About 4 years post The Imports final line-up (the year is 1989), I contacted Steve O’Donnell to find out what he was up to/into. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I just wanted to work. In the previous year, I’d been a co-producer for the first time on a project featuring a singer other than myself, recording tunes I had written with my one time backing vocalist and long time family acquaintance, Georgia Estrate. She was working on a country vibe, which at the time was gripping the airways.
When Steve came over to my house and sat down to discuss possibilities, his opening statement to me, like before we go any further, ” I don’t rock hard anymore, Debye.” MK was up in the loft working and heard it; after Steve left, we agreed that it was one of the best ever musician quotes! It lives on.
Well, I wasn’t rocking hard like The Imports either. We put together a piano/vocal duo for making money at the local resorts/piano bars.
It was great working with Steve, putting all these tunes together. He was always well rehearsed and we challenged each other to create our own sound with the adult contemporary tunes we were working with. Like most of the tapes I have been transferring for this site, time has taken its toll; quality is regrettable. I do hope to include one of the demo tracks that we did for this duo in the very near future. Steve produced the demo and worked very hard on it.
This was another case of me moving away. In 1990 we moved East. I have not had contact with SO’D since that time, he was finishing his ASU work in music theory and composition. I would very much like to hear all of what he is doing. For all the time and talent you put into this project and The Imports – Thank you, Steve!