LILY: Let's just get this out in the open- What is the craziest thing that has happened to you in your music career?
STEVE PARISIEN: I think probably the craziest or weirdest thing that just happened to pop into my head, happened quite a few years ago when I was young and in my playing days. I was performing a few pieces in a talent show on a local T.V. station. When I finished performing, I was exiting the stage when I was intercepted by parents with a young child. They told me that their little boy was, in their mind, the next child star and had an absolutely lovely voice. They asked if I would mind backing their protégé with my guitar to which I replied ‘no problem, I’d love to.’ I can’t remember what song he wanted to sing but it was a popular tune, and after finding out what key he was comfortable with, we had a basic arrangement down. Now I have to mention here that he didn’t know what I meant when I asked what key he preferred, which had me somewhat concerned. Anyway, it came time to go in front of the camera with a live audience, and of course I was wondering how nervous he was. Because he was young, I don’t think it had all really sunk in, and he appeared to be quite fine. What wasn’t fine was the very thing I was somewhat concerned with, and that was the key he was supposed to be comfortable with. During the performance he demonstrated the fact that he was totally tone deaf and changed key at least three times throughout the song. Good friends of mine were in the audience and saw my facial expressions on the screen off stage while I was playing, and said that I had a look of complete bewilderment, as well as a few other entertaining looks, and probably stole the show. Needless to say, after the performance the parents did not have positive things to say about my participation in this adventure, and that I had quite possibly ruined any possibility of a career in performing for their son. My friends were standing behind them while I was being chewed out, and they were almost in stitches from laughing so hard, and I still had that look of bewilderment. Bizarre!

LILY: Your song ’Smooth Move Samba' is receiving a positive listener response on radio. What was your initial reaction when you first heard your song playing on radio?
STEVE PARISIEN: I’ve had my music in the past aired on the radio worldwide and had a good feeling about ‘Smooth Move Samba’ doing well. When I wrote it, it just felt good. Here’s the weird thing, I’ve never heard any of my tunes on the radio, regardless of the fact that one of my pieces, ‘Another Gray Day’ (which was co-written with Laurel Moore from our ‘Shadows of Light’ album), had twice become the #1 hit song in 2015 and that ‘After All Those Years’ (which won an Akademia Award), also earned a #1 hit song award. You may find this odd, but I really am not inclined to hear myself on the airwaves because I’ll probably tear it apart thinking I could have done better in some section of the song. However, I’ve had friends as far away as Australia, phone or Skype me saying they’ve heard my stuff, and I think that is really cool. I always enjoy when other people listen and like what they hear. What I also think would be cool is if some other artist decided to perform one of my tunes with their own arrangement. Then I would listen because in my opinion, that’s what music is all about.

LILY: What was the inspiration behind your debut radio single?
STEVE PARISIEN: What inspired me to write this tune is probably the same thing that inspired me to write other tunes I’ve done with that Latin edge to it. Every year my wife and I head down to Puerto Vallarta for a month or so. It turns out that I have a cousin who lives in that area, and my wife and I have made good friends with some of the locals. One of them is a wonderful guitarist by the name of Willow Brizzio and his wife, Beverly, has one heck of a wonderful singing voice. She has a voice that reminds me of Billie Holiday, really cool. Anyway, while down there and performing or hanging out with the abundance of great musicians, the rhythms and sounds rub off on me. I end up with an assortment of ideas that I’ll record on my tablet so that when I return, I can start writing. Those Latin sounds stick with me for several months, and are reflected in my music. Then my style changes as we get into the Fall season. When we go back down to P.V. in the winter, it’s like the cycle starts over again. It really shows you how the environment around you very much influences an artist’s thoughts.

LILY: It is often said that great art arises from difficult experience. Is there something in your life experience thus far that you would describe as the ‘catalyst’ or ‘fuel’ for your desire to create music?
STEVE PARISIEN: I’m going to tell you a story of an experience that probably changed my whole musical outlook. My father owned a music store, so I had the good fortune of learning all sorts of different instruments. I started learning the piano at the age of five and from there, as my father’s business expanded to include organs, I started learning that instrument to give myself a bit of relief from the piano (which I probably hated because of the strictness of the teaching methods back then with classical music). Anyway, I seemed to have picked up on the organ quite quickly and my dad could see my progress. He decided that I would be a great marketing tool to sell organs and had me playing at jamborees, fairs, etc. It was one of those ‘if this child could play, so can you’ things. One particular day, my dad had me come along with him to a convent to play an organ that he had sold to them. When we got there, he had me sit down at the machine, which was absolutely huge. This unit had more buttons and tabs, with a full pedal keyboard and lots of lights, than I had ever seen. I was never one to be overwhelmed and wasn’t about to start, so I looked it over and figured it out while my dad was looking for the Mother Superior. When he returned with her and several nuns, he told me to start playing. They all looked at me and said, ‘What a cute little boy’ (I was eight or nine at the time), and were eagerly waiting for me to perform. Shortly before that particular time, the movie ‘Sound of Music’ was released and I decided to play one of the songs from that. I started to play and don’t think I was more than four or five measures in when the next thing I knew, all these nuns started to sing with me in perfect harmony. They knew the words and you’d think they were the soundtrack to the movie. They were just downright good. As I was playing, I was taken off guard but kept my composure and thought to myself ‘so this is what music is all about’ and never ever wanted to lose that feeling as long as I lived. So that above all, and the fact that I was quite young, is the one thing that motivated me to do what I do. It’s not about me writing and performing, it’s about everyone else being a part of it.

LILY: How would you characterize yourself as an artist/musician? (Ex. Down-to-earth, serious, fun-loving, complicated…)
STEVE PARISIEN: I characterize myself as an easy going writer who takes it one stride at a time. I think one has to be in that right state of mind, which is something you can't force if you want to have that sense of self-satisfaction. When it comes to performing, I think I take it more seriously because I want the audience to capture as much of what I put into the performance as I can. At the same time, the spontaneity has to be there so that the soul of your performance reaches the listener.