STEVE: I play a modified Guild DCE5 electric acoustic. I removed the stock Fishman Prefix preamp system and installed a Sunrise soundhole pickup and an L.R. Baggs LB6 undersaddle pickup. I also use a Pendulum SPS-1 preamp with a special preamp module that allows me to individually process the two pickups for a big guitar sound. I just let go of a 1999 Olson SJ that I had to sell in order to finish production on my CD.

My current favorite smoke is Portabella Mushroom Fajitas.

What kind of drums do you play and what pets do you own?

STEVE: No drums, but I live with four cats. Ziggy is the male elder at 11 years, Jesse and Jinx are twin sisters at 9 years, and Patchouli is a low-bottom stray I took in about four years ago. They're all pretty good company except when they're throwing up.  

What's your favorite D.C. hangout and your favorite automobile?

STEVE: I used to hang out in most of the watering holes around town, but I stopped drinking six years ago. Now the only watering hole I hang out in is the shower.

My favorite automobile would have to be the Toyota 2WD pickup. I bought my first one back in 1986, and it was still running 260,000 miles later when I gave it away. It looked like hell and you had to pull the emergency brake to stop it, but that truck never left me stranded. I called it "the truck of luck."

What's the worst place you've crashed and the worst haircut?

STEVE: I lived in England for a few years when I was a kid, and I once stayed at the Grand Hotel in Birmingham. It was a really old hotel and the plaster in the ceilings was crumbling. I remember eating dinner in the main dining room and watching in horror as a nearby empty table got crushed when the plaster ceiling collapsed on it.

When we got to our room, I noticed that the ceiling over my bed was cracked and there were small chunks of plaster on the bedspread. We complained to the front desk, but they said no other rooms were available. It was too late to find another hotel, so I ended up spending a long, uncomfortable night underneath that bed, expecting the roof to cave in. It never did, of course, but what a great metaphor for how I used to live.

Since I used to cut my own hair, I can honestly say that my worst haircuts were self-inflicted.

Worst roommate and best audience?

STEVE: I've had lots of difficult roommates, and to single one out seems unfair. I will say that in every group-living arrangement where I signed a lease, we always forfeited our security deposit.

My most memorable performing experience happened at a local community church. A friend who was the music director at this church asked me to perform one of my songs, "Chain Reaction," since it was consistent with that Sunday's topic. I had been a huge fan of David Wilcox for years, and his music is really what fueled my motivation to become a singer-songwriter. Anyway, I was standing in the back of the church waiting for the service to begin, when David Wilcox himself walks inside and sits down. I found myself freaking out, thinking I was auditioning for the Grand Ole Opry or something, but once I remembered why I was there—to help deliver a spiritual message—I settled down and gave a pretty good performance. It was very cool.

Explain your band name and define your sound.

STEVE: Steve Ducey is my real name.

I describe my sound as a blend of new age contemporary folk and traditional pop rock. Some people say I'm reminiscent of James Taylor. Others hear David Wilcox. I write everything in alternate tunings, and I try to write songs that can stand on their own with just voice and guitar. That doesn't mean I don't like other instruments. Most of the songs on my upcoming CD are quite produced. I'm just hoping I don't get the nickname "Steve Overproducey." Lyrically, I try to impart a positive message, usually from a metaphysical perspective.

What clothes do you like to wear on stage and what do you eat on the road?

STEVE: I usually wear all black on stage. I feel the most comfortable in black.

On the road I eat peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Clif bars.

What are your influences and worst equipment experience?

STEVE: Influences...Beatles, Rolling Stones, Donovan, James Brown, Guess Who, Carol King, Grand Funk Railroad, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, Eagles, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Steely Dan, George Benson, and David Wilcox.

At the end of my first semester in music, I had to give a classical guitar recital before the entire school of music. I was so nervous on stage that I couldn't get my guitar in tune. After 10 minutes or so of fiddling with the tuner keys, I asked if I could try tuning it offstage, outside the auditorium. Once I got past those doors, I just kept going. I always wondered how long it took before someone realized I wasn't coming back.

What's your favorite tour memory and worst band squabble?

STEVE: I've never been on tour, but I once played at a friend's wedding in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I decided to make a vacation out of it and stay down there for the week. The plan was to meet up with a group of friends at St. Thomas airport, and then take the ferry across to St. John to a house we had rented. Well, I ended up missing my flight and by the time I arrived at St. Thomas airport, several hours had passed from the time we were supposed to meet so no one was there. The worst part was I didn't have a clue as to where I was staying or where anyone else was staying. So I rented a Suzuki Samurai and started driving around the island looking for the ferry. I ended up going through a lot of slums, but I had no luck finding the ferry. When it started getting dark, I got a room at Frenchman's Reef—one of the nicer hotels on the island back then. After vainly calling other hotels for clues about where the wedding party was staying, I figured I might as well check out the island nightlife. As fate would have it, I ran into two girls from the wedding party in the second place I walked into. I ended up getting on stage with a local steel drum band and playing "Wraparound Blues" with them. I had so much fun down there, I seriously considered staying.

I used to be in a rock-disco cover band called Mid-Atlantic Connection. We had 10 band members, and as with many large bands, there were some people who just didn't like each other. It finally came to blows one night when the trombone player insulted the keyboard player's girlfriend, who then got punched in face by the keyboard player, who then got strangled by the lead singer and bass player. Fortunately, no one was killed, but that was the end of Mid-Atlantic Connection.

What's your transpo and what's the worst place you've ever dropped trou?

Right now, I'm driving a 1998 Toyota Tacoma pickup.

STEVE: The worst place I ever dropped trou was in first grade. It was the first time I ever stepped foot into a men's lavatory. I remember going in there by myself and seeing this row of urinals. Never having seen a urinal before, I just figured it was multipurpose like a regular toilet. So there I am, squatting on this urinal when the entire fifth grade class comes walking in for their afternoon lavatory recess. Needless to say, I was the object of considerable ridicule, but my heart still goes out to that poor janitor.