“What can I say about Steve? Well… Steve was a class act. and a damn fine musician. io used to say that if it was a popular song then he probably knew how to play it. I remember going to watch him play with Anita at Juniors even before I really got to know him. Then when he came to lead our band for the Blues Society – that’s when we really took off. It’s a formula that works. and it’s not really a secret so I’ll share it here.

All you need to do is take 1 venue with ample parking and amenities + the best band in town = successful recurring event. And that’s what we had for a while was the best band in town, and we regularly would pack out Friends every month. The reason we had the best band was because of Steve Coleman. He was an excellent musician but also a great band leader. He knew who to call and he knew how to keep them together on stage and from gig to gig over an extended period of time.

And the man knew a lot about music in general and he taught me a lot about how to be a working musician. Steve was a good man, and a good friend. Our blues society band came into my studio one time and we recorded a few songs. When Steve died, I put those songs on my SoundCloud and they stayed at the top of my popular tracks for several months after that. especially their version of Rolling and Tumbling. I think about Steve a lot. and he is greatly missed.”

Biography written by Matt Kemp

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Steve Coleman was an original member of the Historic Oklahoma Funk and Soul band, Uptown Syndicate. Formed on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, in the early 70’s.