What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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know, I just I wake up and I'm like, 'OK, I have a show today.'" Steel's passion for music started early in life. Her father was a rock guitarist, and although she says that he didn't push her into music, she got her first clarinet at the age of 7. From there she was in every facet of band and choir that she could get into while growing up in Webb City, Mo. However, when the band director wouldn't her to play her clarinet in the jazz band, she quit the band program despite being the first chair clarinet. While she's no longer angry at the band director, the willingness to stand up for herself and fight hasn't left her. "That was my fight song, so to speak," she laughs. "If someone tells me no now, I'm like, "Oh yeah? I'm going to prove you wrong.' Which is probably what keeps my light going." Steel played a couple seasons with the orchestra at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin during college, but it was jam sessions that really ignited her passion for performing and led her to many, many more instruments. On her shelves are clarinet, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, spoons, washboard, tambourine, Kazoo, slide whistle, train whistle and nose flute, according to her website. She is also familiar with the flute, saxophone, bassoon, French horn and trumpet, to name a few more. She began learning more instruments and singing harmonies in those early jam sessions. "I started going to like little local jams, like open mics and stuff, in Joplin. That's really what got me started to play with people and taught me how to improv," she says. "And that's been the center of my universe. Once I learned how to improv, I could sit in with anybody," which also helped her meet many of the musicians that she works with now and led her to work on many projects. She plays regularly with Chucky Waggs & the Company of Raggs, Gone So Long, Honey Shuffle, Randall Shreve, Michael Tisdale, Murray Williams and Pat Ryan Key. She's also performed with too many others to list here. "I never thought I could have my own band. I always wanted to be in someone else's band, because I thought that's what you did … I kept trying to be in all these bands, and trying to make myself fit in their style — when what I should have been doing is just creating my own, which is what I ended up doing. It just took me 43 years to realize!" she laughs. While it wasn't a straight path from college to career, Steel is finally scooping up accolades on her own. She won a Black Apple Award this year as the favorite solo musician in Northwest Arkansas. She's launched a newsletter to help people find her shows — which are all over the place — and she's working on her own album that was recorded in the legendary George's Majestic Lounge. "I still teach (photography) part time. And I give music lessons on the side. But music is my main job. And then all these other jobs just fill in the gaps when I need the money," she explains. Betting on herself and advocating for herself is a new skill that she's working on. "I didn't believe in myself until this last year, [when] I started going to counseling and getting help. Because I've had a lot of trauma over the years, and finally got to a place where I'm like, 'I deserve this. I should be here. This is good. You know, and I'm a good person,'" Steel says. "I want to help people and spread love. That's my big message. I want people to understand that. We can't be mean and hating and negative. We have those days, but we don't need to spread it … If we spread love, the world can be a better place. And I truly, truly believe it. "I want to make people realize they can do what they want, but they just have to make the choice to believe in themselves," she adds. "I'm living proof it can happen." 38 WHAT'S UP! SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2022 FIVE MINUTES, FIVE QUESTIONS WITH PATTI STEEL Patti Steel Band lugged a stand-up bass, clarinet, mandolin, guitar and a partial drum set up the stairs to our podcast studio at the Northwest Arkansas-Democrat Gazette for a quick interview and two songs. This was part of our conversation: Q. When do you expect your new album to drop? A. I'm working on that right now. And it looks like October is gonna be the release month. I don't have the exact date. But that's the plan is to get it out for October. Q. Tell us a little bit about your new album. A. It's a five-song EP that the guys recorded with me at George's [Majestic Lounge] actually. We did a live recording with Arlie Stiles, the sound engineer. And we just went in and basically laid down the songs and then had him master it. Q. What all instruments are you play- ing on this new album? A. Just the mandolin and clarinet and singing on my part, Michael [Tisdale] will be on guitar and vocals. [Robert] Geiger is on the drums and vocals, and then Rob Butler's on the bass. Q. Can you talk a little bit about what drew you to take a leap of faith and make your own music? A. Yeah, playing in so many different projects. And then they would kind of die after some time for different reasons, sometimes family or health or whatever the reason is. I kind of was ready to do something that I could have. I could never share my own music with anyone. They're like, "What's your website?" [at the time] I'm like I don't have one. "Where's your music?" I don't have any. So I guess I just got to a point where I was like, "Maybe I should start doing something." That inspired me. Q. When we talked before you said that it had been in about the last year that you really had started putting yourself out front and working on your own songs. So I'm wondering if you could go back and give yourself some advice before you took that leap of faith, what would you tell yourself? A. That's a good question. I don't know that I can. Probably just, you know, [to] believe in myself. It's been the biggest thing that I had to do, which I didn't do for a long time. That's probably what happened through covid was realizing that I have to take charge of my life, that nobody else is going to do it for me. And doing that made me kind of step up and play the game; instead of sitting back and playing my video game, I actually have to do some- thing about it. So that's probably the advice I'd give myself is just be confident. Want to share your music with us at the NWA Democrat-Gazette? Reach out to Monica Hooper, music editor, at mhooper@nwaonline. com. LISTEN HERE! Multi-instrumentalist Patti Steel has played in support of several Northwest Arkansas musicians in the past, but now she's on the eve of releasing her own album and is touring in support of her own music. (Courtesy Photo) Steel Continued From Page 12