Steve Vaclavik and The Woeful Ones
Steve
was once compared to an old comfortable
sofa. It ain’t much to look at, but there's just something, well,
comfortable
about it.
The
comfortable thing about Steve is the song.
It's all about the song. His strength is his writing. It's three chords
and his
truth. Like most creative types, he sees things a little differently
than the
'normal' folks. Some of the things he sees, he can relate through song.
He
doesn’t really write them, they come to him, and he relates them.
His
sound can be a bit ‘country flavored’ but not
heavy-handed, more along the lines of Americana. As a songwriter, he’s
proud to
have had the opportunity to perform twice in the late 90’s at
Nashville’s famed
Bluebird Café at their Sunday Writers’ Night. His songs, ‘Wet Dog
(Someone To
Care)’ and ‘I’ve Lost All Faith’ were named Tastes of the Day by
eartaste.com
in 2007. Both songs were on CD samplers released by that website. ‘Run
Mary,’
from the CD ‘Long Grass and the Tall Trees’ was named a Taste of the Day
by the
website in April 2008. Songs from ‘Long Grass and the Tall Trees’ have
also
been played on local radio stations WMNF in Tampa and WSLR in Sarasota.
Late summer 2009 brought about Steve’s second studio album ‘The Roof Needs More’, this time featuring a full band sound with Steve playing guitar, banjo, resonator and mandolin with Pro Star Studios Chief Engineer Jody Gray rounding out the sound with his complimenting drums and bass playing. To recreate that sound live, Steve put together his new band, Steve Vaclavik and The Woeful Ones. The band consists of fellow Tampa Bay Area songwriters and musicians Mike Worrall on bass and mandolin, Mike McKee on guitar and six string banjo, Brandon Ruck on lead guitar, resonator and mandolin and Jay ‘Jay Bone’ Ingle on drums. Songs from ‘The Roof Needs More’ have also been featured on WMNF and WSLR. Steve Vaclavik and The Woeful ones can be described as follows: Middle-aged singer/songwriter dude Steve Vaclavik and his Woeful Ones sound like life – the good, bad and ugly of it. Vaclavik’s tone has been described as ranging from Warren Zevon-wry to hellfire-preacher fierce as he sets his drawling vocals against the band’s rambling blend of roots, folk and Americana.
“Tampa resident Steve Vaclavik is a
troubadour in
the tradition of Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt. His songs are full of
the
truth as seen by ordinary people. These people often tend to be life's
underdogs, and Steve has the special gift to capture their perspectives
on the
world with genuine understanding. His words, full of humor and insight,
are the
essence of his music, but his Dylan-esque vocals and spare guitar
playing
provide a fitting framework that rings true and clear.” (From Pro Star
Recording press release for their Pro Star Sound Stage Celebrate the
Songwriter
Series, December 2007.)
“Following
his gruff, antiwar Internet hit
"I've Lost All Faith," which reached No. 11 out of 2,570 selections
on Neil Young's "Living with War: Songs of the Times" website, Tampa
folkie Steve Vaclavik releases Long Grass and the Tall Trees. The
eight-song
batch of originals, recorded at Pro Star Recording in St. Pete, features
Vaclavik mostly alone with his acoustic guitar (there's understated
percussion
interspersed), strumming familiar chords and singing intriguing tales
like the
murder report "Run Mary." The only misstep is the track "Bob
Dylan," an imagined meeting with the rock poet, which, at this point, is
about as relevant as a "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" cover.”
3 stars
(Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing, Tampa, April 2008.)
“Steve Vaclavik is the
fisrt musician to be selected as an MTB Feature Artist for the 2nd year
in a
row - following his release in 2008 of the CD Long Grass and The Tall
Trees,
and now this year with the forthcoming The Roof Needs More, due for
formal
release later this month in a dual presentation with Richard MacLemale.
At times compared to Bob Dylan (which he sings about in one song from
last
year), he attacks his guitar with a vengeance while telling stories in
music
and verse. Not everyone will like every song, but certainly there is
something for everyone who has struggled against odds, gone against the
crowd,
gone swimming upstream, or just dared to be different.” (Rick Crandall,
Music Tampa Bay – www.musictampabay.com)
“Vaclavik's tone can range from Warren Zevon-wry to hellfire-preacher fierce. Sweet love songs such as “My Little Gift to You” lighten the darkness of the title track and “Run Mary,” originally from Vaclavik's “Long Grass and the Tall Trees” disc, is reprised here in an electric version.” (Curtis Ross, The Tampa Tribune Friday Extra, November 2009)
