THE HOLLYWOOD ALLSTARS INTERVIEW

August 31, 2025International Artists, Interviews, New Album, New Music, News Comments (0)

THE HOLLYWOOD ALLSTARS INTERVIEW

Intro

The Hollywood Allstars®️ are the brainchild and handpicked Supergroup of Grammy Nominated Songwriter/Producer/Keyboardist, and former Epic/CBS Recording Artist, Steve Gaspár on Hammond Organ & Piano.

After stints with James Brown, Edgar Winter, Peter Criss from KISS, and Gene Cornish from The Rascals, Gaspár has put together music’s supergroup of session royalty for The Hollywood Allstars release FIELD OF GRACE on Deko Entertainment

We catch up with Steve to find out all things about the band and the EP

Enjoy The Read

Questions

Hi Steve, welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine. Could you tell us where you’re from and what the music scene is like there?

I’m based in the USA, Fairfield County Connecticut – about an hour North of New York City. We have a very cool music scene here, being an area where many notable artists and celebrities have settled: including Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz (Talking Heads), Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) and Michael Bolton, to name just a few. You never know who you might run into. It can be a very creative environment, although somewhat off the radar in terms of a recognized music mecca.

Your band, The Hollywood Allstars® has a really cool big band sound. Can you tell us who is in the band and what the concept behind the band is?

When I started The Hollywood Allstars® it was a total “Passion Project”. The economics of forming a 13-15 piece band is obviously quite limiting in terms of touring and the type of venues we can play. The sheer logistics of a stage that can accommodate us narrows down many of the types of rooms we can perform in. However I felt (and still feel) a responsibility to this type of music:. The big “Horn Band – Hammond Organ” sound. It’s something people rarely get the opportunity to experience any longer, and I thought there was a real need to keep it alive.

I began by contacting several musician friends of mine whom I’d recorded and toured with, and presented the idea to them. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how enthusiastic and receptive everyone was. Still – I never imagined the band would eventually include the Lead Singer from Tower of Power (Tommy Bowes), the Horn Section from The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour (The Uptown Horns), the Bass Player from The Johnny and Edgar Winter Groups (Scott Spray), the Drummer from The Original Blues Brothers Band (Lee Finkelstein), touring guitarist and the Co-Producer of our record (Andy Abel), and from The Vickie Sue Robinson Band, percussionist Eddie Torres. It’s an absolute THRILL to share the stage and studio and make music with this amazing collection of artists!

When did the band first get started?

I initially began putting the band together about 9 years ago. It started out as a “Cover Band” of sorts. However, having played with many of the artists whose music we were covering, we had the unique advantage of being able to put our own spin on the material we were doing. This turned out to be quite a successful strategy, and we sold out just about every show we did in those early years, playing 250-750 seat theaters up and down the East Coast.

Who are some of the bands you grew up listening to?

I actually began studying piano when I was just 4 1/2 years old. My training was traditional “Classical Piano” pedagogy. I’ve often said that this music theory and exposure to many of the piano “giants”, (Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Gershwin etc.), gave me a priceless foundation, upon which all my future work as a keyboard player, producer and songwriter would be based. Once I hit my early teens however, my taste obviously started gravitating more toward Pop, Rock and R&B music. Being a keyboard player, that included artists like The Animals, The Rascals, Vanilla Fudge, Santana, Sly & The Family Stone, Traffic and just about anything that included a Hammond Organ. That “sound” was something that just spoke to me musically. To this day, I’m most at home behind a Hammond Organ and Piano.

What is your writing process?

When I sit down to write, most often it begins with what I call “Noodling”. I let my hands explore the piano, run through different harmonic variations and chord voicings, until I stumble upon something that elicits some kind of emotional reaction in me. Writers have often said that we don’t “write”, as much as we “Channel” the music through us. It’s as if the song(s) are out there floating around in the ethos, and we wait for them to come through us. As abstract as this may sound, there is certainly a lot of “craft” involved in writing a great song. It can be a very painstaking, drawn out process, but the reward of sticking with it and working through all the angst, is having a memorable piece of music. I’ve been fortunate enough to be Nominated for a Grammy Award, and have had my songs covered by a variety of different artists, both domestically and internationally, so I’ve certainly learned to “hang in there” when it seems like the writing isn’t going anywhere.

Let’s talk about the EP Field Of Grace, which received a 10 out of 10 review from our writer, Veronika. Where and how was the EP recorded?

First, my thanks to Veronika for her very flattering review. The EP has begun to get some incredible feedback from several heavy-weights in the industry, whose opinions matter and are very well respected. Here are a few:

JARED BRAVERMAN (LIVE NATION)

“The music is great!! This reminds me of the New York Rock and Soul Revue album from years ago. Blown away by the musicianship. The EP came out amazing! Congrats!”

LENNIE PETZE (FORMER HEAD OF A&R AT EPIC/COLUMBIA RECORDS NY)

“Steve, this is wonderful. Yes it’s well written and produced…..“The River” is my favorite and it should be in a movie soundtrack. I love it. Know that I’m a fan…”

DAVID AVERY (POWDERFINGER PROMOTIONS)

“Hey Steve, Frankly, I’m kind of blown away by how good this is. A couple of these tracks already sound like classics to me. It’s super impressive all around.”

MICHAEL DES BARRES (LEGENDARY ACTOR, MUSICIAN & SIRIUSXM DJ)

“Old School Cool”! “I think the music is fantastic. “What Good Is Your Body” was my favorite, however “The River” was the song that moved me the most I must say.. as always good luck with your project!”

STEVE CONTE (GUITARIST, SONGWRITER, PRODUCER – NEW YORK DOLLS, LEATHER CATSUIT etc.)

“The band sounds killer – super tight, funky and musical as hell. How could it not be great with all of these outstanding musicians involved? I know and have worked with many of them…”

CHARLIE MIDNIGHT / SONGWRITER

“Thank you, Steve Gaspár and the nonpareil Hollywood Allstars for performing this awesome version of Living In America and keeping the spirit alive. I love it and I know my great friend and collaborator on this song and many others, the late-great genius Dan Hartman would too. Of course he would want to be on stage jamming with you and the iconic Uptown Horns, who, of course, played on the recording. Much appreciation.”

MICHAEL SPRIGGS (NASHVILLE GUITARIST, SONGWRITER, PRODUCER)

Your last cut is simply fabulous my friend, I really love what you do.

Audio and production stellar, not to mention the vocals!!!! Simply some of the best records I’ve heard in many years.

Fabulous, generous and beautiful work!!!!!

Obviously, I’m very grateful that all the work that’s gone into writing and recording this EP has been appreciated this way. These are folks who have nothing invested in this project, and who’ve seen and heard just about everything in contemporary music. To have them lavish such praise is extremely rewarding.

The actual recording of the project took place at The Carriage House Studios in Stamford Connecticut, and Andy Abel Productions in Trumbull Connecticut. The rhythm section was recorded live. Horns and vocals were done as overdubs. All tracks were recorded digitally using Pro-Tools.

How long did it take to record?

From start to finish I’d say we invested the better part of a year.At the time of recording, the band wasn’t signed and my original intent was to release and distribute it myself, so there was no real time crunch. Little did I know, that before I’d even have a chance to press CD’s and distribute the project to all streaming service platforms, it would be signed to a three year record deal with Deko Entertainment.

Who are some of the names that contributed to the EP?

In addition to all the musicians I mentioned above, we were blessed to have several additional “Special Guests” involved in the project. One, was the incredible female vocalist, Chevy Chevis. Chevy does the lead vocal on the second track “TRUST ME”, in addition to contributing background vocals on the others. She’s an amazing artist who’s worked with Beyonce, Madonna, Adel and J-Lo. As you can imagine, she’s beyond talented and her contribution to the project is indescribable. Along with Chevy, venerable NY session singers Sharon Bryant and Dennis Collins contributed background vocals in addition to former Epic/CBS Recording artist Suzanne Gaspar as well as Melanie Bennett. We were also fortunate to have from The David Letterman show, world renowned bassist Will Lee. Last but not least, drummer Tony Cintron makes an appearance on the one cover song on the record, the James Brown classic, “LIVING IN AMERICA”.

Can you tell what a live experience is like from your band?

Have you ever stood on a railroad track as a freight liner is hurdling toward you at 100 MPH? That’s what sitting in the audience at a Hollywood Allstars® concert is like.As I said, with the exception of a few bands like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Tedeschi Trucks, the big Horn Band, Hammond Organ sound just isn’t viable these days. It’s a shame that audiences rarely get to experience the excitement and big sound that is The Hollywood Allstars® signature.

You have collaborated with such talented people, who is someone you would love to collaborate with?

As a performing, recording and touring keyboardist, I have been extremely lucky to have played with several of the artists I grew up admiring. James Brown, B.B. King, Edgar Winter, Peter Criss from KISS and Gene Cornish from The Rascals are all included in this list. As a songwriter however, I’ve had fewer collaborations. I’ve noticed in recent years, that many of the great songs are coming out of Nashville. Songs that are meaningful and have the potential to become standards. I’d love the opportunity to collaborate and co-write with some of the newer country artists. Lainey Wilson is one who immediately comes to mind.

Thank you for doing this interview. Do you have any last messages for our readers?

Yes, to everyone who has supported us, bought tickets to our shows, and purchased, downloaded and streamed “FIELD OF GRACE” we thank you. Without you it wouldn’t be possible for us to do what we do. We realize how saturated the music business is, and how much competition there is for your entertainment dollar. For those who haven’t yet had a chance to check us out, we urge you to give us a listen. It really does mean the world to us.