Artist description Steve Cramer is the founder and designer of MicroSong.com, an educational resource center for young musicians and a showcase for new music. A professional musician and songwriter, Cramer has performed with Kim and Reggie Harris at the 2001 Clearwater Festival in upstate New York as well as with Paul Reisler at the 1999 Rocky Mountain Folk Festival. Cramer’s 1997 theme album, A False Sense of Security, has been featured on live television, radio, and the Internet. His new performance piece is entitled The World You Made, a musical and theatrical commentary on the creative process. His collaborations include the soundtrack to the film Three Sisters and a Brother [1987], with composer Linda Brierty, and the two-act musical Miracles [1990], with lyricist Daniel Carpenter. Cramer has served on the music faculty of the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut and as a private instructor of piano and percussion. In the spring of 2001, he taught a six-week program based on the percussion ensemble STOMP at the Henry James Junior High School in Simsbury, Connecticut. Cramer is currently in the Arts in Education Master’s Program at Harvard University, pursuing a grant to design a music education program for junior and senior high schools in New England. Cramer’s theatre experience includes the role of Count Dracula in the October 1998 Acts Factory production of Dracula and as the evil card dealer “Wheeler” in the new rock musical Abracadabra, now being showcased in New York. “And what of Dracula himself? Steve Cramer, tall, handsome and theatrical, with great sweeping gestures ideal for flinging a cape here and there, was exactly right for the disarming and vicious count.” –Steve Courtney, Northeast Magazine “Steve Cramer’s brilliant songwriting brought to life by his own gutsy and tender vocals, exquisite piano and skillful percussion, woven with a host of extraordinary musicians, touched the depths of my heart. You know an album is great when you want to hear it over and over from beginning to end! Steve Cramer’s ‘A False Sense of Security’ is one of the most beautiful and meaningful albums I have ever heard, leaving me hoping for a follow-up." -Kimberly Kay, Morning Show Personality, New York radio station WCZX, 97.3 and 97.7 FM He has performed with many singer/songwriters, including Kim and Reggie Harris, Bob Franke, Steve Seskin, Paul Reisler, Leslie Ritter and Scott Petito, Sloan Wainwright, and the folk trio Hot Soup.

Music Style theatrical rock

Musical Influences Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Steely Dan

Similar Artists Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Steely Dan

Artist History Concert Venues Played: (NY) CBGB�s, The Bitter End, Kenny�s Castaways, Borders Books and Music,150 West 56th; (Boston) The Kendall Caf�, The Channel, Johnny D�s, The Roadhouse (opener for The Fools), (NH) Dartmouth College, The Casbah (opener for John Butcher Axis), (CT) Danbury Federal Prison (2 shows), The Wadsworth Atheneum, The Ivoryton Theatre, The Times Caf�, Gertrude&Alice�s, Susan�s, Eno Memorial Hall, Chatterly�s, Barnes&Noble, Borders Books and Music, Jackson Hall Concert Series, (Asheville, NC) Be Here Now, (Cincinnati, OH) Cody�s CyberCafe.Television/Radio Appearances: WLWT/Channel 5 (Cincinnati, OH); WKZE (Sharon, CT).Festivals: Rocky Mountain Folk Festival 1999, Folk Alliance 1999&2000, The Swannanoa Gathering 1999&2000.

Group Members Steve Cramer, vocals/piano/drums; Leslie Ritter, vocals; Scott Petito, bass guitar; Mike DeMicco, lead and rhythm guitars, Aaron Hurwitz, Hammond B-3; Brian Melick, percussion, Abby Newton, cello; John Ragusa, flute

Instruments Yamaha grand piano, Chapman stick and upright bass, lead/rhythm guitars, drums, percussion, Hammond B3

Albums Miracles(rock musical, 1990); A False Sense of Security (rock theme album, 1997)

Press Reviews By Mara Dresner, The Connecticut Jewish Ledger, 6/25/99Exploring the human heart: Bloomfield musician at work on third recordingThe devil is describing what he does for a living, collecting souls, like some people on earth collect art. To be precise, the devil is actually singing and is the latest product of Bloomfield musician Steve Cramer. Cramer is at work on his third recording, tentatively titled "Tongue City," scheduled for a fall 1999 release. "I was going to write an opera based on the Book of Job," he explains. Inspired by books from such writers as William Safire and Rabbi Nachman of Breslow, the idea evolved into his current project, which, while not an opera, still deals with concepts from Job. "The whole book just fascinates me. What I admire most about Job is he doesn't give up; he maintains his integrity," says the son of Marie and the late Howard Cramer. "It's a battle between good and evil. Job can either give up or fight back. He stays the course and believes in God. I think there's a little spark of divinity in all of us." Cramer describes his music as adult alternative, in the style of Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews and Tori Amos. "I grew up in the rock tradition; I grew up on Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. I'm a progressive rock artist who brings in jazz blues and pushes the limits," he says. "Some people say that rock is dead, that hip hop is in vogue. I want to take rock and step forward in a progressive direction," adds Cramer, who compares the process of putting together a recording to building a house. To promote (and sell) his work, he created microsong.com, an internet site, where people can sample and purchase his music, as well as learn about upcoming performance dates. Cramer's work is also available through amazon.com and cdnow.com, as well as in local bookstores. Cramer's first recording was "Miracles," a satirical rock musical about a television evangelist. "Miracles" was performed in Bloomfield by the Greater Hartford Actors' Studio. "The timing was unfortunate, it was before Jim Bakker was busted. There were times the audience would laugh where we didn't want them to. "Musicals are tough. It takes a long time to get it right and to make it believable to go from speaking to breaking into song," notes the Dartmouth College grad.His most recent completed recording is "A False Sense of Security," dedicated to the memory of his father, an actor and singer in regional productions. "In very many ways, it's a lament; there's a lot of heaviness. It was a working through, a catharsis of a period in my life. It's all about dealing with tragedy," he explains."A False Sense of Security" was also inspired by the book of Job. "It's about maintaining integrity through the most unbelievable tragedy." But Cramer's musical study of heartache also came out of personal experience. "In the space of a year, I lost my father and my wife," he explains, a bit reluctantly. "In 1994, everything was great. I was happily married. In the spring, my father was healthy. "Then he passed away suddenly. I didn't get the time to prepare and say goodbye," Cramer says sadly. "There's a song that's basically having a conversation with my father, saying how I wished he was here, I really need to talk to him."One of those things that Cramer needed to talk about was the dissolution of his marriage. "The marriage began to fall apart. We hung in there for a year, then we both decided it wasn't working." After his marriage broke up, Cramer hit the road, travelling across the country, visiting friends and family across the country. "I just drove for days," he says. "Then I started hearing melodies and lyrics." During his time on the road, Cramer also created music for an independent film, as well as playing music in clubs.After toying with the idea of moving to Colorado, Cramer finally came home to Connecticut, where he began to write again, working on what was to become "A False Sense of Security." "Life is great, the bottom falls out. You climb out and start over. That's what the cycle of life is about," he summarizes. Writing great songsThese days, Cramer is intent on writing music, creating out of a studio in a friend's house in Bloomfield. "I really want to focus on songs; I want to write great songs," he notes. "It takes a tremendous amount of energy to write songs." Cramer has his writing routine down cold. "I write every day. Every morning, the first thing I do is have coffee. Then I work until I feel I've gotten somewhere. Then I go have cereal," he laughs. "Then, I go for a run and come back and practice, doing warm ups on drums, limbering up on the piano." Cramer also works with a vocal coach out of Boston, who specializes in vocal therapy. "After 'False Sense,' I could barely speak. I did some things that were bad for my voice. This has really helped me a lot."Afternoons, Cramer spends on marketing, making phone calls to radio stations, sending out CDs to newspapers, and the like. Later in the day, he teaches private percussion students. "It's my fifteenth year teaching and I love it; it really grounds me," he notes. "I love watching students blossom. I know it sounds clich�, but I've gotten back more than I've ever given. To me, it really completes the cycle." Inspired by Stephen Sondheim and Stephen Schwartz, Cramer is also hoping to create another musical production. "As I get better, I want to get back into theater. I want to get into original music theater and write from scratch and bring something new to the public," explains the sometime-actor, who starred as Count Dracula, last October in the Acts Factory production of "Dracula." "My father was in the theater and I grew up with it. I love the theater. As I get older, I think that's where I want to go." As he works toward that goal, Cramer finds himself in a positive place, creatively. "At this point, it finds itself. I love being in this phase," he says. "Once you get the ball rolling, it rolls. Whatever mood I'm in, it gives me a different perspective on a song. I just want it to work, to evoke some sort of emotion. "What I want to explore is the human heart; that's the function of the artist," continues the self-described "spiritual person." "I want to tap into the emotions that we try to bury - maybe it is okay to get in touch with those feelings."For further information about Steve Cramer and his music, check out http://www.microsong.com.From NORTHEAST MAGAZINE:(�And what of Dracula himself? Steve Cramer, tall, handsome and theatrical, with great sweeping gestures ideal for flinging a cape here and there, was exactly right for the disarming and vicious count.� �Steve Courtney, Northeast Magazine).

Location Cambridge, MA - USA

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