Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Friday, March 25, 2022
BALSAMO COLLINS RILEY - Keep This Love Alive (Official Music Video)
https://stevebalsamo.blogspot.com/
Monday, March 14, 2022
Steve about performance All I Am
wow that's a blast from the past! The band was killer (Rob on acoustic) formed The Storys and was in the first ChimpanA incarnation), Christian went on to do a million cool musical projects and wrote a bunch a songs with me, Stef is the king of music on Welsh TV, Nige has played with everyone from Jon Lord to Chris De Burg and Alfie Boe, and Ryan plays with Imelda May and Lighthouse Family to name a few, Seb has his own band and writes a lot...great players all. I'd just gone for a haircut on the recommendation of my management and the girl cut me a mullet! I was horrified at the time...but love it looking back! haha. I bought the shirt on the day of the show...hasn't stood the test of time if I'm honest x
Steve Balsamo
https://stevebalsamo.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Star studded quartet set up new Swansea-based theatre company
A new Swansea based theatre company with ‘grand ambitions’ is launching today under the experienced guiding hands of a team of accomplished Welsh practitioners.
Grand Ambition aims to create and produce bold and ambitious theatre drawing from the talents of Swansea based creatives and tapping into the cultural heritage and history of the area.
The project is the brainchild of Richard Mylan, Michelle McTernan, Steve Balsamo and Christian Patterson, combining their various and prolific talents in acting on stage and screen, writing, song writing, and educating to create work in the heart of Swansea on the stage of the city’s Grand Theatre.
Born from a desire to provide work and opportunities for artists and performers in the Swansea area, the team say that the impact of the pandemic on the artistic community brought their plans into sharp focus, highlighting the need for homegrown but culturally ambitious theatre, which not only showcases existing talent but provides a platform for emerging creatives.
Each member of the team grew up in Swansea and have always had close links to the Grand Theatre and feel like it is the natural place to base the new venture. Recalling the ‘firsts’ that inspired them to even think that life on the stage was a possibility, the common thread amongst them all was chance.
Richard, known for his role in Coupling and with a long list of TV credits, used to hang around at his Nana’s café as a youngster, which was alongside the old Grand, where his fascination began.
He recalls: “When I was about six years old, Northern Ballet Theatre Company came to Swansea with a Midsummer’s Night Dream, and they needed a small boy to play The Egyptian Prince. I got chosen to do it…and that was my first ever experience on the stage at this incredible theatre…it was an experience that completely changed my life”.
Mesmerised
Steve Balsamo, who shot to fame in Jesus Christ Superstar in the West End, and has since accrued an impressive music CV, recalls how a chance good deed gave him his first glimpse of the view from a stage, after finding a wallet outside the Grand belonging to the actor Melvyn Hayes. By way of thanks, Hayes rewarded him and two friends with tickets to the Panto, and a backstage tour.
Steve said: “It was the first time I had stepped foot into any theatre. We had a backstage tour, and I was mesmerised at all the unseen work that goes on, but when we went onto the stage and looked out into the beautiful auditorium, I had what felt like an electric shock.
Michelle’s CV includes such highlights as Stella and The Crown on TV and an Olivier nomination for her role in the powerful play The Revlon Girl, and she has run her own children’s drama group Jamba Drama as well as being artistic director for Rising Stars Theatre and acting tutor for HIJINX academy.
Again, for her, an invitation up on to the stage after watching Godspell as a child was a moment that she would never forget, and it led her into youth and operatic theatre initially and then onto professional work, through which she met her husband, Christian in a production of The Oystercatchers at the Grand.
She said: “When I first stood on that stage it was such an incredible feeling and one that I wanted to have again and again. This building holds so many reasons as to why I do what I do. It feels as though I’ve come full circle. It’s very exciting”.
Life changing
Christian has performed with many well-known theatre companies including Theatr Clwyd, the National Theatre, and Royal Shakespeare Company as well as appearing in television series including Mr Selfridge. He has become legendary in the Panto world, writing and directing award winning shows for venues like Regent’s Theatre Stoke and Theatr Clwyd, as well as donning the flamboyant garb of the Dame on a regular basis.
His first taste of the theatre was at the Grand pantomime with his Nan from up in the ‘gods’.
He said: “I will never forget seeing that pantomime! It was bright and colourful and hilarious and quite literally life changing for me because I didn’t know that theatres even existed let alone what happened inside them! A few weeks later I started Ballroom and Latin dance lessons and I was hooked… The Grand feels as much a part of me as my bones do”.
It is this recognition of the importance of chance and opportunity that sits at the heart of the team’s ambition now. They say they want to produce new work through the Swansea lens by focussing on its cultural and diverse communities and championing previously unheard voices.
As well as having the backing of industry figures such as the writer Gary Owen, Rachel O’Riordan, the artistic director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, and Sherman Executive Director, Julia Barry, the company is being welcomed by Swansea council’s Cultural Services team, headed up by Tracey McNulty.
She said: “Grand Ambition will contribute to our cultural strategy for the city and region, helping us and all our partners, engage with new audiences and help deliver a vibrant cultural offer now and for our future generations.
“We’re so pleased to have been able to work together to create this partnership. It’s an exciting time to get involved in the arts in Swansea and we hope many will take the opportunities to participate in the work, as they develop”.
For more information follow @GrandAmbition__ on Twitter
https://stevebalsamo.blogspot.com/
Steve Balsamo NEWS :Grand Ambition
Hello all
I'm part of a new creative collective based at the wonderful Swansea Grand Theatre.
We
are called Grand Ambition and we launch today...so expect a few posts
explaining what we are about later and in the coming days...
Love Steve x
https://stevebalsamo.blogspot.com/
Saturday, January 22, 2022
BALSAMO COLLINS RILEY - Turn This Thing Around (Official Music Video)
During the first lockdown, Pete Riley, Steve Balsamo and Andy Collins began a series of regular Zoom meetings. Over time, these meetings became an outlet for their creativity as Collins explains: “Originally we started these sessions to shoot the breeze and put the world to rights but we quickly started sending each other voice notes of song ideas on WhatsApp during the week that we worked up on the Monday sessions.” The result is a forthcoming debut EP from the group, from which ‘Turn This Thing Around’ is the second single release. It’s upbeat, uplifting and, above all, brilliantly tuneful. The group’s melodic harmonies are engaging and absorbing, drawing us into a positive, hopeful response to the challenges they faced as musicians. Balsamo explains how the song came to be written:
“It goes without saying the last couple of years has been devastating for lots of people, especially those in the arts. ‘Turn This Thing Around’ is literally about what we did on the writing sessions – pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, making a stand by doing what we do, making some good music and moving forward regardless.” A rich, full sound is created with the support of Nigel Hopkins (Chris De Burgh) on Hammond Organ and Gavin Griffiths (Fish-Marillion) on drums.
The song also features backing vocals from Platinum-selling American singer-songwriter Edwin McCain, who Riley toured with in the late 1990s and has worked with many times since. Riley says: “We were looking for another voice to harmonise with me, Steve and Andy and I reached out to Ed who jumped on it and has done a beautiful job for us.” It’s an effective combination, with the vocal performances of all involved being a highlight of the song. ‘Turn This Thing Around’ is a dynamic, optimistic response to the pandemic, created as a direct result of the dire circumstances we have found ourselves in. It’s a refreshing song and the debut EP from Balsamo, Collins, Riley early in 2022 will be one to watch out for.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Premiere: Steve Balsamo Releases Powerful New Video for ‘Lighthouse Keeper’
Born and raised in Swansea, UK, Steve Balsamo started out singing in rock bands as a teenager before he came to the public’s attention in the mid ’90s by way of a beard, long hair and a loincloth! (His own words to describe his epic stint in the West End as Jesus in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar!)
Steve is back with a new song and powerful new video which we are thrilled to premiere right here on Lyric Magazine. Lighthouse Keeper was written with Gareth Lewis and Andy Collins, Steve’s old compadre from The Storys. Steve and Andy spent Lockdown collaborating over Zoom with Liverpool singer songwriter Pete Riley, formerly of Treehouse and currently part Edwin Mccain’s band. They have an EP as Balsamo Collins Riley coming early next year.
“I wanted to get Lighthouse Keeper out this year, to give BCR a
good run at it next spring. As we are still in a state of flux and
pandemic recovery, a song about hope in a seemingly hopeless world seems
a good idea! We made a beautiful video with Rhys Davies of Furball
Films, who I’ve worked with a lot over the years. I love how cinematic
he is – he makes mini films really”, says Steve.
The video takes inspiration from the Wim Wenders’ classic Wings Of
Desire and it features classically trained dancer Toby Seddon who is the
grandson of the late, great Eric Woolfson – the writer and vocalist
with The Alan Parsons Project.
“I worked a lot with Eric, helping
him develop the musical Poe. It was based on the life of Edgar Alan Poe,
who I played at its conception and premier at Abbey Road Studios in
2004”.
Toby was 18 months old at the time and tells Steve that the show and his grandad Eric inspired him to be in the arts.
“I
saw a clip of Toby dancing on Instagram and reached out to him to see
if he wanted to be in the video. Toby is amazing and basically
improvised the whole thing. I find it very moving”.
Both are so
excited to ‘close the circle’, and Steve says, “I know that wherever
Eric is, he’s smiling and very happy at this collaboration”.
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