Steven Santarpia Bio
Steven Santarpia first love has always been music. He remembers first listening to his parents collection of albums which consisted of artists like Elvis, Barbara Streisand, and The Five Satins. He would sit at the record player for hours and listen to his parents collection. Growing up in Queens, NY during the 70’s, disco was everywhere and he became a fan. Donna Summer, The Village People and Michael Jackson were his favorite artists at the age of 10. The television show Wonderama had Michael Jackson/The Jackson 5 on all the time and he loved watching him dance and sing.
Steven Santarpia then got heavily into The Beatles. Well, what got him interested was learning if Paul McCartney was really dead. So he purchased all the albums to find clues. In doing so, he became an obsessed fan by the age of 12. At the age of 14, he listened to The White Album, every day for a year. The same year, he traveled to Manhattan by himself to go to his first Beatlefest. The Beatles remain his favorite band.
His first concert was Stevie Ray Vaughn at Hofstra University, October 9, 1984. At a time when everyone wanted their MTV, he was going the blues route. He saw SRV a total of 12 times. Memorable shows include the John Hammond Tribute Concert and New Years Eve shows at The Ritz.
The Band was another group Steven Santarpia became obsessed with. A friend at work had handed him an audio tape of The Best of The Band. Not too long after listening to the tape, he watched The Last Waltz and he was all in. This was around 1989 and The Band were no longer together. Rick Danko was playing solo shows in New York at this time. Rick was playing for modest crowds in clubs. Steven couldn’t understand how a man this talented was playing for such small audiences. The Wetlands was a place in Manhattan that Rick would play a lot. He would often have the great Kenny Gwyn opening for him. The Band reformed minus Robbie Robertson and the late Richard Manuel around 1991. Steven was grateful to be able to see them play gigs like Nassau Community College, The Lone Star Cafe and Carnegie Hall. The Band was a gateway to other artists like The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan.
Bands/artists that have an impact on Steven:
The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Band, Billy Holiday, Sonic Youth, Minutemen, Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Public Enemy, REM, Radiohead, Grateful Dead, Sigur Ros, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bjork, Nina Simone, Animal Collective, Panda Bear, The Walkmen, Fishbone, Janes Addiction, Underworld, Vampire Weekend
Steven’s other interests include baseball, Texas BBQ, comedies, and travel.
Steven Santarpia Grateful Dead & Radiohead Stats
Grateful Dead
- Been a Deadhead since 1988
- Favorite year for the Dead is 1973
- First Few Audio Tapes: 11/6/77, 6/24/84, 5/8/77, 2/26/77, 5/11/86
- I’ve attended 56 GD shows
- Gateway Album Into the Dead: Europe 72, Dead Set
- First show: MSG, NYC 9/20/88
- Favorite Show: Impossible to Answer
- Still Learning
Radiohead
- Been a fan since 1997
- Favorite Album: It changes constantly
- First show: Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC (MTV Live from the 10 Spot) 12/19/97
- I’ve attended 36 RD shows
- Favorite Song: Let Down
- Gateway Album Into Radiohead: The Bends
- Favorite RD Napster Song: How To Disappear Completely (Live)
- Favorite RD Message Board: At Ease
Steven Santarpia is the owner of Steven Santarpia Consulting.
Steven helps small to mid-size businesses grow with digital marketing. The agency is located in Greenlawn, Long Island.