Delicate Steve is the stage name of musician Steve Marion, an American multi-instrumentalist who leads the band of the same name. Delicate Steve's sound has been described as hand-crafted with elements of

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 ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

sy twang,

African rhythms Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as consti ...

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

and

1970s pop Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 '' Ab urbe con ...

. Marion has collaborated with a wide range of artists in a variety of styles and genres, performing live and recording in-studio with artists such as

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

Amen Dunes Amen Dunes is the musical project formed by American singer-songwriter and musician Damon McMahon in 2006. McMahon has described Amen Dunes as both a solo project and a band "when it's in action." Frequent collaborators include guitarist and key ...

Mac DeMarco MacBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield MacBriare Smith IV; April 30, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. DeMarco has released six full-length studio albums, his debut ''Rock and Roll Night C ...

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

, and others.

History

A resident of

Fredon Township, New Jersey Fredon Township ( ) is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 3,235, a decrease of 202 over the previous decade.Pope John XXIII Regional High School Pope John XXIII Regional High School is a Roman Catholic high school in Sparta, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The school was founded in 1956, originally as ''Our Lady Of The Lake School'' and is part of the Roman Catholic Dioces ...

in 2005;

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

had signed his band to a recording deal while he was still in high school. After opening for

Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...

at New York City's Governors Island in summer 2010 and a residency at Brooklyn club Union Pool, the band attracted media and record label attention. That year, Delicate Steve signed to

Luaka Bop Luaka Bop is a New York–based record label founded by musician David Byrne, former lead singer and guitarist for the art rock– new wave band Talking Heads. What began with Byrne making cassettes of his favorite Tropicália tracks for his frien ...

, who released the "Butterfly" 7" single, backed with a cover of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

's "

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

''Wondervisions'' (2011)

On January 25, 2011, Delicate Steve's debut album, ''Wondervisions'', was released on Luaka Bop. The entirety of the album was recorded by Marion in his bedroom and quickly gained the attention of critics, becoming a "Critics' Choice" selection of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as well as being included on NPR's "Favorite Songs of 2011". For the release of ''Wondervisions'', author

Chuck Klosterman Charles John Klosterman (; born 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for '' Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magazine''. K ...

wrote a fictional biography of Delicate Steve. The bio was originally published anonymously and was mostly taken as fact by fans and press, but was exposed in a feature news story on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''.

''Positive Force'' (2012)

In July 2012, Delicate Steve's sophomore record, ''Positive Force'', was released on Luaka Bop. The album quickly received high praise, including an 84 from ''

Filter Filter, filtering or filters may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream * Filter (video), a software component tha ...

'', an 8.5 from '' Paste'', a 7.6 in ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' and a 7 from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''. For promotion of ''Positive Force'', a legitimate biography of the band was written by

Michael Azerrad Michael Azerrad is an American author, music journalist, editor, and musician. A graduate of Columbia University, he has written for publications such as '' Spin'', ''Rolling Stone'', and ''The New York Times''. Azerrad's 1993 biography '' Come ...

, author of ''

Our Band Could Be Your Life ''Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991'' is a book by Michael Azerrad. It chronicles the careers of several underground rock bands who, while finding little or no mainstream success, were hugely i ...

''. On September 3, 2014, the band issued a free digital sampler EP, titled ''Multiple Moods Sampler'', via

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

''Live in Las Vegas'' (2015)

Following the release of ''Positive Force'', the band toured with

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

Tune-Yards Tune-Yards (stylized as tUnE-yArDs) is the American, Oakland, California–based music project of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner. Garbus's music draws from an eclectic variety of sources and utilizes elements such as loop pedals, ukulele, voca ...

and Yeasayer. While supporting Tame Impala on their US tour, a live album was recorded at a November 13, 2014 show at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. ''Live in Las Vegas'' was released on March 3, 2015.

''This Is Steve'' (2017)

In 2016, Delicate Steve signed to

Anti- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...

and toured with

Cass McCombs Cass McCombs (born November 13, 1977 in California) is an American musician and songwriter. Since 2002 he has released ten albums, an EP and a B-sides compilation under his own name. McCombs’ music blends elements of many styles including Ameri ...

. In January 2017, the band's third album, ''This Is Steve'', was released on Anti-. The album was recorded entirely by Marion at Outlier Inn studios in Woodridge, NY in 11 days.

''Till I Burn Up'' (2019)

In 2019, Delicate Steve released ''Till I Burn Up'' on

. The album is marked by an exploration of experimental elements and guitar tones inspired in part by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

’s vocals on ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', particularly the use of distorted and Auto-Tuned room mics. Later in 2019, West would go on to sample ''Wally Wilder'', a track from Delicate Steve’s 2012 release, ''Positive Force.''

Collaborations

As a guitarist, Marion has performed live on stage with Mac DeMarco,

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and se ...

, Built to Spill, Yeasayer, Dirty Projectors,

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

Lee Ranaldo Lee Mark Ranaldo (born February 3, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, writer, visual artist and record producer, best known as a co-founder of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth (guitar and vocals). In 2004, ''Rolling ...

Dr. Dog Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy ( rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick ( drums), an ...

Kyp Malone David Kyp Joel Malone (born February 27, 1973) is an American multi-instrumentalist and member of the bands TV on the Radio, Iran, Rain Machine, and Ice Balloons. Biography Malone grew up in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey for ...

Khaira Arby Khaira Arby, known as The Nightingale of Timbuktu (21 September 1959 – 19 August 2018), was a Malian singer. Early life Arby was the daughter of a Tuareg father and a Songhai mother. She began singing at a young age for weddings and traditi ...

Akron/Family Akron/Family were an American folk-influenced experimental rock band active from 2002 to 2013. Former members have lived in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles, California; and Joshua Tree, California. Music and history Though each member of the band� ...

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ven ...

Fang Island Fang Island was an American indie rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, and based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. The group consisted of the guitarists Jason Bartell and Chris Georges, the bass guitarist Brock Hengin and the drummer ...

Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche (; born 5 September 1982) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and guitarist, now based in Los Angeles, California. He has released nine studio albums. Early life Growing up in a suburb of Bergen, Lerche was heavily influenced by 1980s ...

Nicole Atkins Nicole Atkins (born October 1, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter. Her influences include 1950s crooner music, 1960s psychedelia, soul music, and the Brill Building style of writing. Atkins has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from ...

and Seltzer Boys (a supergroup consisting of Yeasayer and Suckers members). Marion also collaborated with

on his 2015 album ''

Stranger to Stranger ''Stranger to Stranger'' is the thirteenth solo studio album by American folk rock singer-songwriter Paul Simon. Produced by Paul Simon and Roy Halee, it was released on June 3, 2016 through Concord Records. Simon wrote the material over a period ...

''. In 2017, Marion joined

the Growlers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

as a guitarist for their '' City Club'' world tour. Marion collaborated with

to record guitar on the 2018 album ''Freedom''. The record was met with positive critical acclaim, earning the title of “Best New Music” from ''Pitchfork''. ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

'' critic Steven Hyden wrote, "With Marion’s understated but assertive guitar acting as the album's focal point, ''Freedom'' recalls the arena-ready, widescreen sweep of U2 or

the Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...

". In 2019, Marion joined

as a guitarist on their “Let’s Rock” tour.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Wondervisions'' (2011,

) *''Positive Force'' (2012, Luaka Bop) *''This Is Steve'' (2017,

) *''The Christmas Album'' (2018,

) *''Till I Burn Up'' (2019,

) *''After Hours'' (2022,

)

EPs

* ''Cowboy Stories'' (2017, Anti-)

Singles

* "Butterfly" 7" (2011, Luaka Bop) * "Many Moods" digital with

Zach Hill Zachary Charles Hill (born December 28, 1979) is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of the groups Death Grips and the I.L.Y's, and as the drummer of math rock band Hella. Art In ...

(2011, self-released) * "Valerie" 7" with

(2012,

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

) * "Further Out" 7 with Callers (2012, Western Vinyl)

Live albums

* ''Live in Las Vegas'' (2015, self-released)

Compilation EPs

*''Multiple Moods Sampler'' digital EP (2014, self-released)

Compilation appearances

*"I'm Just Beginning to Live" (

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

cover) on ''Panache Mixtape Series - Vol. 2'' (2014) *“Hallelujah - Live” (

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

cover) on ''Sincerely, L. Cohen: A Live Celebration of Leonard Cohen'' (2017)

Guest appearances

— ''

Fragrant World ''Fragrant World'' is the third studio album by American psychedelic pop band Yeasayer, released on August 21, 2012, on Secretly Canadian. Critical reception The album has received a provisional score of 71 from Metacritic indicating "generally ...

'' (2012,

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...

) * Saint Rich — ''Beyond the Drone'' (2013,

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

) *

— ''Please'' (2014, Mona) * Anand Wilder — ''Break Line'' (2014, Secretly Canadian) *

People Get Ready "People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the ''People Get Ready'' album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' ...

— ''Physiques'' (2014, Brassland) *

— ''

'' (2015) *

Lewis Del Mar Lewis Del Mar is an American experimental pop duo from Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York City. Consisting of singer and guitarist Danny Miller, and drummer and producer Max Harwood, the group first received attention in early 2015 when their debu ...

— ''

'' (2016, Columbia) * Yeasayer — '' Amen & Goodbye'' (2016,

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

) *

— ''Freedom'' (2018),

Sacred Bones Records Sacred Bones Records is an American independent record label founded in 2007 and based in Brooklyn, New York. The label has released recordings from artists including Zola Jesus, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Blanck Mass, Crystal Stilts, Marissa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delicate Steve American rock musicians Dirty Projectors members People from Sussex County, New Jersey Pope John XXIII Regional High School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Luaka Bop artists Anti- (record label) artists