Stephen B. Antonakos, aka Homeboy Steve, was born and raised on the island of Manhattan, New York City, U.S.A. As a child he pressed his ears against the window of the West End Cafe to hear Tiny Grimes and listened to Cousin Brucie on AM radio. He played tambourine in the grade school band, The Teacher's Dilemma Since then, he has played guitar and sung with a succession of notable Americana bands over the last thirty years, including the Blue Chieftains, 5 Chinese Brothers and Greg Garing, recording his first songs with them along the way. He released his first solo recording, Are We There Yet ?, in 2008 and a seasonal EP, Poor Santa, in 2013. His newest release, Rock 'n' Roll Sun, continues to mine the rich roots rock mother lode with compassion and humor. NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY July 18, 2014 Catchy Americana Tunesmithing from Brilliant Guitarist Homeboy Steve Antonakos by delarue Homeboy Steve Antonakos is one of the half-dozen best guitarists in New York. He can shift from a flurry of elegant jazz chords, to beery honkytonk, to spiky, reverbtoned surf rock, to haunting Middle Eastern-flavored lines in the span of a few seconds and make it all seem completely natural. As you would expect, he gets plenty of work. Acts he currently plays with include 1920s-style Greek hashish-folk band Dervisi, cajun rockers the Dirty Water Dogs, brilliant Americana songwriter/chanteuse Drina Seay’s band and possibly others: put it this way, the guy’s in demand. But he’s also a solo artist. He’s got a new album, Rock N Roll Sun – streaming at Bandcamp – and an album release show at the Parkside on July 21 at 7 PM. To Antonakos’ further credit, the album is just as much about tunesmithing as it is about the guitars. The title track opens it – it’s a wry look at how audiences live vicariously through musicians, especially if they’ve gotten to the point where they’ve left their own dreams behind. Behind Antonakos – who’s really done a good job pulling his vocals together here – there’s Neil Thomas on piano, Skip Ward on bass, Kenny Soule on drums and Seay on characteristically crystalline, spine-tingling vocal harmonies. I’ll Find a Way, a swaying four-chord purist pop song, takes the point of view of a guy who isn’t a Humphrey Bogart or Steve McQueen but still has enough in him to save the day. At the Treehouse sends a shout-out to Tom Clark’s Sunday night Americana jamboree upstairs at 2A, capped off by a lively, bluesy dobro solo. My Bones Will Remember, a pensive when-I-get-old narrative inspired by a trip to Greece to an ancestral graveyard, opens with churchy organ and builds to a slow crescendo fueled by Antonakos’ terse slide work. I Don’t Wanna Be Wanted, a ridiculously simple, catchy bluegrass-tinged number by Seay, creates a tender vintage C&W scenario. Antonakos follows the wistful ballad December Roses with the album’s best track, I Don’t Miss Summer, a killer garage-pop hit driven by Bruce Martin’s roller-rink organ. Tomorrow’s Girl nicks the changes from Bob Seger’s Turn the Page and turns it into a brooding, restless acoustic Nashville gothic tune. After that, there’s Live it Down, a shuffling oldschool garage rock tune done as janglerock, and then the album’s closing cut, Better Off With the Blues, an elegantly swinging solo acoustic jazz tune with Django Reinhardt echoes. “…features Steve Antonakos playing some fabulous lead guitar…” From 4 star review of Karen Hudson’s CD, “Late Bloomer” - John Conquest of 3rd Coast Music (Aug 2013) Brilliant Sideman Releases Another Solo Record -NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY (Dec 22, 2012) “…Antonakos lit up with some surrealistically searing slide work…” -NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY (Aug 8, 2012) "…ubiquitously brilliant…" “…inimitably cerebral, jazz-infused, fearlessly intense solos…” “…from Wes Montgomery-land to solid country ground in seconds flat…” delarue, NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY (Oct 8, 2011) "…this is a playful, fun, staggeringly diverse mix of styles from one of New York’s most esteemed guitarists. … - A Person of Note, Lucid Culture (Feb 1, 2009) …takes listeners on a lo-fi musical adventure through the twentieth century and beyond, with generous helpings of folk, jug band, pop, roots rock, country, Tin Pan Alley, swing, sea shanties, sing-alongs, and a wry sense of humor. " Mark Rifkin, This Week in NY (Dec 1, 2008)