Steve Azar was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi at the entrance to the Mississippi Delta. His mother was raised above the family grocery store located on Highway 61 in Clarksdale, MS near the infamous “Crossroads”. “The Crossroads” is the intersection of Route 61 and Route 49, or the 61/49 split as they call it there, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, made famous in the Robert Johnson song, “Cross Road Blues”. This is where Delta Blues legend Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues, or so the story goes. Mom’s younger brother grew up to be the mayor of Clarksdale, MS. Two of Steve’s cousin’s, Abe and Pat Davis, own and operate the famous Abe’s barbeque. Located right at the 61/49 split, Abe’s is also where you see the famous “Crossroad’s” sign with the huge guitars. Rock and Blues legends from all over the world make the pilgrimage to Clarksdale to stand at the Crossroads, and many stop in for a bite at Abe’s while they are there. Abe’s is famous, and delicious. Steve’s dad owned the first legal liquor store in the state. Behind that liquor store is where Steve first learned about the blues music of the Delta.
“I was hooked on Eugene Powell (Sonny Boy Nelson) who made Blues records back in the 1930’s,” says Steve. “I would hang out behind my dad’s liquor store, sit on a crate and listen to Eugene sing about his day and about his night before. Those were some of my first lyric writing lessons, even though I didn’t know it at the time.”
“It was all around us down there, and I was hooked on what it was they were talking about. Little Milton, Sam Chatmon and Roosevelt (Booba) Barnes all lived, or hung out there. B.B. King was from Itta Bena and Albert King was raised in Indianola, both towns are out on Highway 82 from Greenville. When my early band started growing and we were up to three trucks to carry all the band and gear, Little Milton would say , You really gonna’ do this Little Azar! (that’s what he called me) It wasn’t a question, he was telling me, and he saw me actually doing it. He told me, If you’re gonna’ do this, you gotta’ make it your whole life, you gotta’ work hard everyday at it!”
“I work hard at it everyday… I love the work I get to do!”

“Where I grew up in the Delta, there was always something new that came into my life and inspired me to write music. Whether its pain, hope, joy, laughter or sadness, there are always emotions that you experience, we all do. I’ve written about those emotions since I was about 11 years old.”
While attending and then graduating from Delta State University, Azar was also busy touring with his band. Steve had become a regional headliner playing the biggest clubs in the Delta, was a regular on the college campus circuit, and played nearly every Blues Festival.
It was a sweltering September afternoon during the Delta Blues Festival at Freedom Village in his hometown of Greenville; MS. Steve was humbled to share the stage with Delta Blues music legend, James “Son” Thomas, in a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Upon finishing the set, Steve walked off the stage, where blues legend Mr. Albert King said to him, “Hey kid, you got it! …. Where ya’ goin’ with it?” Azar said, “Nashville Mr. King.” With a smile, and a bit of sarcasm, Albert exclaimed, “Ahhhhh, the Devil goes to Nashville!”
Azar did move to Nashville and within days had multiple song publishing contract offers. During the time that followed, Steve began working on his own songs, writing with the “who’s who” of Nashville great songwriters, and developing his unique way of storytelling that led to some classic songs in the following years.
It took a bit longer to achieve what Steve considers his first “real” recording deal, eventually signing as a performer to major label, Mercury Nashville. His 2002 full-length release, “Waitin’ on Joe” really put Steve on the country music map. “I Don’t Have To Be Me til’ Monday” was the first single from that record and reached #2 nationally on the country radio charts. “I Don’t Have To Be Me til’ Monday” is still a power recurrent at radio today and is one of the Top 5 most played songs of the last decade at country radio. BMI has honored Steve with their “Million-Air” award and “Monday” has received almost 3 million spins on the radio since release. His next single was the title track from the record, “Waitin’ on Joe”. “Waitin’ on Joe”, the song, became a Top 10 radio hit and reached #1 on the CMT video charts. “Waitin’ on Joe” reached into Steve’s Mississippi roots for the story of life on the river, and featured his Mississippi friend, Academy Award Winning Actor, Morgan Freeman, to help tell that story of life in Mississippi. There were several years of working radio and touring that followed the release of “Waitin On Joe”. The single “Monday” lasted almost a year on the charts alone.
The next few years brought a down time for Steve Azar, due largely to throat surgery which sidelined him from recording and playing live. This hiatus gave Azar time to write songs and do some real soul searching about his career direction.
After a long recovery and new-found sense of direction, Steve arrived back with his first release, Indianola (2006).
Named after a town just down the road from Steve’s hometown in Mississippi, and the birthplace of the great, Albert King, Indianola was the debut release from his own independent music label, Dang Records. “You Don’t Know a Thing” and “You’re My Life” both enjoyed success at country radio. The video for “You Don’t Know a Thing” featured golfer, John Daly, and was an instant favorite at the country music video channels. “You’re my Life”, is still a strong seller and fan favorite to this day. “Indianola” also received strong critical reviews and landed the album at #1 on the XM Radio “Country Outlaw” channel, bumping Willie Nelson out of the #1 spot, and then giving up the #1 spot to John Mellencamp the next week.
In 2007 Azar was personally chosen by Bob Seger to open his U.S. tour which was ranked by Pollstar Magazine the #1 tour in America that year. Steve received many standing ovations from enthusiastic crowds, including one at Madison Square Garden. Reviews of Steve’s show were great, like the Columbus Dispatch reviewer who wrote, “Azar has the inflections and rhythms of a young Bob Dylan…”
“Slide On Over Here” followed in 2009 and represented the beginning of a new chapter of Steve’s musical journey. “Moo La Moo” was the first single from 13-track effort and both the song and the video enjoy chart success, catapulting Azar back in the Top 40 on the country charts. “Sunshine” soon followed and won not only critical praise, but set a record for highest charting song from a true independent label on the Billboard Activator chart. . It achieved Top 20 success on all the country radio charts and landed the #1 spot on the GAC-TV Top 20 Video Countdown. It also was fan voted at #29 on the “GAC-TV Year End” favorite videos for 2010. Further still, “Sunshine” remained active on the radio charts for nearly 40 weeks, a proud accomplishment for both Steve and his young label. Still in recurrent airplay around the country, “Sunshine” proved Steve’s ability as a songwriter to reach listeners with his lyrics about human emotions. When asked to pick her favorite song of 2010 by People Magazine’s Country Edition, Taylor Swift picked Steve’s song, “Sunshine,” explaining “It’s so sensitive and sweet. It comes from a place of vulnerability, and I love hearing that from a guy.”
On Memorial Day 2011, Steve released “Soldier Song” a tribute to our soldiers and their families. Instead of another song about war, “Soldier Song” speaks of the personal lives interrupted by those that serve, and their families left behind. “Soldier Song” was chosen by Fox News Channel and used as the theme music behind their Memorial Day special on “Special Report with Bret Baier which featured President Bush’s time spent mountain biking with a group of amazing soldiers. Steve dedicated a portion of the proceeds from this song to the soldiers by joining forces with his friend, NFL star Jared Allen and his charity, “Homes 4 Wounded Warriors.”
Steve has relocated home base back to the “Delta” of Mississippi. More than half of Steve’s live show has always been filled with music of his Delta home, and his songwriting and recording reflects his Delta music upbringing. Steve is especially proud of his on-going connection to Mississippi.
In 2003, Governor Ronnie Musgrove and legislature declared March 13 as Steve Azar Day in the great state of Mississippi.
Second Crossing: Mississippi’s Landmark Bridge is a MS PBS documentary about the rebuilding of this historic bridge following Hurricane Katrina. . The construction of this new crossing over America’s most storied river will be chronicled in the documentary, which Steve, a Greenville native, narrates.
Steve was one of the stars of Mississippi Rising, a benefit event at Ole Miss for the victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He shared the stage with his old friend Morgan Freeman, plus Sela Ward, Samuel L. Jackson, The Mississippi Mass Choir, Faith Hill, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander and Lance Bass.
Fast forward to today, where Steve currently records with his own label, renamed, Ride Records. The label name “Ride” is derived from some advice Steve received from his friend, Little Milton. He told me, “Little Azar, you’re in for the Ride of your life”, Azar recalls.
Comprising a small team of experts with miles of music biz experience, Ride Records continues to go from strength to strength and blazes its own trail in the jungle that is today’s music industry.
In early fall of 2011 Steve will release “Delta Soul Volume One”, a collection of songs that are an exceptional mix of Delta blues and rock.

WHAT IS DELTA SOUL?
It’s a style of music born in the people that come from the Mississippi Delta. It tells the stories of a hard life, the mixing of cultures and race, poverty and pride. It’s about earning a meager living from the cotton crop, or the long hours on the Mississippi river. The music of the Delta has influenced some of the greatest rock and blues music of all time. Eric Clapton, The Stones, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top and so many others have been inspired by the sounds that resonate deep in its very soil.
“Delta Soul” is the music from a man born and raised in the heart of it all. It’s a mix of the sounds and musical lessons he learned growing up in Greenville, MS. It’s honest and pure, the lyrics are a journey through the places he’s been and the people he’s known. It’s the stories shared by family, friends and blues legends.
Steve Azar mixes his Delta roots with blues, rock and soul, and a little touch of twang to create his sound, “Delta Soul”. It’s a collection of songs that take you along on Steve’s musical journey through his life in the Mississippi Delta.
Steve Azar, Delta Soul Volume One will be released November 8th, 2011, and the story will continue…..

Kallie North didn’t begin writing music until 2010 after graduating from college and moving from her home state of Texas to the Mississippi Delta. A diehard country music fan and creative soul from birth, she picked up a guitar and within months had written a dozen songs. She recalls the feelings of inspiration that opened her eyes to the world of songwriting, and the dream that she could become a singer-songwriter. “I had played the piano since I was a kid and my whole family was musical. I had always considered myself a singer since my first solo performances at school and church, but writing my first song defined me in a whole new way.  It made me an artist. I couldn’t believe that I had the ability to write songs—and didn’t even know because I had never tried.”

For Kallie, life in the Mississippi Delta was so different than anywhere she had ever called home. She had married a farmer and found herself living the rural life in the extreme. Her days spent on the farm, surrounded by cotton fields and roaring combines led to her love affair of writing songs about life on the backroads. “The land truly changed me as a person. I was infatuated with the soil I was standing on. Every corner I turned, every barn, every tractor, every dirt road and every row of cotton–well it inspired me in a way I had never been inspired before. I had always been creative through my life as a photographer and writer–but when I found songwriting–it took over my soul. It is all I could think about and all I wanted to do.”

Living in the tiny Mississippi town of Benoit, population 500, Kallie was still adjusting to life in the country. “We live thirty miles from the nearest grocery store, so I found myself in the car…a lot!” It was in those weekly car rides to and from town, surrounded by farms, tractors and gravel roads, that Kallie found the inspiration for her lyrics and melodies. “I’d be driving down Highway 1 on the way home from the grocery store and a lyric would pop in my head. I’d grab my Blackberry voice recorder and just leave it running for 15 minutes while I talked out the lyrics and played around with melodies. Most of the time I was just talking about the things I saw right in front of me. Farmers, corn fields, windows down and a backroad! Those first fifteen or twenty songs I wrote were all written in less than an hour, with a few tweaks here and there.”

Kallie began playing solo gigs in bars and restaurants in the nearby towns. After receiving praise and encouragement from friends, family and fans, she decided to follow her dreams to Nashville where she spent her time networking with anyone and everyone. “If someone told me they knew someone, I’d get their number and call them immediately. Every door that opened, I kept thanking God. And every door that closed, I kept thanking God. Eventually, the door opened for me to be a signed artist with Ride Records which allowed me to be at home in Mississippi and still pursue my dreams. I felt like it was meant to be.”

Kallie’s true talent as a singer-songwriter, combined with her business skills and work ethic, have allowed her to move forward with her career at lightning speed. Only two years after writing her first song, she now releases her debut album on Ride Records, an accomplishment she is proud of and holds dear to her heart. “I plan on working every day to be the best singer-songwriter I can possibly be. Not just by writing music, but by using my time and all of the knowledge I can acquire to build my career and fan-base.”

A few years ago I returned from a decade in Nashville to my home in the Texas Hill Country. Its an area of limestone cliffs overlooking modest mesquite and juniper trees, along with majestic, matronly live oaks.  There’s a dozen meandering blue-green rivers, with great bald cypress and cottonwood trees on their banks, and Bar-b-que, and Mexican, German & southern soul food…….and music, music everywhere.

Anchored by 2 great music cities, Austin & San Antonio, the music here is a free mix of jukebox country & soul, blues, Tejano, Storyteller folk, and cowboy songs. The folks here, like the music, are unpretentious, generous, open, and occasionally wild as all hell….and fun, always fun……

This record was made in a spirit of gratefulness for having grown up here, and having come home. These are some of my favorite songs from the last couple of sessions, played with friends who are like family……. WW

Straight into the Navy out of high school and touring the world filled this natural story teller with a lifetime of life lessons. Every time he was home from being sea, his guitar was by his side and playing bus stations, bars and street corners became his stage to tell his stories of the life he had seen.

Then came life after leaving the Navy. Dave took to the work-a-day life and music took a back seat to be a husband and father. As that chapter of life began to wind down, music came calling to him again. This time it came in the form of Dave writing his songs of life lived and more importantly, life observed. His natural story-teller came out stronger than ever, and you can hear these true life tales in most all of Dave’s songs. Not one to just make up a lyric, most of his songs come from life observed, or true tales of a man that his lived all over this great country of ours.

Sometimes fueled by real emotion, or a glimpse of everyday events, but always looking for how the story might continue, or sometimes sadly end, his songs are a slice of real life. His voice is instantly recognizable; it gets in your bones and makes you feel part of the story, part of the song. His style of playing is full and rich, notes, chords and percussion all from his guitar.

Dave Hardin is one of those rare talents that comes along and captures you as a fan for life, and sometimes you swear the songs are from your life. They just might be.

Get Dave Hardin’s music at iTunes and Amazon.

]]> http://www.riderecords.com/2012/06/dave-hardin-2/feed/ 0 http://www.riderecords.com/2012/03/festival-rolls-up-tamales-music/ http://www.riderecords.com/2012/03/festival-rolls-up-tamales-music/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:38:16 +0000 steveazar http://www.riderecords.com/?p=92 A new festival with food and music all rolled up in three days of fun and simmered under an August sun joins the Jackson calendar.

The Southern Crossroads Music and Tamale Festival, brainchild of Pat LeBlanc, host of the syndicated radio show Southern Crossroads, is set for Aug. 10-12 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. praised the coming showcase of music, art and the tamale, and plans to get in on the act, too.

Johnson’s tamale experience goes back to his mother’s kitchen and her “tremendous tamale recipe that she passed on to me,” he said. “I’ve since passed it on to my wife,” he said, chuckling. He later clarified that they team up in the labor-intensive undertaking.

He promised to have an entry in a festival tamale challenge to drum up support and “I’ll challenge any other public elected official … anybody” to do the same. “Y’all come.”

Johnson said he’ll start early on his batch and hopes to have a variety – maybe turkey, pork and beef.

“We can always use a showcase for our many talents – whether it’s culinary, or whether it’s artistic or whether it’s musical,” he said of the festival.

“Remember, it may be nice today,” Johnson said on Tuesday’s 73-degree afternoon, “but it will be hot tamale in August.”

“It’s always been a goal of mine, doing the show, to do an outdoor festival,” said LeBlanc. He has mined the South for years on his radio show, which fuses select cuts of blues, classic R&B and some country with the culture, history and food of the Deep South.

“The show’s home is here in Jackson, so we came up with the tamale concept,” he said.

“You can just sense the excitement, with the CVB (Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau) and other people throughout Jackson – I think there’s definitely a need for a festival we hope will grow and become bigger, equivalent to other events down South.”

“In the absence of events like Jubilee!JAM, there’s kind of a void for a big summer event,” CVB spokeswoman Marika Cackett said.

Food has always been an inspiration, LeBlanc said, noting his radio show’s “Cast Iron Skillet” segment, with a guest chef making a Southern dish.

The festival will celebrate the tamale and Southern cuisine in general. Several vendors and restaurants want to get involved and do something different, he said, so “We can definitely say the food at the event will be extremely unique.” Live cooking demonstrations are planned.

On the music end, organizers expect to announce headliners within the next two weeks. Musical artists already booked include singer/songwriters Steve Azar and Eric Lindell and jazz singer Hope Waits.

LeBlanc said offers are out to “some significant classic R&B entertainment on a legendary level.” National, regional and local musicians will be featured. Keep up with developments at the festival’s website, www.tamalefest. com.

Tickets will go on sale in May; daily general admission is $25 and a weekend pass is $48. It’s a commercial festival. LeBlanc looked at events in New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville and Baton Rouge to set the prices. Children 12 and under will get in free, he said.

The festival will present multiple musical genres – country and Americana on the Friday, blues and classic R&B on Saturday and a mix, jazz and maybe zydeco, to wind down on the Sunday of its August weekend.

The festival will offer an interactive art experience with festival-goers watching artists in action and participating themselves, said Amy Brunson, the festival’s director of art. “Every medium will be exhibited – painters, sculptors, wood carvers, documentary makers, photographers, authors, dancers and much more.” Attendees can judge art contests, join in mural and graffiti walls and more.

“Our goal is to delight all of the senses. … It is also our desire to be able to give up-and-coming artists of all types much needed exposure,” Brunson said. “This will be the perfect venue for that.”

Tamales will hit a variety of tastes, too. A recent trip to Vardaman and a meeting with the Sweet Potato Council introduced LeBlanc to a sweet potato pecan tamale. “I never thought about tamales outside of what I knew,” from growing up in Greenville and on Doe’s Eat Place tamales.

“Just researching the history of the tamale and how it’s linked to the Deep South, it’s fascinating to see all these different types of tamales that are out there,” he said, “from a lobster tamale to a sweet potato tamale.”

Hot tamales have long had a husk in the musical side of Mississippi culture, too, appearing in such blues songs as Robert Johnson’s They’re Red Hot (1936), Moses “Old Man Mose” Mason’s Molly Man (1928) and Lucille Hegamin’s Hot Tamale Molly (1925).

The spicy go-to roll is on a roll.

This past August, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker honoring Hot Tamales was unveiled at the White Front Cafe in Rosedale. “When people think about blues and going to various venues, a lot of these places throughout the Mississippi Delta, as well as the metro area, serve hot tamales,” said Alex Thomas, music trails program manager.

The Mississippi Hot Tamale Trail, a Southern Foodways Alliance documentary project, has collected about 25 oral history interviews and 40-plus places on its interactive map at www.tamaletrail.com. The project completed most its field work in 2005; the trail has since become a tool for culinary tourism in the Delta.

Mississippians in the Delta take the iconic food for granted, but for those outside the state, “it’s a total head-scratcher for them,” said oral historian Amy Evans Streeter. Because of that, it gets the most emails and inquiries, from The Times of London to a Seattle couple who found them online and traveled the trail.

For the coming Jackson festival, LeBlanc is already plotting for a longer-term outlook.

Next year, the aim is the first international tamale challenge, LeBlanc said, partnering with other tamale festivals across the country. There aren’t many, he said, but a 30-plus-year fiesta in Zwolle, La., draws tens of thousands to the small town annually, without a headline act.

“We’re hoping that they’ll host the Louisiana championship and we’ll bring the winner here to Jackson in 2013 to do the international challenge.”