Corey Stevens brings Midwest blues to Hard Rock

Born in the small town of Centralia, Ill., Corey Stevens grew up diligently honing his guitar playing and soaking up Middle America.

“Growing up in a small town, I really liked it. All my friends complained of how boring it was, but, hey, it was where I was, and I made the most of it,” said Stevens.

Southern California would become Stevens’s permanent home in 1980 where he played in original bands and grew restless being a sideman. He worked on songwriting and played in a few cover bands for fun.
His career plan began to materialize in the late 1980s when his songwriting started to flourish.

Living in a one-bedroom apartment, he set up a four-track studio in a closet and began to sharpen his craft. He wrote “Blue Drops of Rain” and “Lessons of Love” and started getting interest from record companies while juggling the teaching. He used his salary to pay for rehearsal halls, demos and bankrolled an album that would become a classic- “Blue Drops of Rain”. When he got signed by an independent label, he said goodbye to teaching. In 1996, he toured seven months and made a video for the song that climbed the radio charts.

In 1997, Stevens recorded his second album that yielded a top-ten radio hit and video, “One More Time.” By the end of 1998, Stevens had been on the road for two years, including a tour with Paul Rodgers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top.

In 2002, Stevens reacquired ownership of his first three albums and his publishing in a settlement. Stevens then released a DVD of a live concert shot in 1997 entitled “Road to Zen Tour” and then released his fourth album, “Bring On The Blues,” on the label Fuel 2000. The album combined the contemporary blues concept of his first album with the classic rock of his “Road to Zen” that showcased an affirmation of Stevens’ original style and strong songwriting skills.

In early 2005, Stevens returned to the studio for a solo album that was a departure from the electric blues-rock template he had followed for ten years. “Alone At Last”.

In 2006, the idea came to him to make an album of Albert King covers; an idea which had sat on the back burner for a few years and moved to the forefront thanks to a new record deal with Ruf Records. President Thomas Ruf approached Stevens about a new record saying he really liked the songs, “Crosscut Saw” and “I’ll Play the Blues For You” from Stevens’ first record, “Blue Drops of Rain”. Stevens had already decided to make his next record a collection of Albert King covers and had a name, “Albertville.”

“Albertville” became available on February 16, 2007, the same day that Stevens performed at the Myth, a new state of the art venue in Maplewood, Minn., a few miles north of St. Paul. The show was recorded and filmed for a DVD, but unhappy with the video, Stevens chose to release it as a live two-CD package. “Myth Live” debuted on January 2008. The double album showcased Stevens band and his catalog of well written contemporary blues songs.

In August 2010, Stevens released his eighth album, “The Dreaming Man.” He wrote the title track for his friend, Boon Miller, an artist and musician, who co-wrote “Triple Jack,” from the “Bring On The Blues” CD, with Stevens.

Stevens is currently on tour, stopping Thursday at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 111 3rd Street. Show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets available at the door.