concert in November 2006 During his early years in New York (1986–1987), Conte landed a variety of gigs; he was a guitarist and musical director for
Prince and the Revolution singer
Jill Jones, session and live guitarist with
James Brown producers
Dan Hartman and
Charlie Midnight (Conte's first record date was the Hartman-produced Joy album by Paul King), as well as a stint with New Jersey rocker
Glen Burtnick and jazz fusion band Bushrock, led by keyboard virtuoso Delmar Brown. In 1988, along with blues harp master
Rob Paparozzi, Conte and his brother, John, founded the blues band the Hudson River Rats, whose residency at the Acme Bar & Grill in the
West Village, New York City, afforded them the chance to meet and play with many blues greats and pop stars. The brothers performed with
Etta James,
Charlie Musselwhite,
James Cotton,
Johnny Adams,
Reese Wynans (
Stevie Ray Vaughan),
Phoebe Snow,
Cyndi Lauper,
John Waite,
Richie Hayward (Little Feat),
Will Lee,
Lou Marini (
the Blues Brothers),
Carole King, the Uptown Horns,
Steve Clark (
Def Leppard), and others. Funk and soul drummer
Bernard "Pretty" Purdie eventually joined the band after jamming with them many times. This was Conte's entrance into the New York City studio musician scene, where he still works today. Besides numerous playing and singing on film, television soundtracks, commercials and video game music, he's been recorded on albums with many of his childhood heroes:
The J. Geils Band frontman
Peter Wolf (Fool's Parade, 1998) and James Brown saxophone player
Maceo Parker (
Funk Overload, 1998), as well as the single "Fear of the Unknown" with
Suzi Quatro. Conte first became known to the music industry in the early 1990s as the songwriter and guitarist of the band Company of Wolves (
Mercury Records). After the Wolves' breakup in 1992, he went on to form the band Crown Jewels with John Conte, and in 2003, the pair made an album under the name the Contes. In 2004, Steve Conte joined the
New York Dolls as a guitarist and vocalist, where he would remain until 2010, when he joined
Michael Monroe's new band. Conte also worked with composer
Yoko Kanno and lyricist Tim Jensen on soundtracks to various popular
anime series. Those works include the opening theme to ''
Wolf's Rain'', titled "Stray", as well as the tracks "Heaven's Not Enough" and "Could You Bite the Hand?" All three appear on the
OST albums. As a guest vocalist for the Kanno-led
Seatbelts, Conte also sang vocals in episodes of
Cowboy Bebop, as well as the
2001 film, most notably the song "Call Me Call Me", as well as "Words That We Couldn't Say", "No Reply" and "Diggin'". He also sang "Rain" on the OST CD, which is sung by
Mai Yamane and featured in the series. He would later sing alongside
Shanti Snyder on "Living Inside the Shell", the ending theme to 2004's
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. Conte also performed on the duet "The Garden of Everything" with Japanese singer
Maaya Sakamoto on her
RahXephon-related single "
Tune the Rainbow". In 2007, he provided the vocals for the video game
Sonic and the Secret Rings. He sings the closing credits song titled "
Worth a Chance", as well as the game's main theme "
Seven Rings in Hand". Conte formed the band Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth and produced a debut album on October 20, 2009, which was released through
Varèse Sarabande Records. In 2010, Conte joined Michael Monroe's new band,
The Michael Monroe Band, where he is a guitarist, along with fellow New York Doll and bassist
Sami Yaffa. In September 2014, Conte provided solo acoustic guitar accompaniment for
Angelina Jordan, winner of ''Norway's Got Talent
(Norske Talenter), on the American television program The View''. In November 2022, Conte announced a new solo album that he is writing with XTC's
Andy Partridge, whom he called "one of the greatest songwriters in the world". The two worked on a total of 8 new songs via Zoom sessions. ==Selected discography==