Steve Aliment and Annie O'Neill Team Up for An Amazing Album

A new album release from Steve Aliment just dropped, and on this record, he teams up with Annie O'Neill to create a beautiful and warm atmosphere composed of Americana, Country, and even elements of folk and classic rock are involved. It all has this strength and character attached to it, which you get attached to as well.

The fuego album comes right in with quite a beautiful track called "Down The Line", and as the first track that you hear on the record, it does an excellent job of introducing you to some of the sounds you are about to hear as the album unfolds as a whole.

Gorgeous harmonies between Steve and Annie create a powerhouse of color, energy, and warmth in tonality that feels welcoming most of the time and tell some great stories along the way.

This is quite a robust record with bountiful vocal approaches and strong songwriting that bears different influences as you go through the record. It's not the type of record where you only listen to a few tracks. This is an album you listen to from start to finish because then you can soak in the full experience that it's meant to deliver.

Songs like "Last Exit Sign" showcase heavy-handed country influence with elements of honkytonk in its underbelly, and the liveliness of this song and a lot of the songs on this record is part of what pulls you into the entire thing.

Some of these tracks feel almost like they were recorded live on the floor, and everyone involved is just feeding off each other's energy the entire time.

They feel almost alive and breathing in a sense and a lot of them also put out this sort of classic country songwriting vibe as well.

There boasts plenty of danceable tracks and surprises around the corner as you listen deeper into the album and it's just unbelievable how these two line themselves up to create something so memorable.

There are hooks and hints of pop tonality that peek through here and there, and those hooks and choruses are the things that stick in your brain for hours or even days after the songs have ended, and the only way to satiate that is to go and listen to the record again.

Now, I'm not sure how often Steve and Annie collaborate, but wow. This was something special, and you can tell because of how everything was delivered.

The record has heart all over it and that common Americana and Country theme that gives it elements of rock edge at times, especially with some of the guitar tones, but has that country passion and ode to the genre.

Lyrically, these tell stories but also have personal perspective and can at times, be descriptive and detailed so that you can almost paint pictures in your head as you listen.

Songs like "Holding On" have some emotional backbone and deliver a bit of a cinematic feel along with amazing instrumentation like lap steel that gives the song this depth and beautiful set of textures that you end up falling right into.

The drumming across the entire record is outstanding because it adds drive to some of the tracks that need it, but is never over the top. Everything is very dynamically balanced, and the combination of something like a lap steel with those driving, live drums is beautiful to me because those two worlds feel separated until you hear them together as one.

Again, this has an almost live performance vibe to it and even if I'm wrong about the whole recording live on the floor aspect, listening to the record makes you want to go see them perform it simply because, if they can capture this kind of energy and aesthetic on record so well then seeing them live must be amazing.

There is an electric energy that flows between Steve and Annie, along with anyone else who's a part of performing, and the songs come together like puzzle pieces.

This was a powerhouse of a country and Americana record that fed into plenty of other influences, but stuck to its guns with that roots country feel a lot of the time. Throughout it all, they had fun, which you can clearly hear on every single track, and gave pieces of themselves as well.

This was a very memorable record with plenty to say and some outstanding performances.

Again, I suggest listening to this full record from start to finish because it's more than worth your time. The record has some remixes and some revisits towards the end of the album, and the whole thing is about 14 tracks.

With the release of the album, we wanted to interview Steve to talk about where the circuit actually came from and what may be next.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about the Fuego album! This was such a great set of classic rock and Americana tracks with plenty more embedded in there!  Where did this record come from? 

I wrote most of these songs in 2023 and '24. These songs come from experiences and adventures, some parts true, some parts fiction. I don't know where they come from. If I did, I could summon them up anytime I wanted. Songs come to me. I don't sit down and say right; I'm going to write a song now. I keep a journal and write down song ideas and I am always trying to weave them into some kind of a three-and-a-half-minute story.  Sometimes I pick up the guitar and songs fall out...a chord progression, a riff. Thank God for the iPhone because it allows you to capture that stuff. Music and lyrics. My phone is full of half-baked songs. I didn't set out to make an album. I write them one at a time and then when I get a dozen or so, it's like hey, these sound good together, let's release an album.

Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches on this album! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?  

I love the Beatles, the Stones, Elvis, the Dead, the Flying Burrito Brothers. I dig Guy Clark, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan. I grew up with a lot of country music. My mom was a country singer on TV so we had all that classic stuff around, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Waylon, The Everly Brothers, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens.  So, I guess you hear that collision of rock and roll, singer/songwriters and country sounds in our music.

Buzz Slayers: Are you guys performing live right now? Any touring in support of this release? 

We play a couple shows a month around here in Western Washington state. Club shows. Some of the summer festival dates. Touring is kind of hard for us at this point. The economics don't make sense.

Buzz Slayers: How did it all start for you as a musician and artist? 

Like I said, lots of music in the house growing up. Singing in the church and school choir, singing along to the 45s. My mom had us singing harmony in the car on long trips. But my first serious band got underway in college and took off from there. I had a successful band in Seattle post college. I joined Yanks in San Francisco and made some records and toured with them. I played with The Rangehoods (Seattle roadhouse rock band). I tooks some time off. In 2015 I got it going again in a duo called Denny Blaine with Jack Johnson on guitar (Yanks, Das Blok, Flamin' Groovies etc.)  Bart Hyde and I hooked up, again, in 2018 and we started rolling on these albums.

Buzz Slayers: Is Annie O'Neill a part of the band, or did you just collaborate for this release?

Annie is definitely part of the band and a big part of our sound. I love singing with her and recording with her. We've been performing and recording together since COVID days. 

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?

I record the demos in my home studio. Then I share them with the guys. We get together and work out the arrangements and then we go to a legit studio. In our case, that has been Pacific Studios in Tacoma, WA. It's a great room and we get a good sound there. 

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next?

Well, I've already got some new songs in work. We have a full calendar of shows.

Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?  

I'm listening to a lot of stuff. Lucinda Williams, Charley Crockett, Stephen Stills, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, JD Souther. ZZ Top. Doug Sahm. I just discovered this guy, Bob Summer. He's pretty good. 

Buzz Slayers: Was writing and recording this track a big undertaking? How long did it take to finish this?  

It took two years measuring from the release of our last album, "Long Way To Go". This new album, "fuego", is our fourth since 2020. 

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?  

I think you can expect some solid songs, good stories, and some good playing by this band. Some of the songs are emotional and I hope the listener feels that too. I mean, that's the ball game right? Making people feel something?  These songs are solid and listenable. Someone told me they listened all the way through and never felt the urge to skip one. That is unusual in my opinion, and I felt good about that comment. By the way, the band is Bart Hyde on guitars, Perry Morgan on drums and percussion, Mark Wuesthoff on pedal steel and dobro.  I play the bass and recorded some of the guitar parts.  Annie O'Neill and I do the singing.

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music? 

If you are listening, thanks for listening!  Follow us on Spotify and on socials!  Then come out to a show and let your hair down a little. 

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