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1.) We’re happy to be speaking today with singer and songwriter Steve Larsen; Welcome to Vents, Steve! Before we dive into the deep-end, how has your 2022 been treating you thus far?
First, thank you very much for welcoming me to Vents! As we know, 2022 and 2021 have been challenging for nearly everyone I think on a global scale. On a personal level, however, my wife and I moved from the Chicago area to SW Florida where we are taking full advantage of the sun and nearby beaches, living in a condo on the Myakka river and waiting for our house to be built on the other side of it. And, I started working on a number of Florida-themed songs to boot!
2.) Kudos for the formation of your new band extraordinaire Powered by Joy! Who are the talented members that make up Powered by Joy?
Chris Leonard: Guitar, bass, mandolin, co-arranger, and producer
Jeremy Kollnoss (J-man) Drums and all-around handyman
Thomas Larsen: Lead and backing vocals, drums, bass
Ally Larsen: Backing vocals, keyboards, ukelele
Steve Larsen: Lead vocals and keyboards
We also brought in special guest star Keith Carlock (Steely Dan’s touring drummer) on one of the sessions.
3.) What series of events led to the creation of Powered by Joy?
After the Beyond Belief album in 2012 as a solo artist, I began to think that I would like to work with a band, as bands can have positive synergistic effects that are hard to achieve working by yourself. Also, although I’m no introvert I do like my privacy and being in a band put me more in the background where I’m a bit more comfortable. So at first I worked with various musicians under the working band title of “Larsen University” which fortunately led me to Chris, and he brought in Jeremy and then I brought in my own son Thomas and his wife Ally – and changed the name to “Powered by Joy” – which apart from being decidedly less professorial sounding than “Larsen University” I felt adequately described the creative energy moving through us, regardless of the subject matter of a particular song.
4.) Prior to Powered by Joy, you walked the path of a solo artist. Was it awkward at first for you to suddenly find yourself with a full-fledged band?
Well like I mentioned, the band formation was a gradual evolving thing and in some ways, I just found myself surrounded by people who wanted to make great music. You might even call it a “concept band” as in this virtual age and virtual time in history, without touring, a band’s sense of identity tends to be more flowing and flexible.
5.) Congratulations on the brand-new two-song EP which features the brilliant gems I’ll Be Waiting and Eyes Wide Open! What was the genesis of these two haunting tunes?
Thank you for the kind words! Like most of my tunes, the music came first. I believe I had the “I’ll Be Waiting” chorus floating around my head for some time. Then when my son let me know that he was going to join the Navy, my emotional reaction spilled into that chorus, and the song was born. I recall the Eyes Wide Open melody wasn’t around long before I hit on the idea of the lyrical theme. As I have been a truth seeker all my life and so I used that lens to look at the social engineering and manipulation that has taken place over the last 60 years or so in the political realm as well virtually every facet of life. And such acts can only be done when a critical mass of people shut their eyes to what is actually happening. Now, for certain, opening one’s eyes can be a painful process, as that is often the nature of growth itself, but in the long run, it is far less painful than keeping them shut and ultimately leads to freedom, individually and collectively.
6.) What do you hope fans walk away feeling about Eyes Wide Open and I’ll Be Waiting?
I hope they’ll be inspired, uplifted, and perhaps even sing along with songs! Also for those lyrical deep divers, there are plenty of hidden messages to decipher.
7.) Who was your producer on the new EP and what did that collaboration look like in the studio?
Chris Leonard was my producer. The collaboration was great. I would come into the studio with the lyrics, melody, chord chart, and scratch Garageband demo and we would work on fleshing out the tune together. Chris brought a lot of energy and great ideas to the table and we would feed off each other. Plus he’s a great guitarist and bass player.
8.) The new EP is the opening salvo for the release of Powered by Joy’s 15-track opus debut album Eyes Wide Open. What can fans expect from the new album?
Hopefully, they’ll find a potpourri of great, catchy tunes – not a dud in the bunch in my unbiased opinion haha. Jeremy calls my songs “earworms” and being a bug enthusiast as a kid I’m delighted with the moniker lol. But I also feel there is plenty to engage with at a lyrical level as well, as I definitely pour a lot of my being into them. Ultimately, I hope fans can feel the joy that we had creating them.
9.) It’s been ten years since the release of your celebrated solo album Beyond Belief. How are you similar as a singer-songwriter from that debut album? How have you evolved and changed since then?
Thank you for asking that as I haven’t given it much conscious thought. I’ve always gone with the flow in writing songs, and my songs tend to represent where I’m at in consciousness when I write them. Lyrically, I think Beyond Belief may have had more influence from some of my spiritual teachers whereas perhaps there’s more original thinking in Eyes Wide Open. Musically, the arrangements are perhaps a bit more sophisticated in EWO and certainly contain more of the abundant talents of the other band members. My goal is always to be the open door to More – so to speak – and I hope that somehow manifests in my music.
10.) Is there a specific track on Eyes Wide Open that you’re especially excited about fans listening to?
I like them all but I’m very partial to “Organic Girl” as it’s got a great groove, awesome drumming (Keith Carlock), a cool guitar solo and I feel has some quirky, funny if not quotable lyrics. I had a blast writing it and hopefully, that found its way into the performance.
11.) Which comes first for you when crafting a new tune – The lyrics or the music?
The music 99% of the time. It’s weird, I never sit down to write a song, at least not until the very end when I have to notate and record it. The music just comes to me as I go about my day, sometimes in dreams. But of course, the lyrics are no second fiddle to the music as you can’t have a song without them. So a tune can sit on the shelf indefinitely until a lyric idea comes along to leaven or resurrect it, to use spiritual metaphors. And when it does, then the lyrics come fairly easily. Though I usually take my time with them and there’s a good deal of editing along the way. The sound of the lyric is just as important as the meaning.
In a major departure for me in EWO however, there are actually 4 songs where the main lyric (with edits by me) came from another artist. So in that case the lyrics actually came first. A couple of the song melodies for these came to me in a dream and I was delighted to discover that they actually fit!
12.) Can fans look forward to seeing Powered by Joy on the touring circuit in the coming weeks and months?
As great as that sounds, regrettably certain obligations are keeping us from touring right now. We have had discussions about making a live video, so perhaps that might be our first foray into the live world.
13.) What are your thoughts on the music scene of 2022? Are there any artists that you keep up with?
Sadly, I am mostly disconnected from the current music scene. Call me old fashion (and being 63 certainly puts me in that category haha), but I’ve always been a fan of great songwriting, and quite frankly much of what I hear in today’s music is not really songwriting, but a watered-down amalgamation of various producers which then tends to lose its essence, its soul, and as a result leaves its fans with unremarkable music and lyrics. Of course, this is a generalization, and I have also heard some great tunes out there which I immediately Shazaam, but the overall trend to me is not promising. It’s more mind-numbing and less song-humming. You’ll probably laugh but the only band I still follow, that I’m a real fanboy of, is Steely Dan – and I’m happy to say that we’ll be seeing them in Fort Myers FL in July.
Final – SILLY! – Question: Favorite film about the music scene – This Is Spinal Tap, Almost Famous or La Bamba?
Great question and an easy one for me. “Once!” Love that movie and I’ve probably seen it 20 or maybe even 30 times. The scene where the Glenn Hansard character introduces the “Your Mind’s Made Up” tune in the studio is so priceless and powerful. Also has a killer ending, full of longing… which is an emotion that I think drives us all towards self-discovery.
