Stephen Pate & Friends is a group of musicians who get together to jam, record and occasionally perform in public. Easy going is our style although we do rock it up.
We like rock, folk, country and just about anything you can pick or sing.
Stephen Pate
Born to a jazz drummer father and ukulele playing mother, Stephen grew up in a home filled with music. Literally from Beethoven, to Broadway and the Beatles, he was steeped in a love for music of every genre. At 14, the precious youngster was writing record reviews of pop, folk, rock, and jazz music for the Halifax Mail Star daily newspaper.
Stephen has been playing folk, blues and rock and roll for 40 years. A business career and raising five children kept music as an avid hobby. During those decades Stephen was an accountant, sales person and CEO of a software development firm.
On encouragement from a club owner, he started performing in local kitchen parties seven years ago. Soon he was organizing his first rock band called Expecting Rain. “There’s a new guy in town playing Dylan” was the word on the street.
Since then, he has performed in local clubs and in Ontario as a solo artist. For four years, Stephen performed at a regular summer gig called Always on Stage on Victoria Row in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Stephen likes to busk in the summer. “I like the people and the spontaneity.”
Stephen is a prolific songwriter with more than 60 songs under his belt. During the past several years he built a home studio where the boys have been recording off-and-on.
Stephen is also keen to promote other musicians through local events and covering them on his widely read internet journal NJN Network.
Denis Larocque
Denis Larocque has been playing guitar for as long as he can remember. Denis is a master of song and tone. Rarely using pedals, he knows how to get unique and musical performances with just the guitar, amp and his hands.
During the day, Denis is the renowned and well-liked proprietor if Real Instruments. There he sells guitars and other instruments and practices his luthier craft.
A Larocque guitar will be easy to play, have fantastic tone and look gorgeous. Denis is also the go-to guy for guitar repairs from a set-up to my wife sat on the guitar and it’s in little pieces.
Tom LeClair
Tom is our bassist, a man of few words by unerring rhythm. By day Tom is a civil servant but at night he likes to cut loose on the bass.
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Credits – background photograph courtesy of Kris Krug. The header guitar photograph (credit C.F. Martin) is one of my favorite guitars – a 000-28VS. It’s a great finger picking and blues gitbox with a sound all it’s own. All music, photographs and content copyright Stephen Pate / Rambling Boy Music Inc. unless otherwise indicated.