STEPHEN LOMAS
Born and raised in Sydney, Stephen emigrated to the USA with his new wife in his mid-twenties. Having taken to the guitar like a bad habit in high school, he maintained his interest while raising a family in Southern California.
By the late 1980’s he had exploited all he could from the instrument, & with a desire to satisfy a yearning for the traditions of folk & blues music, Stephen switched to the banjo.
At about this time Stephen’s musical journey took on a special intensity when he met up with British guitar wizard Martin Simpson. Many concerts, workshops & lessons followed & the banjo gave way to a Taylor 812 as Stephen began to explore the colours & depths of alternate tunings & slide guitar. “Learning from Martin totally revolutionised my approach to both my guitar & to music in general. Technical perfection aside, I love the way he can remove the barriers of genre... Folk, Celtic, Blues, Pop, African, Oriental... with just one guitar he finds a commonality & makes the labels redundant.”
As a songwriter, Stephen counts as his major writing influences the diverse trio of Australian poet Henry Lawson, Pogues front-man & icon Shane Macgowan & the ever present Bob Dylan. “I am especially touched by their worldliness & visions of humanity.” Adding the likes of Tom Waits, The Band & Dave Lindley to the mix illustrates his dislike of labels. It’s hard to find just one that fits. His music touches many bases & he describes his style as “Folk+Plus... ie more than Lemon Tree, less than Metallica.” No matter the influence, Stephen considers himself a folk musician - story telling through song with earthy vocals and lyrical guitar.
His first cd, Mermaids, was released in 1999. Still living in the US he began performing regularly around Los Angeles & Hollywood while developing a wealth of new material. In 2001 Stephen played at “Music at the Creek” in NSW & began planning a permanent return to Australia. That year also blessed him with a Sobell guitar - definitely a Martin Simpson influence.
Stephen began recording his second album shortly before relocating to Australia in late 2004. Sinbad Ranch was developed over the following year & released in 2006. The song “Blacktop” earned Stephen a finalist position in the Roddy Reade Memorial Songwriting Contest at the 2005 Maldon Folk Festival. Now living “up in the hills” in rural NSW Stephen appears regularly at folk & blues venues in Wagga & Albury.
