2024 Bisbee Music Hall Of Fame Inductee:
Steve Drew
Bio
Steve Drew’s musical journey hasn’t exactly been long and winding, but rather replete with fits and starts. Growing up inthe music desert of Northern Maine, his early exposure predominantly consisted of binging on music videos on MTV and tuning in to classic rock hits that caught a lucky bounce offthe ionosphere from WTOS 105.1 FM “The Mountain of Pure Rock.”
Live music was a rare treat, and his first big concert experience didn’t arrive until the ripe old age of 17. Metallica. Blossom Music Center. They were larger than life and they inspired him to catch as many live bands as he could afford to see—three.They also inspired him to learn to play guitar. Just not quite yet.
Steve joined the Marine Corps a month before his 19th birthday, for reasons that will become clear to him at some point in the future, probably. There he met a young man from Texas named Johnny Ray who showed him a few chords and helped him pick out his first guitar, which he promptly lost and had to replace a few months later. A couple years of practice paid off and he was eventually able to strum, sing, and entertain audiences of up to four people. There were mild rumors that Metallica had caught wind of this and were getting nervous. These rumors were never corroborated.
While attending college in Ohio, Steve and some friends founded a melodic death metal band called Elysium. Their style was heavily influenced by bands like In Flames and KillswitchEngage, and they toured extensively throughout North Canton, Ohio between 2004 and 2006. Steve’s role in the band was to provide clean vocals and 12-packs of Molson Canadian. He did not play guitar for the band initially, as there were too many notes, and he did not own an electric guitar. The band eventuallyreleased one album, titled A Decade of Silence, in 2016 under the moniker Reclaiming Elysium.
Steve settled in Bisbee, Arizona in October of 2009. It was in Bisbee that his love for live music was truly ignited. From grooving to Ted Reyes’ guitar leads at Hot Licks to melting beneath the transcendent vocals of Amy Ross on Wednesday nights, Steve had found his musical home. He linked up with the incomparable singer/songwriter Derek Dodd to form One Ghost—a grunge-inspired cover duo, most famous for their performance of the Garth Brooks’ hit song Friends In Low Places at least three times in a single gig. The duo became a four-piece in 2013 with the addition of fellow BMHOFers Frank Tornoe and Sam Panther. The band released their first album, Naked, in 2021 has been rocking steadily ever since. Friends In Low Places has been conspicuously absent from their setlists.
Steve, Frank, and Sam also teamed up with the inimitable KaraPeters to form Prose and Cons in 2018. The fellas held down the rhythm and jazzed up the melodies while Kara captivated audiences with her sultry vocals and surly lyrics. It was a short-lived but eternally altering endeavor.
Steve continues to pour his heart out in live performances all over Southeast Arizona with One Ghost, the Panther Band (a Bisbee Death Folk five-piece full of BMHOFers), and the Sierra Vista-based hard rock band Truth Untold. He also handles the music booking at the Bisbee Grand Hotel & Bar; an establishment that he and his long-time business partner, friend, and bandmate, Kara Peters, purchased in 2019, for reasons that will become clear to him at some point in the future, probably.
