The votes have been counted and the results are in… 

The Steve Conte NYC song “OK DJ” was voted #2 Coolest Song In The World of 2014 by the listeners of Little Steven’s Underground Garage radio program – edged out of the #1 spot by Bruce Springsteen. 

(The song also appears on Steven Van Zandt’s personal Top Ten list as the #10 song of the year!)

Fun Facts:

*Both Steve Conte and Bruce Springsteen share the birthdate of September 23rd. (How interesting – two singer/songwriter/guitarists born on the cusp of Virgo & Libra winning the #1 & #2 spots…)

*The #8 song of the year, “Money Money Money” by Mark Rivera features Steve playing guitar on the track with The Beatles’ Ringo Starr on drums!

Congrats to all the great artists who had their songs nominated – and thank you all so much for taking the time to vote.

Now come on out to one of the SC*NYC shows and hear the #2 Coolest Song In The World 2014 played LIVE!

Little Steven’s Underground Garage presents: “The 2014 Coolest Song of the Year Listener’s Poll”.

Please vote for “OK DJ” by Steve Conte NYC – just click the link below, scroll down to Show 638 (June 22nd, 2014) and click the VOTE button next to my album cover!

http://undergroundgarage.com/the-coolest-songs-in-the-world-2014.html

Voting will go live on November 29th (Black Friday) and voting ends on December 27th.

You can vote for “OK DJ” to be “Coolest Song Of The Year” once every 24 hours, and may enter the Hard Rock Vallarta contest as many times as you want.

“OK DJ” by Steve Conte has been nominated since it was chosen to be The Coolest Song In The World for the week of June 22, 2014 (show 638). You can listen to the show here: http://undergroundgarage.com/shows-639-630/show-638-bikini-beach-party.html

In addition to the voting, you can also enter the The Hard Rock Hotel in Vallarta contest. First place prize will receive: round-trip airfare for 2 and a 4-night, all-inclusive stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vallarta! (2nd prize includes a signed copy of my CD!)

In the words of Tom Petty, “Thank you SO MUCH…”

In 1988 my blues band, The Hudson River Rats began a residency in NYC’s West Village at a venue called “Under Acme” (the basement music room of the Acme Bar & Grill) which we did every Wednesday night for 2 years. We had all kinds of stars come down to play & sing with us; Cyndi Lauper, Carol King, Phoebe Snow, David Johansen, Willy DeVille, etc. By 1990 we moved the show to the Lone Star Roadhouse on W 52nd St in midtown Manhattan and a whole different crowd of players started coming down. This is where I met Steve Clark.

At that time my band Company Of Wolves had released our debut album on Mercury records and we had heard that Joe Elliot was a fan (I know this is true because I ran into him more than a decade later and he walked up to me and started singing my songs!). So perhaps this is why Steve Clark knew to come to our jam – because my brother John & I, who ran the jam with our blues band, were 2 of the founding members/players/singers/songwriters of  Company Of Wolves.

The night that Steve showed up I remember being impressed with ourselves because the word was getting out about our little blues night – so much that we had multi platinum selling artists like Steamin’ Steve Clark coming down to hang and play. He was a really sweet guy from what I remember, I shook hands with him at the side of the stage as he pulled out a cherry sunburst Les Paul (I think…?) I can’t remember which tunes we played but I believe it was with Richie Hayward (Little Feat) on drums. I remember that blues harp master Charlie Musselwhite also played that night. I really wanted to hang with Steve and chat but I had to stay on the stage to keep the night going – and by the time I got offstage, he was gone.

I was a fan of those 2 big Def Leppard albums; Hysteria and Pyromania so it was great to meet him. I was glad that he was such a down to earth dude, one who would come to a blues jam and not be afraid to wing it – to plug in someone else’s amp and play unrehearsed tunes with a bunch of people he never met. I am one of those guys so I really appreciate that in someone else! That’s a musician with no fear.

Steve and the SC*NYC Band rip through “She Blinds” (track #3 on the debut record) at The Bowery Electric in New York City on June 17, 2014.

Steve Conte – Lead Vocal, Guitar
John Conte – Bass, BG Vocal
Phil Stewart – Drums
Kyf Brewer – Keys, BG Vocal
David Weiss – Guitar
Marc Alan – Sound Engineer
Carl Spataro – Tech

Thanks to Shannon Brown of Trailer Radio for filming this video.

Steve & the SC*NYC band get their shit kickin’ boots on for this one, “Tax Free”, the final track of the Steve Conte NYC album.

Filmed at The Bowery Electric in New York City on June 17, 2014.

Steve Conte – Lead Vocal, Guitar
John Conte – Bass, BG Vocal
Phil Stewart – Drums
Kyf Brewer – Keys, BG Vocal
David Weiss – Guitar
Jon Graboff – Pedal Steel (special guest)

Marc Alan – Sound Engineer
Carl Spataro – Tech

Thanks to Shannon Brown of Trailer Radio for filming this video and to Diane Gentile & Jesse Malin for the night at the club and the bottle of Champagne backstage!