On The Verge

The Stepkids

Bridgeport, Conn.
Psychedelic Soul
www.thestepkidsband.com

“We don’t want to get a big buzz and blow up over just one song,” Stepkids guitarist Jeff Gitelman admits. “We want to make a sustainable career and, over the course of time, succeed that way.” Comprised of three singer/songwriters, the band is often described as “psychedelic soul” but Gitelman hesitates to pigeonhole the band into any category. “We’re all jazz musicians but I was playing with 50 Cent and then Alicia Keys for a while and [drummer] Dan Edinberg was playing with a punk band,” he confides. “We love hip-hop and punk [and] we love classical music, so it’s really about if the music feels right.” The members produce, engineer and record their own music, integrating classic and modern technology. “We record onto tape and we also have vintage microphones and amps, but we also combine it with some new technology and futuristic sounds.” They’re next project is slated to be a concept album. “It’s going to be a called Memoirs of Gray —Gray being a poet whose memoirs are the lyrics to all of the songs. We’re huge fans of Pink Floyd, so the concept reflects some of that ideology.”