Steve grew up in rural southwest MN/northeast IA and was exposed to music at an early age. The sibling harmony of his 3 older sisters left an indelible impression on him at an early age. His dad also played guitar and sang, and the farmhouse was always filled with music! He did a lot of singing in church, school and college. Steve developed his finger picking style of playing guitar and songwriting over the years inspired by singer songwriters of his time, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, etc. He has a deep love of the simple clear sound of acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies.