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, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

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

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

supergroup, Hollywood Monsters which he founded in 2013. Before Hollywood Monsters, Honde was the guitarist of the French rock band Café Bertrand from 2004 to 2010, when he resigned from the band and joined

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (17 May 1958 – 21 October 2024), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, was an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno ...

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 when playing in the French hard rock band Café Bertrand in 2004–2010. In 2006 Café Bertrand was chosen to be the opening band for the

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

European leg of the

Rapture of the Deep tour The Rapture of the Deep tour was a worldwide concert tour by English hard rock band Deep Purple. It took place in support of their 2005 studio album '' Rapture of the Deep''. It is supposed to be one of the most successful and long-lasting to ...

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 Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

, with an audience capacity in excess of 80,000. In 2009 Café Bertrand was the support band for two

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

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 (), known for sponsorship reasons as the Orange Vélodrome since June 2016, 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, and has ...

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 annu ...

. 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 music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

) 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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, U.S. and started working on his own project, the band Hollywood Monsters which features 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. He came to prominence as the keyboardist of the rock band Rainbow during 1979–1982. He has been the keyboardist of Deep Purple, the band from which Rainbow was a spinoff, since 2 ...

(keyboards) (

, previously played in

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

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 music, heavy ...

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

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) is an English hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. After the release of their second live album, 1984's '' Rock Will Never Die'', ...

and others),

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

(drums) (previously played in DIO,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

, Heaven & Hell,

Kill Devil Hill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Other common uses include: *Kill (body of water), a body of water, most commonly a creek *Kill (command), a computing command *K ...

and others),

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 14, 2021) was an American musician. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best known for his powerful vocal ability and his fast runs, fluid agility and ground-breaking sound on hi ...

(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 was vocali ...

Cactus A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

, and

Beck, Bogert & Appice Beck, Bogert & Appice was a rock supergroup and power trio formed by English guitarist Jeff Beck, evolving from the Jeff Beck Group. It included bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, Americans who had played together in Vanilla Fudge a ...

). Steph Honde met

in 2006 when Honde's then-current band Café Bertrand was the opening band for the

European leg of the

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

reminiscent of the 1970s, yet his songwriting was also inspired by

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and heavy metal. Honde listed among his influences

, along with

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

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog 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 mo ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. Steph Honde's vocals and guitar playing style have become a distinctive feature of Hollywood Monsters. 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).

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. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

) 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 (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

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

Hellboy Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries, one-shots ...

'', 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 record 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 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 Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

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 Tommy Denander (born March 10, 1968, in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is mostly known for his role in the AOR project Radioactive, signed to Frontiers Records. The 2022 Radioactive album, ''X.X. ...

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 with 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 male songwriters French songwriters French rock guitarists French male guitarists French expatriates in the United States 21st-century French singers 21st-century French guitarists 21st-century French male singers French male singer-songwriters French 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