Steve Ippolito is a drummer who’s quite adept at crafting soundscapes that can transport you to different musical worlds — if you let them. His latest release, “Silence Is Golden,” revels in knowing when to shut up and watch the chaos fly by.
Steve recently spoke with WYEP's Joey Spehar.
What's your musical history up to this point?
I've been playing drums almost my whole life. I can remember as far back as age three or four at my parent’s house in New Jersey, I had a pair of Zildjian brand sticks in my hand that my grandparents bought me. Before that, even my first "drum" was a Little Tikes plastic thing that had two oversized red drum sticks attached to it on strings. I would beat the hell out of that thing day and night. I took to rhythm and time pretty naturally and signed up for band class in school as soon as I had the chance.
I didn't get on my first drum set until I was 12, but knew almost immediately it was something I'd have in my life forever. I involved myself in every type of band program imaginable, even marching band and Drum Corps International (DCI), which saw me do a collective 10 seasons of marching. This also included when I moved to Pittsburgh in 2011 to attend Pitt and did four years in their marching band program. Since then, I haven't left town.
I hung that all up to focus on my drum set skills again and eventually found myself co-founding an original Jam/Jazz-Fusion group called The Clock Reads. We made a lot of noise in the local scene playing packed shows at the now defunct Rex Theater and so on.
Through that time with TCR, I met several of the band members that now make up my current project, Continuum. I started to actively write down some ideas in my room during Covid times — just some melodies, simple chord structures, textural type sounds I was improvising in my bedroom studio in a dingy mouse-ridden apartment in Garfield. The world was at a standstill, but I knew it was time to create something. I never really had any intentions to release anything as I didn’t think it would amount to much on my own. But when you put the right people behind your ideas, beautiful things can happen. This finally led me to fielding a quintet made up of local musicians Josh Wulff (gtr), Adam Bleil (Electronic Valve Instrument/EVI), Denzel Chismar-Oliver (bass), and Mike Bernabe (keys).
We fleshed out my tunes on the bandstand playing some local venues and coffee shops. Then just this past spring of 2024, I enlisted the help of another band mate in Norside Organ Trio, Skip Sanders, to help engineer and get these tracks on tape. Through three-four sessions we put down the whole record which also included some deep improvisations and moments that might never be captured again.
Those long form spontaneous compositions turned into a few songs that are now set to release on the upcoming record simply entitled "Continuum." Skip was integral and achieved the vibe of the group and then I passed it on to Jake Hanner (Donora) to mix the tracks to a beautifully polished sound you'll hear throughout the whole record.
How do you describe your sound?
This is always the hardest question. It's not "jazz," as many people who've seen me would lump me into as a generalization of my playing. Sure, it has those elements at times, but in my humble opinion, jazz is dead (or as Zappa would say, "smells funny").
This group is an amalgamation of all the sounds I've surrounded myself with over the last decade or so living here. From the contemporary sound of guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkle's groups, the rhythmic celebration of Fela Kuti and his Africa 70 band, the experimental post rock vibes of Chicago based band Tortoise and guitarist Jeff Parker, the jazz-fusion driven textures of Tony Williams and Larry Young, to the long form improvisational territories a band like Phish would explore. Taken in totality, the album captures a euphoric creative synchronicity between some of my favorite musicians on the scene today. You can really call it what you want...
Tell us more about the song "Silence Is Golden." What inspired you to write it and what does it mean to you?
So, I actually didn't write this song... but I did produce it in the studio. Credit is due to our brilliant guitarist Josh Wulff for the music and lyrics. Anthony Vincent Jardine made it come to life with his incredible vocal performance that he laid down in just about an hour one day. I told Josh after tracking the rhythm parts, "Man, I really think this is a vocal tune. It would add more depth and complexity to what's already going on." He agreed right away and crafted the lyrics in just a few days.
It's the only vocal track we have on the record but is one of my favorites. The song takes us through a semi-fictional cross-country journey from the east to west coasts. Through the journey, our travelers encounter a host of perilous predicaments that threaten to derail the whole trip. But through the power of camaraderie and friendship, they see the trip through. By the destination they realize what's most important is the silence they bask in and to let the world go by as chaotic as it is. There's nothing you can do to change it, and time will continue on with or without us. So be silent and listen. Be here now. Witness the continuum and spaces between us.
Who are some other Pittsburgh artists you think we should be listening to?
Highly recommend checking out Randy Baumann’s new record, James Johnson III (who helped produce on one session of this record), Norside Organ Trio, The Commonheart, Danny Rectenwald, Ames Harding and the Mirage
