Showing posts with label Machine and Magic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Machine and Magic. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

That Rogue Romeo Has Been "Rebuilt"

That Rogue Romeo aka Kevin Stea has gone out and, thanks to technology been "Rebuilt".
Here to tell us about his latest incarnation is That Rogue Romeo himself Mr. Kevin Stea...!
"REBUILT,"is an amazingly successful experiment in which I took the original music from Machine and Magic and commissioned remixes to see if the music held up. It is 19 tracks featuring remixes of the songs of the debut album Machine & Magic.
What I realized is that these songs are pretty solid. I told the various remixers (Djnb, Ap, F3tto, Cr3) to let go of structure. They did not have to stay attached to the original song structure. I enjoy creating something new from the visions of many. I wanted to give these remixers room to play; but I did want this album to have a club feel, however, and make people dance. I wanted to see if my tracks could in fact play in clubs. Are they danceable? That was the bottom line. I realized my goal creating dance music that has lyrical impact. I want to bring lyrical content to the club. You can dance and jump around and still something meaningful.
"Go Rogue"
I have video concepts for every song I have (written). Once I’m done writing it, I instantly switch into visual mode, which is the way I conceive the song to begin with. My songs come from a space of visualization already. I imagine entire scripts and themes for everything. So it was natural to release the official music video set to the "Machine and Magic" remix with the remix album REBUILT. This video is definitely different than any other video I’ve done. Also, I look a little closer to Kevin than That Rogue Romeo in the video. I’m hardly in make-up. This is a dance video. It’s not super high concept.
The video is the first video shot from a successful Kickstarter project to create three music videos. It is directed by superstars Brian Friedman (X-factor, Britney Spears, AGT) and Chan Andre (ID Entertainment), and features ex-PCD Carmit Bachar and 12 of LA's top young dancers (Whyley Yoshimura, Judson Emery, Jon Burdine, Zack Venegas, Malik LeNost, Ryan Ramirez, Stephanie Sy, Britt Stewart, Yoori Kim, Niesha Smith, Deana Brickley, Mason Cutler), with choreography by Tessandra Chavez, and is styled by Emmy-award winning Marina Toybina".
"Special thanks to all the Kickstarter Contributors!!!!"
Check out the official "Machine and Magic" video after the jump...!

View more videos by TRR at: http://www.youtube.com/user/kevinstea

Thursday, September 13, 2012

That Rogue Romeo



Photo: Emily Perez

Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou “That Rogue Romeo”.... Well his name is Kevin Stea and he's right here and now.

Kevin is quite ubiquitous and gets around – you may remember him from Madonna's “Blonde Ambition Tour” where he was not only a back-up dancer, but co-coreographer and dance captain for it as well. He also had a featured role as one of the dancers in the Las Vegas show “Goddess” featuring Cristal Connors in the camp classic “Showgirls”.

Mr. Stea is currently conquring another frontier, one he has always wanted to tackle, at the age of fourty-two, he is pursuing a singing career, that combines his love of dance, his visual flair and knowledge of the business having worked with so many greats in it....it's time for “The Rogue Romeo” Kevin Stea...!

MS: Being involved in music as a dancer, what made you decided to pursue it as a voclist/performer?

KS: Music started for me when I went on “Star Search” as a dancer. I pursued a singing career with Capitol Records and that didn't pan out, but it started this little spark in the back of my head. When I went to Italy however I did get offered a recording contract. I was singing on live TV and it was going over really well, so they offered me a contract – they gave me the melodies and I wrote the songs because they wanted the lyrics written in English, that was the most satisfying part of the process, writing the songs. I gave up music for a long time after a series of shady deals...the truamatic experiences that happened in Italy. Recently, when I got injured dancing on tour, I try to look at my injury as a postive thing, not: “I'm an old hag” (laughs) So I thought “what is that one thing that really made me so happy and joyful”? That was writing my music. I knew I needed to pursue it and follow through with it the way I wanted to twelve years ago, or I would regret it for the rest of my life. I'm going to give it my all for as long as I can.

MS: You are doing it at a time when the music industry has so changed, it's much more difficult.

KS: It is much more difficult, but there is much more opportunity to be myself.


MS: Good point.

KS: Back in the day that was part of my frustration. They had me write lyrics about getting the girl and having this grand old time. (laughs) That's not what I want to sing about, that's not who I am. Now with social media and various outlets I have more power than ever to be myself in the music industry. I want to be myself as an artist, not some random production of a label.

MS: “Machine & Magic” is the name of your album, correct?

KS: Yes, it is. 

MS: By the way, do you play any insturments? I'm curious.

KS: Well, I play a little bit of piano and a little bit of drums, but I'm not going to say I will ever play either of them live. (laughs) I work with producers to create the sounds I want, and I usually have to act it out visually for them to get what I am going for. Musicians, being artists themselves understand what I am saying to them with body language.

MS: There are a few other artists I know who do that too.

KS: Sometimes you have to, there are things you can't always say with words that you can say with your body and vice versa.

Make a date with “That Rogue Romeo” at:

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