Steph Honde (born Stéphane Honde; 5 September 1975) is a French singer, songwriter and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a ...

(vocals, guitar, piano, bass guitar). Honde is most famous for being the frontman and songwriter of the American hard rock

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

, Hollywood Monsters which he founded in 2013. Before Hollywood Monsters, Honde was the guitarist of the French rock band

Café Bertrand A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

from 2004 to 2010, when he resigned from the band and joined

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...

band as the guitarist on tour across France.

Early life

Steph Honde's love for music developed in his early years. His first musical instrument was the drums and later he started to play guitar in order to achieve his goal to become a songwriter. Honde started his music career as the frontman with the French band Mamooth.

Music career

Café Bertrand

Honde achieved great success in France as a guitarist. He garnered a well-deserved reputation as a

guitar virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

when playing in the French hard rock band

in 2004–2010. In 2006 Café Bertrand was chosen to be the opening band for the Deep Purple European leg of the Rapture of the Deep tour which included 36 dates across Europe in October and November 2006 and another 12 dates in France in March 2007. Café Bertrand played at giant stadiums such as

Stade de France The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foot ...

, with an audience capacity in excess of 80,000. In 2009 Café Bertrand was the support band for two AC/DC shows in France during the

Black Ice World Tour The Black Ice World Tour was a 2008–2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC, in support of their fifteenth studio album '' Black Ice'', which was released on 20 October 2008. This tour had 8 legs around the world lasting more than 2 ...

: on 9 June 2009 at

Stade Vélodrome The Stade Vélodrome (; oc, Estadi Velodròm, ), known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, ...

in Marseille and on 12 June 2009 at

in Paris. In July 2009 Café Bertrand played at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Honde left Café Bertrand in 2010.

Paul Di'Anno and The Stars

In 2010, after leaving the band Café Bertrand, Steph Honde toured with

(the original vocalist of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

) and The Stars across France. Later in 2014, Di'Anno made a guest appearance on the album Big Trouble by Hollywood Monsters on bonus track "Fuck You All". Di'Anno chose the song himself from the number of songs suggested to him by Steph Honde.

Hollywood Monsters

In 2012 Steph Honde emigrated to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, U.S. and started working on his own project, the band Hollywood Monsters which features legendary guest musicians. Steph Honde created the project in 2013 and is the only songwriter of the project, including the band's debut album Big Trouble. The band members are: Steph Honde (vocals, guitars),

Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moor ...

(keyboards) ( Deep Purple, previously played in

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sc ...

and others),

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. Career Appic ...

(drums) (previously played in DIO,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

, Heaven & Hell, Kill Devil Hill and others),

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 13, 2021) was an American musician. He graduated in 1963 from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown of Ridgefield, New Jersey. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best ...

(bass) (previously played in

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up—vocalist ...

Cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gre ...

, and Beck, Bogert & Appice). Steph Honde met

in 2006 when Honde's then-current band

was the opening band for the Deep Purple European leg of the Rapture of the Deep tour.

appreciated the demo recordings suggested to him by Steph Honde and agreed to play on three tracks of the album despite the fact he had been in retirement for several years prior to the recording of the album Big Trouble.

plays drums on most of the tracks on the album. Steph Honde wrote the song "Village Of The Damned" as an homage to Vinny Appice before even meeting him.

Style and Influences

The music genre of Steph Honde is commonly referred to as hard rock reminiscent of the 1970s, yet his songwriting was also inspired by

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and heavy metal. Honde listed among his influences

, along with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of A ...

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

, Deep Purple,

Marillion Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mos ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...

. Steph Honde's expressive vocals and guitar playing style have become Hollywood Monsters' most distinctive feature, as well as his melodic and versatile approach to songwriting which adds lush and modern touch to the classic hard rock sound. In his songs Honde fuses elements of hard rock, progressive rock and metal, and employs different arranging techniques (e.g. use of classical instruments in the song "The Ocean" from Hollywood Monsters' album Big Trouble). Honde's songwriting is highly appreciated by many of the legendary rock musicians: those who participate in his project Hollywood Monsters and those who have expressed their willingness to record on the upcoming album.

Guest Appearances & Special Projects

* In February 2015 Steph Honde made a guest appearance as a guitarist on the song "Ole Blood & Guts" (in memory of general

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

) by the American metal band Age of Liberty. The song also features Darren Crisp on vocals, Tony Franklin on bass and

on drums. * Honde also appeared on the single ''Streets of Anger'' by AraPacis on their album ''System Deceive'' in 2015, and on the single ''Translucidity'' by AraPacis from their album ''Obsolete Continuum'' in 2017. The song also features

on drums. He also appears on the same band's song ''Paradox of Denial'' from the 2019 album with the same title. * In April 2019, Honde collaborated with Micki Milosevic under the band name of "Unprotected Innocence" creating an approved cover of a Spanish version of " Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the hard rock band

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

for the opening scene and soundtrack CD of the 2019 movie ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a t ...

'', elevating Honde as an instrumental and vocal soundtrack artist.

Discography

Café Bertrand

* Les Airs Empruntés (2005) * L'Art délicat du Rock'N'Roll (2008). (He was the sole songwriter of the latter. Both albums were critically acclaimed and commercially successful.)

Hollywood Monsters 2013-2019

* Big Trouble (released in 2014 on

Mausoleum Records Mausoleum Records was a Belgian-based heavy metal label, once considered by ''Billboard'' as "one of Europe's premier hard rock labels". Alfie Falckenbach founded the Mausoleum Records label in 1982 (he also founded the Music Avenue label, and ...

and is being promoted by Rock N Growl Records. The release dates are: 23 May 2014 in the U.S., 8 July 2014 rest of the world (except Canada), 14 October 2014 in Canada (under the

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

label). The album Big Trouble features 10 tracks and a bonus track, all of which were written by Steph Honde.) * Capture the Sun (2016) * Thriving on Chaos (2019) Steph's Solo * Steph Honde "Covering The Monsters" (2017, released only in Brazil )

Jim Crean 2019

* The London Fog (Steph plays Guitars, Keyboards and bass) * Greatest Hits (Steph plays guitar and keyboard in the song "Scream Taker" and "Conflicted", featuring Vinny Appice on drums and Rudy Sarzo on bass)

HellBoy Soundtrack 2019

Steph Honde and Micki Milosevic under band name: Unprotected Innocence * Rock You Like a Hurricane (Scorpions Cove
Spanish Version
Sony Music Entertainment

NoN (Formally "Now or Never") 2020

* In 2019, Steph joined the Swiss Rock Band NoN, which was founded in 2012 by guitaris
Ricky Marx
(ex-Pretty Maids) and initial bass player Kenn Jackson (also ex-Pretty Maids) along with Swiss drummer Ranzo (Sultan), and newest addition Claudio Nasuti, Italian Bassist. As the new front man, in the Spring of 2019 he finished recording powerhouse vocals for the III album released in 2020. Despite having received numerous well-favored reviews, the band had to cancel or postpone all live venues due to the Pandemic Outbreak which eventually led to Steph's departure from the band.

Sunroad 2021

* In 2021, after the pandemic annihilated most live music venues, Steph continued to collaborate with Fred Mika, the leader of the Brazilian Rock Band Sunroad. The two had conceived "Walking The Hemispheres" the ninth studio album from Sunroad featuring Vinny Appice and Don Airey) on several songs. Steph's Coverdale style vocals and Mika's ideas blended a mix of classic hard rock groups such Deep Purple, Whitesnake and U.F.O. with a touch of Brazilian groove. Mika wrote all the lyrics and explains that the isolation time was an experience for him whereas Steph reflected hiw own experience through the heartfelt lyrics. The title track is about the earth's hemispheres.

Frédéric Slama’s AOR 2021-2022

* For Steph, the year 2021 continued to be a busy year for musical networking. He joined forces with AOR Frederic Slama with the result in the cover album 'L.A. Suspicion' (2022) which features major artists of the eighties. The album was covered and collaborated by Steph along with other lead & backing Vocals: Steve Overland, Paul Sabu, Robbie Lablanc, Bill Kelly, Markus Nordenberg, and Michael Stosic while Frédéric Slama & Tommy Denander covered the instrumental arrangements.

Scream Taker 2021-2022

* As the Covid pandemic neared its end, Steph continued to work with Buffalo Music Hall of Fame vocalist Jim Crean and legendary drummer

(Dio, Black Sabbath), each recording music from their home studios. The trio had brainstormed and shared their ideas with each other until eventually a classic hard rock album 'Kill the Breautiful' was conceived and then released on September 30, 2022, featuring the hit tracks “Stone Cold” and “Shattered Mirror”.

Alpha Mountain 2022

* Also in 2022, Steph united with his French counterparts, creating the supergroup Alpha Mountain. The first album 'All in Vain' showcases 11 tracks echoing the sounds of Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Dio, Thunder, and Joe Walsh. Along wit
Butcho Vukovic
(Watcha, Last Temptation), drummer Eric Lebailly (Adagio, Louis Bertgnac), and bassists Pascal Baron (Sloane Square Band) and Fred Schneider (Lag I Run, Adrian Byron Burns) the album is due to release September 2022 via Vallis Lupi Productions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honde, Steph 1975 births Living people French multi-instrumentalists American multi-instrumentalists French rock singers French songwriters Male songwriters French singer-songwriters French rock guitarists French male guitarists French expatriates in the United States 21st-century French singers 21st-century guitarists 21st-century French male singers French male singer-songwriters

Early life

Music career

Café Bertrand

Paul Di'Anno and The Stars

Hollywood Monsters

Style and Influences

Guest Appearances & Special Projects

Discography

Café Bertrand

Hollywood Monsters 2013-2019

Jim Crean 2019

HellBoy Soundtrack 2019

NoN (Formally "Now or Never") 2020

Sunroad 2021

Frédéric Slama’s AOR 2021-2022

Scream Taker 2021-2022

Alpha Mountain 2022

See also

References