In many respects, Steve Connelly is the linchpin of the local Americana scene. Having relocated to Tampa Bay from New York when he was a child in 1960, he's been associated in one form or another with virtually every major roots-rock and folk-pop act the area has produced.
On Saturday, he'll play WMNF's Second Annual Americana Festival. Joining him will be members of his old band The Headlights, the same group that flirted with national success in the mid-1980s and then toured the country and Europe as the backing band for former Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn on the comeback tour that coincided with his 1990 release Back from Rio.
Many music historians credit The Byrds, especially their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, with starting the movement that is now called Americana. Of course, it's not as simple as that. But it's fair to say that McGuinn had a huge influence on Uncle Tupelo and the rest of the No Depression/alt-country/Americana acts that have come to affect Tampa's twang-rock scene.
McGuinn made a life-changing impact on Connelly. "He was my hero," enthuses Connelly, who's known for a calm demeanor. The 54-year-old nibbles a late-afternoon snack of grapes and sliced apples in the kitchen of his Zen Recordings Studio in Pinellas Park. Dark bangs shadow his forehead. He's wearing his standard uniform: faded blue jeans, long-sleeved shirt over a T-shirt and a pair of well-worn Chucks. "When I was 12 and had just started playing guitar, I used to tell people [McGuinn] was my cousin," he continues. "The Byrds were my favorite band."
Connelly recalls in detail the summer of '65, which he spent at his grandparents' house in New Jersey, listening to the Byrds' version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" on a transistor AM radio.
"When I heard 'Mr. Tambourine Man' — that sound, it was magical to me," he says. "'What is that?' I thought. That jangly guitar — it was a spiritual experience, and ever since then I've wanted to do this. And it was so cool to actually end up being [McGuinn's] bandleader for a season."
In '86, The Headlights inked a deal with a label called Airborne, which sent them to Nashville to record the LP Test the Spirit. But the label folded before the album was released. Although The Headlights got to open some shows for McGuinn and perform in front of industry heavyweights like Clive Davis, the band never made it to the next level. Is Connelly bitter?
"Not really [pause]. I'm a freak," he says, leaning back in his chair. "I got into this because I love doing it. I think some of the other guys in the band might have been more let down when we came off the big tour and had to come back home to just playing clubs again.
"But I enjoyed it. I welcomed it. It was nice to be back home just playing again, doing our own thing. [The national tour] was fun and all that, but once you get inside, you realize it's just another business — and a kind of silly, dirty, dumb business in many ways. There's no rhyme or reason for who [becomes successful]. Talent alone doesn't do it. Divine intervention is what I always say. If God wants you to be a star, you'll be a star."
Since The Headlights disbanded, Connelly has worked as a producer and sideman with the best singer/songwriters in the area. The first album he produced (and played on) was Ronny Elliott's critically acclaimed self-titled solo debut. Connelly has produced and played on every Elliott album since, including an eighth studio record tentatively titled Jalopypaint.
Of the acts on Saturday's Americana Fest roster, Connelly goes back the furthest with Will Quinlan, who fronted the Pagan Saints before forming his current band The Diviners. Back in '90, it was Quinlan who first introduced Connelly to Uncle Tupelo, the band that to this day holds the most sway on the local Americana scene.
"I called it 'drunken country punk,'" Connelly says with a laugh. "That's the way I kinda saw it. Will Quinlan was a friend of The Headlights; he used to hang out with us all the time, and his first show was opening for us. I first heard of Uncle Tupelo when he used to come over to my house and bring his Uncle Tupelo tapes and ask me to show him the chord changes."
Connelly and Quinlan are currently working on a new album. Connelly's also producing the new record by fellow Americana Fest performer Rebekah Pulley. Then there are new records by local jam-band favorites Rich Whitely and Christee Lenee, as well as the latest by local alt-rockers Trace of Day.
"Jesus, I'm a busy man, and that's just the half of it," Connelly says.
Connelly's Lesser Prophets band is made up of former Headlights bassist Scott Dempster and drummer Danny DiPietera, plus Brad Trumbell on organ and Ed Woltil, of The Ditchflowers, on rhythm guitar and backing vocals.
Although those men are around his age, many of the musicians sharing the stage with Connelly are considerably younger. But he's comfortable with the title of elder statesman.
"You'll see geriatric rockers," Connelly jokes about his band. In all seriousness, though, he's inspired that the music he loves is still being made by a younger generation of local artists — and often with his help.
"I'm truly amazed," he says. "It sort of validates what I have been into my whole life. It wasn't some fad like disco that came and went. It was the real thing."
Steve Connelly also performs with his other band, Too Many Subplots, Aug. 10 at Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin. For more information on Zen Recording Studio, call 727-525-1008.
This article appears in Jul 4-10, 2007.