purpose of playing music, your passion, is screaming loud and clear. Continue on this journey because you are changing lives and for that I thank you very much.

STEPHEN :: Thank you Dom, I appreciate that very much, sir.

[End Credits]