About                                      

          Stephen Paul Wallace was born in Tallahassee Florida and spent his childhood moving around the country and overseas. At an early age he became intrigued with the many forms of American music. Folk music, early Rock and Roll, and the Motown sound were woven into his childhood memories. At age twelve he picked up the guitar and his course was set. Learning to play during the ‘60’s when American music was at its most dynamic and diverse, his influences were many. As a teenager, his discovery of the classic bluesmen had a profound effect on his playing. “I’m still learning from those guys,” he says. At age eighteen, Stephen returned to Tallahassee and spent the next five years traveling throughout the South with various bands, playing everything from Lynard Skynard to Earth, Wind and Fire. Moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late ‘70’s, he began to focus on songwriting. He gained some recognition by winning a songwriter’s showcase with the Northern California Songwriter’s Association and his band produced demos of his songs as well as those of other songwriters. He spent the 80’s writing songs and performing at Bay Area venues.

          In the ‘90’s, Stephen put his music on the back burner to pursue his other passions – travel, the mountains and prose writing. This took him around the world and to the summits of some of the highest mountains on four continents. He immigrated to Ecuador for several years, climbed in the Andes, traveled in the rainforest and became conversant in Spanish. He also produced a novel, a short collection including a published piece and a non-fiction account of his life in South America, which received an honorable mention in a national literary contest.

          Upon his return to the USA, Stephen picked up the guitar again when a Nashville publisher took an interest in some of his old songs. What followed was a new collection of original songs, three publishing contracts and a little airplay in Europe. He also became a lead guitarist again, performing with bands in Colorado and Florida. He has played gritty blues in biker bars, smooth pop in lounges, old jazz standards in retirement communities, country in honkytonks, classic rock, and his own originals. He currently plays weekly at the Swing Station in Laporte Colorado as a solo performer or with his trio.