Steve Clisby

Steve Clisby

Most well known by the Australian public for his appearance on The Voice, Steve Clisby has a long and extraordinary story to tell.

The story began in the early 1970s when he and a band of high school buddies decided to pack their bags and follow the trail legends such as Jimi Hendrix had paved for them into Europe. Once in Europe the band first toured Spain before making the Netherlands a home base for tours throughout Germany, Belgium, France and the remainder of Europe. Their success, as American Gypsy, led to a record deal and a string of top 10 hits catapulting them onto the world tour stage supporting Chaka Khan, Kool And The Gang, Wishbone Ash and Tina Turner. Then in 1997 Steve decided it was time “to leave Holland and either move back to the States or at least some place where the sun was shining.” Eventually he would settle in Australia after visiting and finding it to be “such a beautiful place” where he would then go on to make a further nine records and appear on The Voice during his 15 year stay.

Along the way Steve has crossed paths with some of the most iconic figures in the world of music in particular Chaka Khan and Jimi Hendrix. These two encounters were extremely memorable for Steve in two very different ways “with Chaka in particular there was a mutual respect for each other as musicians, the only difference was the popularity of our records. Jamming with Hendrix when I was just a kid, that was huge! With him you knew you were in the presence of an icon” said Steve.

The opportunity to play alongside Hendrix came about after all the pieces seemingly fell into place after lobbying the owner of a club called The Experience, which was “rumoured to be partially funded by Hendrix”, Steve and his band were given a support gig on the condition the other bands could use their equipment. Late that night after all the other bands had finished “Hendrix walked up on stage and started playing, I was petrified and scared out of my mind. It wasn’t until someone went to move my electric piano that I finally got up on stage to play.” said Steve reminiscing fondly.

The upcoming shows move away slightly from the sound Steve has cultivated over the years into a more “up-tempo energetic” groove which he says the crowds have responded to favourably whether they are older fans collected over the years or newer fans.

Jan 30, Brass Monkey, 115A Cronulla St, Cronulla, $54.10, brassmonkey.com.au

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