After decades in the music business, Dale Stephens is coming full-circle with the release of his debut solo album, Metropolitan Memories. After working in nearly every aspect of the music industry, including most recently as co-founder of socially-conscious concert series Rock Against Poverty, Dale Stephens has shifted his focus back onto what started it all for him: the guitar. His lyrical playing style and his knack for expressive melodies dominate his first foray into the role of recording artist. I interviewed Dale about the album, the business, and the world.

Times Square (TS): How long have you been playing music?

Dale Stephens (DS): I’ve been playing guitar since I was 4, and I never stopped, so I’ve been a musician for many decades.

TS: And you only released your debut album, Metropolitan Memories, this year.

DS: I’ve done a lot of tours, worked with a lot of different artists, but I’ve always waited to do my debut because I knew I wanted that element of maturity in my music.

TS: How has your perspective changed since you are not on the ‘recording artist’ side of things?

DS: It’s a lot more detailed, there’s a lot of granularity, a lot of thing to consider in the artistic domain. I’m also an audio engineer, so I know the technical side of things, and it becomes a matter of trying to quantify creativity, beauty, and inspiration in the studio. It was great to record the album though, because I got to be alone for 30 days. We brought in other people, a drummer and bassist, but for the most part it was me alone in the studio with my songs doing all the things; the arrangements and orchestrations. I did have a great team though; Dan Malsch was the producer and the assistant producer was Michael Kesselring.

TS: Are you still promoting the new album with regular performances in New York?

DS: Well we never officially released the album. It’s available in a digital format but there hasn’t been an official launch or a release show yet. We’re anticipating a physical release in early 2012.

TS: You recently filmed your first music video. Tell me about that.

DS: We filmed it at a place called the Skytop Lodge in the town of Skytop Pennsylvania. It’s a beautiful town, full of history, the perfect place for the video for “Now That Your Gone,” which is a song about loss, about losing someone. The town really had the age to carry the music. 

TS: Why do you choose to focus on instrumental music?

DS: It’s like the difference between a book and a film. Usually the book is much better, because your imagination is doing to work. Without the lyrics, your mind fills in the story.

TS: What will you do differently next time you go into the studio?

DS: Not a lot. It’s always difficult to recapture the essence of inspiration. It’s very hard for non-musicians to understand that you can’t just go in and track it. There are all these subparticles in the subconscious which you need to capture. But I think next time before going into the studio I will rest better.

TS: You’ve also received a good deal of attention as the founder of Rock Against Poverty, an organization which held its inaugural event in April of this year. Have you begun preparations for the second annual concert?

DS: No, I’m sort of in a cocoon right now. I’m dealing with all the complexities of releasing a debut record, balancing the digital release, the physical release, the video, the promotion. It just so happens that my album release will be in such close proximity with the second Rock Against Povert show, so I’ll be really busy, but I’m still really close to the organization.

TS: Was “Metropolitan Memories” a carbon-neutral production?

DS: It’s hard to say carbon-neutral. It’s the law of thermodynamics. Even with just the digital release, that information is being stored and transmitted and it’s using energy. It may use significantly less than the physical release, but cyberspace can be cold. People aren’t even true to their images on Facebook anymore. Though it may burn more fuel, there’s a naturalness to the physical object in your hand. It’s nice to be able to put a CD on without having a computer running. Without the hum, the digital distortion, the radiation coming off the screen. But I try to be consciousness of both sides. The physical release will be printed in a biodegradable pack, none of this Twinky-wrapper stuff that won’t break down for 500 years.

TS: Is Rock Against Poverty itself a carbon-neutral enterprise?

DS: Well I can only speak for myself, because I keep to myself. I’m not as bad as Howard Hughes, but I tend toward isolation. But I am conscious and environmentally-friendly. I believe that artists should set a good example. That’s why I love music so much, because the only energy it takes to enjoy music is interpretive. It becomes an addiction. Music just speaks, and that is the best gift.

For Dale Stephens' latest music video, Now That You're Gone, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQFL0PaisiQ

To read the album review done by Times Square, please check it out in the album review section. 

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